By Otsile Kadiege

The Suzuki and Toyota alliance has spawned yet another vehicle for the Toyota brand. Dubbed the Urban Cruiser Taisor, the newcomer competes in the subcompact crossover SUV segment and sports a handful of design and styling cues as well as features from the Suzuki Fronx it’s based on.

Exterior

On the outside, Toyota’s smallest crossover SUV looks quite identical to the Fronx, but it sets itself apart with a redesigned snout that features slim Twin LED daytime running lights, which have been carried over from the larger Urban Cruiser, a redesigned front grille with a honeycomb pattern and a redesigned front bumper with integrated LED or halogen projector headlights.

More highlights include its own set of wheel designs including 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels for the top-spec derivative, an integrated roof spoiler and redesigned LED taillights with an LED light strip. There are five monotone and three dual-tone colour options for the Urban Cruiser Taisor. These include Cafe White, Enticing Silver, Sportin Red, Lucent Orange, and Gaming Grey. The first three options can be optioned with a contrasting Midnight Black roof.

Interior

Stepping inside, apart from a Toyota badge on the the flat-bottom style multifunctional steering wheel, the cabin looks identical to the Fronx. Some highlights include a 9-inch touch display with an infotainment system featuring wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, 360 degree view camera, a configurable head-up display, a wireless charging pad, USB ports, a 12V socket, a dual-tone interior colour scheme and a luggage capacity measuring 308 litres.

Safety and assistance systems

On the safety and driver assistance systems side of things, the new Urban Cruiser Taisor is equipped with six airbags, ISOFIX anchors, ABS with EBD, VSC (Vehicle Stability Control), hill hold assist, a reverse camera and rear parking sensors.

Powertrains

In India, the Urban Cruiser Taisor will be available with two engine options. The first one is a K-Series 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine developing 74kW and 148Nm. This powertrain can be either paired with a 5-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed auto gearbox. The second engine option is a s Dual Jet, Dual VVT K-Series 1.2-litre petrol engine developing 66kW and 113Nm. It’s paired with either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 5-speed AMT gearbox.

Availability

Toyota South Africa is yet to confirm local availability. The new Urban Cruiser Taisor will compete with the Kia Sonet, Hyundai Venue, Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger, Mahindra XUV 300 and of course the Suzuki Fronx.