Toyota will launch the Urban Cruiser sub-4m SUV shortly, which will enter the hotly contested compact SUV segment, along with the recently introduced Kia Sonet, apart from the Hyundai Venue, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 and the Urban Cruiser's very close cousin, the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. Being a product of the Suzuki-Toyota partnership, the Toyota Urban Cruiser is essentially a rebadged, and lightly re-skinned version of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, which means it's powered by the same 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine. Catch all the details live from the virtual launch event of the Toyota Urban Cruiser here:
Deliveries for the Toyota Urban Cruiser will begin mid-October. For customers who have already booked the compact SUV, Toyota will offer a service package free-of-cost.
The Toyota Urban Cruiser has been launched! Prices starting at Rs 8.40 lakh, going up to Rs 11.3 lakh, ex-showroom.
As for the cabin, the Toyota Urban Cruiser brings with it dual-tone interiors with upholstery finished in dark brown.
The Toyota Urban Cruiser differentiates itself from the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, on which it's based, with subtle tweaks including a grille that ties into the larger Toyota Fortuner full-size SUV.
Prices for the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza start from Rs 7.34 lakh for the LXi, going up to Rs 11.40 lakh for the ZXi Plus Dual Tone AT. For the Urban Cruiser, Toyota seems to be following the same strategy that it did for the Glanza. The feature-set shows that it could bring in the mid and top-spec variants of the Suzuki at a similar or marginally lower price. The differentiating factor will likely be the 3-year/100,000 km warranty that the Urban Cruiser will come with as standard.
Visually, the Toyota Urban Cruiser compact SUV gets a new grille similar to what is seen on the Toyota Fortuner with twin horizontal slats and vertical elements finished in silver. Also new is the larger foglamp inserts in the front bumper and a different design for the 16-inch alloy wheels.
The Toyota Urban Cruiser is available in three variants - Mid, High and Premium. The 4-speed automatic will be available in all variants. Stay tuned to see what the pricing on each will be.
The Toyota Urban Cruiser will differentiate itself on the inside, from the Vitara Brezza, through dark brown upholstery and door trim, along with the grey dashboard from the Brezza. Also unique to the Urban Cruiser is the new Rustic Brown paint shade, available in both single and dual-tone.
Standard across variants will be keyless-entry with push-button start and automatic climate control. Other feature highlights will be cruise control, rain-sensing wipers, auto-dimming inner rear-view mirror and the 7-inch Smartplay Studio touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto/Apple Carplay.
The Toyota Urban Cruiser will be powered by the same engine as the Vitara Brezza it's based on. This means the K15B 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol with 105PS and 138Nm. This will be paired with a five-speed manual and four-speed torque-convertor automatic. The Urban Cruiser will also get the 48V mild-hybrid set up for the AT versions.
Customers have been able to book the Toyota Urban Cruiser online or at a dealership by paying Rs 11,000 since late August.
First up, the Suzuki-Toyota partnership is a global partnership between the two companies to leverage economies of scale, research and development and technology. The Toyota Urban Cruiser is the second vehicle to come out of the Suzuki-Toyota partnership, after the Toyota Glanza hatchback.