In this video, the South African expert reviews the Toyota Urban Cruiser. Note that it is the Made-in-India model. In India, Maruti Suzuki sells it as the Grand Vitara. This is a part of the Suzuki-Toyota alliance. As a part of this joint venture, both these companies are able to sell each other’s cars under their own brand name. Either of them can supply the exterior styling as well as the powertrain. In this case, Toyota is using Suzuki’s engine. In South Africa, the SUV is available in three trims – XS, XR and XR AT. Let us take a look at the details of this review.
You may also like: Toyota Starlet Much More Popular Than Suzuki Baleno in South Africa
South African Expert Reviews Toyota Urban Cruiser
This review comes from MotorMatters on YouTube. The reviewer gives an exterior walk-around of the SUV. At the front, there is a large grille with a chrome strip on the top and a Toyota logo at the centre, sleek LED DRLs emerging into the chrome strip, plenty of use of chrome around the main headlamp cluster which has projector lamps mounted on the extreme edges of the bumper. On the sides, there are 17-inch alloy wheels which are finished in black colour. They have square wheel arches around them. At the rear, the split LED tail lamps are connected by a chrome slab which gives it a premium appearance. There is also a rugged skid plate to accentuate its SUV-ish traits.
You may also like: South Africans Take Mahindra Scorpio N Off-Road, Check Their Reactions
Interior and Features
The interior layout is quite modern and user-friendly. This includes things like a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone connectivity, a part-digital instrument cluster, cruise control, automatic climate control, 6 airbags, keyless entry, push start/stop button, steering mounted multimedia controls, manual IRVM, silver inserts on the dashboard to give it a modern texture, reverse parking camera and USB ports. All in all, it is quite a well-rounded SUV with a lot of modern features.
You may also like: South African Barbie Wannabe Involved in Serious Car Accident
You may also like: Made in India Mahindra XUV700 Impresses Another South African Car Expert
Specs
The Toyota Urban Cruiser comes powered by a Suzuki-sourced 1.5-litre K15C naturally aspirated petrol engine which generates a healthy 103 hp and 138 Nm of peak power and torque. Performing the transmission duties is either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed torque converter automatic. Note that in the Indian market, there is an additional Toyota-sourced powertrain. It is a 1.5-litre Atkinson cycle strong hybrid petrol engine which develops 92 hp and 122 Nm of peak power and torque with an AWD configuration. In SA, the prices start at R329,400 and go up to R369,900.
