At their annual media address, Toyota raised the curtain on the successor of their Urban Cruiser and it has gotten significantly bigger… Is it a suitable replacement for the affordable model which was Toyota’s best-selling passenger vehicle in 2022? 
First and foremost, this isn’t a direct descendent of its forebearer. With a shock announcement that the Japanese automaker was to cease production of their Urban Cruiser in 2022, there was always speculation that the popular model would be promptly replaced. The latest Toyota Urban Cruiser to be introduced onto local soil was actually developed along the larger Suzuki Grand Vitara and unlike its predecessor which was built by Maruti Suzuki in Gurgaon, this will be assembled by Toyota Kirloskar Motor at its Bidadi plant in India.
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Toyota states: “Built in our plant in India, this model boasts an all-new SUV design, a larger body with more space, increased safety specification, climate control, cruise control and reverse camera. The all-new Urban Cruiser will also go to market during the second quarter.”
This all means that it is significantly larger that the hot commodity that was its predecessor. What buyers can expect is a model that is a whole 370 mm longer with an increased wheelbase of 100 mm. With the introduction of the new Urban Cruiser, Toyota may struggle to emulate its precursor success which often boasted sales of over 2 000 units per month and a total of 16 692 throughout 2022. This cemented it as the top-selling model for Toyota’s passenger division with an impressive 22% of the market share.
What we know of the new shape model is that it already exists in other markets under the Hyryder suffix after Urban Cruiser. Under the bonnet is a 1,5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing 76 kW and 138 N.m while shifting is courtesy of a five-speed manual unit that powers the front wheels. In terms of running gear, this is all more or less the same as before however all of the added tech and safety features mentioned at the SOMI address would more than likely push the price of the model to more than the inflationary increases of the outgoing Urban Cruiser although this is speculation. Starting from a pinch over R283 000, the compact SUV served as an affordable option boasting Japanese reliability.
Toyota will release official pricing when the model is officially launched in the Q2 of this year.
