Flex-Fuel Toyota Innova Hycross Strong-Hybrid Prototype Unveiled by Nitin Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, has launched the prototype of the flex-fuel Toyota Innova Hycross hybrid which can run on up to 85 percent ethanol blend fuel. This prototype is the first in the world to be compliant with the updated BS6 Phase 2 emission norms, which are stricter than those in nations that already sell E85-compliant vehicles.

The flex-fuel Hycross uses the same 2-litre strong-hybrid powertrain engine as offered in the regular Toyota hybrid MPV. In this case, the engine has been adapted to run on an ethanol blend of up to 85 percent (E85), leaving the remaining 15 percent for petrol, therefore making it a lot eco-friendlier than a pure ICE powertrain. Toyota states that this setup will be electronically controlled for a similar performance output of 186PS even on the greener fuel.

Since ethanol is a cleaner fuel than petrol or diesel, it results in lower emissions and less damage to the environment. As per Toyota, E20 fuels (20 percent ethanol blend) can reduce PM2.5 emissions by 14 percent compared to regular petrol. The electrified aspect of the prototype makes it even more eco-friendly as it counters the increased fuel consumption of ethanol compared to petrol, using the hybrid assistance to do around half of the driving duties. Therefore, an electrified ethanol powertrain will have even lower carbon emissions than just a vehicle running on 100 per cent biofuel.

This flex-fuel Innova Hycross is still a prototype and far away from a production-ready model. There are still many tests that need to be performed to get it ready for Indian roads, but it looks promising. Additionally, the higher degree of ethanol-blended fuel must also be readily available to make the most of this technology which is some years away.