My take after test driving - accurate and sharp, for a conservative FWD family SUV (don’t compare it to a Focus), but also artificial at the same time. It’s definitely better than any generation CR-V. You don’t get that looseness over bumpy surfaces where the wheel totally loses all weight in the 10-12-2 o’clock positions (like it suddenly got disconnected from the steering column). Saying that, the CR-V steering is a very low bar to compare it to, so still best to temper your expectations until you can get a test drive to determine of the GR is “good enough” for you.

If you want me to elaborate, at least based on my impressions from that short test drive; Basically, there’s very little “lag” between your steering input and and the rest of your body feeling the change in direction. As long as your steering inputs are clean and linear, the car will track accordingly. Just don’t expect to be instant pin sharp like a performance car or convey much  road feel from the steering wheel.

Help you translate to layman English. Expect heavier steering, less body roll. That's all.
“Sport ECU” for the electric power steering that is claimed to increase steering feel and response.

= software only "tune", meaning reduce assist force, make steering heavier. No going to impact the precision and sharpness. Given same eco tyre, so...no need to repeat. Most car sport mode already does this.
There’s also reduced body roll thanks to stiffer suspension (retuned springs and struts), and the addition of a Performance Bar.

= stiffer spring and added a struct tower bar. Like I said earlier Toyota will not redesign the suspension geometry for small project like this. No mention of lowering, so expect same camber as well. Don't know what is "Performance Bar", if that is referring to Anti-roll bar, it is wtf moment like regular CC don't have ARB???  Anyway entire thing is around reduce body roll, which attending to regular consumer perception less body roll = good handling. Nothing too serious here.
P/S: ARB is more important as front/rear balance tool, generally stiffer end will slide first. Perfect example is 86 vs BRZ, where BRZ get softer rear ARB than 86.

Toyota legendary reliability is no longer the case for the new/latest vehicles.

Is either that, or you get really delayed (dynamic force in Camry, never yet on Corolla Altis but that may be updated soon, hopefully, lol) releases on technology and drive train. (Those ugly CRT TV interiors and really cheap/shoddy looking head unit anyone?)

Do realize that the latest drive train (dynamic force engine and direct shift CVT) has gone through some hush hush TSB or even official recall internationally.

UMWT is not stupid. They know their main target audience have reliability as a priority similarly/same like you.
No way they want to risk that status by releasing latest greatest and then trouble their customers visiting SC for recalls.

Calculating a hybrid’s max power and torque isn’t a matter of adding the outputs of the petrol and electric motors together and calling it a day. They’re tuned for fuel economy. Peak horsepower and torque will still be lower compared to the 1.8 version because the hybrid’s combustion engine is very lowly tuned and the electric motor’s assistance plateaus lower down the rev range.

Electric motor is used for initial movement and to augment the dips in the combustion engine’s torque curve. You will get better low speed acceleration going up hilly bits in short busts as long as the driving done prior to reaching the incline has sufficiently charged the battery. It works great for daily urban driving in towns with sporadic undulations (flat-uphill-flat-flat-downhill-uphill-flat) at normal speeds, but won’t help much on a sustained hillclimb as the small battery gets discharged faster than it can recharge.

You can drive any hybrid and try it for yourself. When the battery is sufficiently charged (say 3/4 full) just set it to EV mode and drive slowly on electric power alone. Wait till the battery gets depleted and the ICE fires up to start charging it, and then try flooring the pedal. You will hear the engine revving quite high but the car struggling to accelerate, because (a) it’s already an engine in a low state of tune, and (b) there’s no more electric power coming from the empty battery to provide the “torque fill” required for that sudden burst of acceleration.

Better fuel consumption in all conditions are not guarantee. Only it is statistically better in most conditions.

Due to parasitic power drawn by MG1 (I'll explain later), if we have hypothetical long drive without need to brake at all, Toyota HSD hybrid will be less efficient.
Any fuel saving is contributed by the 98PS ICE that use Atkinson cycle (in layman = longer combustion stroke than intake stroke to gain higher thermal efficiency, ok maybe not layman enough for those doesn't know Otto cycle, sorry I tried my best).

Here's the 101 of Toyota HSD
- the 72PS/163Nm is called MG2. It has 2 jobs - direct drive the wheel, and regenerative braking
- there is another motor MG1 (unknown spec). It has 2 jobs - charging the hybrid battery from engine, and control the gear ratio of eCVT

2nd job of the MG1 is the one that steal engine power, and can consume 20% of engine torque for 2.4L Camry Hybrid. I couldn't find data for the Cross Hybrid.

So imagine if one is traveling permanent constant speed. Statistically, this is unlikely, even highway we get to brake.
- MG2 has no chance to generate power from braking. 
- MG1 consume engine power to maintain hybrid battery level
- MG1 consume engine power to fix gear ratio of eCVT

For comparison normal ICE car or other brand hybrid that use AT/DCT, has permanent mechanical lock to fix gear ratio (tiny amount of electric to maintain oil pressure in AT/DCT).

I guess, this also answer you 2nd question, at continuously high load (including hill climb), it really depends how much MG2 regenerative charging can keep up with the acceleration requirement, so that we don't need MG1 to keep replenishing battery power and consume engine torque.

Then we also don't know the MG2 max RPM, usually for PMSM (permanent magnet synchronous motor), torque started to drop around 50% of max rpm, then at max RPM the torque is about 50% of max torque.
PMSM is popular to low speed efficiency but lack of high rpm performance. This affect the MG2 torque reduction at high speed. Toyota didn't disclose this, at least I couldn't find the spec.

We also don't know MG1 power. What is its output ratio to engine max horsepower (which decide how much parasitic load on the engine). Again Camry Hybrid case is 20%, remember it is bigger 2.4L engine.

Of course, all are still limited by how fast the hybrid battery charge (aka C rate). Most of the time this is the bottleneck. Put bigger MG1 also no point.

Article written during GR’s debut month/quarter, so it’s possible that GR bookings at the time exceed all other Cross models. That’s normal for most cars.

GR and Hybrid target different buyers. Majority of Cross GR buyers are likely comparing it to the regular Cross G/V models and equivalent petrol models from competitors (eg: HR-V Turbo, CX-30, XV/Crosstrek, etc), while Cross Hybrid buyers are likely comparing it to competing hybrid offerings.

When I made booking (last week of Feb 2023), SA told me Hybrid waiting time is longer than GR and V models, but that could be due to other factors like battery supply constraints and whatnot. They don’t release (afaik) the factory output for each specific model, so hard to draw conclusion.

Cross Hybrid current waiting period is 4 - 6 months. This is from KL OKR branch (Wheelcorp)

it's also on the top of my list to replace my Picanto. Main factor is practicality, comfort and most importantly fuel efficiency. It shares the same 35L fuel tank as my Picanto but the fc is almost twice better based on owner's feedback. Do note that I dont do a lot of outstation / highway cruising as I understand that is where hybrid advantage diminishes. I guess it kinda shows the Picanto fc is not ideal in city driving for an A segment also lmao

was considering Civic also but both my gf and her mom dislike the low seating position.... oh well. And I personally have some gripes about the car as well

honestly there's really not much of a choice for the 140 - 150k+ range.... our weak currency value is not helping as well

yet majority of the consumers are still expecting bucket loads of features for the same price as few years ago..... i foresee only China brands could fulfil that in the near future

if it's for your dad for rarely drives I would say you dont even need the GRS..... just regular 1.8V or even G will do

I still like the look of this Altis, if not limited to older gen 1.8 engine I already bought it...

Just test drove both Hybrid and GR Sports. Won't get into details. In brief summary:-

1. GR Sports feels more powerful with hard acceleration. The Hybrid engine emits a louder and more prominent low frequency growl in hard acceleration.
2. Little difference in handling and suspension but can't really gauge with the short test drive route.
3. Overall impression, the steering feel, ride and handling meet my expectations. Steering doesn't feel light and is quite accurate and sharp. In comparison, the Honda CRV steering feels way lighter with less road feel.
4. Steering of GR sports feel a bit heavier than hybrid I think. Both steering feel and weight of the hybrid and GR Sports feel good to me.
5. Suspension, no complaints. Firm yet comfortable. Both GR Sports and Hybrid. Can't really feel the difference much, perhaps small difference or negligible.

It might have been the Eco mode that you were driving it on (which is the default). I found Normal mode okay. Eco mode was lethargic, especially initial pickup. Like those junctions where you need to drive into a road across oncoming traffic - Eco mode gives you zero confidence in actually making it across before the oncoming cars reach you, while Normal mode is more… normal, I guess.

This is a characteristic of all Toyota hybrids I’ve tried, from a relative’s Prius (forgot which gen, it’s the one that shares architecture with the Lexus CT200) back when they were new in Malaysia, to the Camry Hybrid I was leasing up until 1.5yrs ago. Best to just forget about Eoo mode and leave in Normal. The mileage difference on the Camry Hybrid was only around 0.5L/100km at worst anyway.

Sport Mode on the Cross Hybrid just shortens the throttle response slightly and tightens up the CVT ratios a bit. Steering weight remains the same (slightly lighter than GR), from what I could tell

I too would have preferred the Altis over the Cross. Just pay a little bit more for double wishbone setup. But UMWT doesn’t offer a hybrid Altis variant here. Other reason is that my mom (I mentioned buying the Cross for her in earlier posts) had knee replacement surgery a couple of years ago and isn’t comfortable with the knee bending required to get in/out of a sedan anymore (I think it’s more psychological than physiological, because her surgery and rehab went great), and she likes the entry*/exit height of my Harrier (XU80), so the Cross was overall a better fit for her.

* instead of putting some weight on the knees or one knee like how we do it, she prefers resting her bum on the seat first before lifting her legs in, and most urban crossovers seem have their seats at a better height (compared to sedans) for her to do that.

Different mode on daily driving passenger car only change the throttle response, power delivery.

No impact on max torque/horsepower. If you already floor it, it is what you get eco or sport mode, no different.

After so much discussion, I wonder what car that TS bought 😁