Toyota confirms Urban Cruiser compact SUV for India

Toyota India has confirmed that its all-new compact SUV for the Indian market will be called the Toyota Urban Cruiser. We tell you more about it.

• Based on the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza SUV.
• Built by Maruti Suzuki at its Gurgaon plant.
• To get unique front styling and interior parts.

What is the Toyota Urban Cruiser?

The Urban Cruiser is Toyota’s contender in the ever-growing compact SUV segment in India. The SUV will see a market launch sometime next month and will be based on the Maruti Vitara Brezza SUV. We were the first to reveal the Toyota Urban Crusier name for the SUV for India a few months ago. The Urban Cruiser will be built by Maruti Suzuki for Toyota – a similar arrangement both brands already have for the Glanza hatchback, which is based on the Baleno.

However, while there is hardly any difference between the hatchbacks, this upcoming Toyota SUV will have a more distinctive identity of its own. The Toyota Urban Cruiser will have all-new front styling that bring it more in line with the newer, bigger Toyota SUVs. That said, it’s important to note that the Urban Cruiser and the Vitara Brezza SUV will share identical sheet metal, which means, apart from bumpers, grilles and other ‘soft’ plastic parts, the two will look the same.

On the inside, the Urban Cruiser is expected to use lighter-coloured upholstery and trim, as opposed to the grey and black theme of the Brezza, but that is where the differences will end.

What will power the Toyota Urban Cruiser?

As expected, the SUV will use the Brezza’s 1.5-litre petrol engine good for 105hp and 138Nm. However, sources tell us that the Urban Cruiser will offer the SmartHybrid mild-hybrid system on both its gearboxes – manual and automatic, which allows Toyota another slight differentiation from the Vitara Brezza, which gets the mild-hybrid tech only with the four-speed, torque-converter auto.

What will the Toyota Urban Cruiser price be?

Quite similar to the Vitara Brezza, but we expect Toyota to sell the SUV in fewer variants than its Maruti Suzuki counterpart, as it does with the Glanza. Toyota will also likely have the upper hand on ownership costs, as the Urban Cruiser is expected to come with the brand’s 3year/1,00,000km warranty, as opposed to the 2 year/40,000km on the Vitara Brezza.

What will rival the Toyota Urban Cruiser

The sub-four-metre compact SUV segment is the hottest one in India and almost every carmaker wants to have its slice of pie from it. Toyota’s Urban Cruiser will see strong competition from the likes of already-established rivals like the Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue, Mahindra XUV300 and Ford Ecosport. Additionally, the Urban Cruiser will also see fresh rivals in the form of the Kia Sonet, as well as the Renault Kiger that are expected to launch in the coming months as well.