Toyota Kirloskar Motors is likely to launch its second Maruti-Suzuki based product in India in the coming months. It is expected to be called Toyota Urban Cruiser as the company has recently trademarked this name. The first product of Suzuki-Toyota Global Alliance was the Toyota Glanza. It was basically a Maruti Baleno with Toyota badging along with minimal styling changes.
The upcoming rebadged vehicle supplied by Maruti Suzuki for Toyota is expected to be a sub-compact SUV based on the Vitara Brezza. The name ‘Urban Cruiser’ takes inspiration from the high-end Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs. The Cruiser name represents the SUV character of the new product, while the Urbane name suggests the compact dimensions of the vehicle best suited for urban usage. The Toyota Urban Cruiser may come with minor exterior changes. It is likely to get a new grille along with the Suzuki badge being replaced with that of Toyota. The overall upright stance, pillars, and roofline of traditional SUVs found in the Vitara Brezza will indeed be retained.
As for interior, the Toyota Urban Cruiser is likely to get the same interior features as that of Vitara Brezza. Since it is expected to be based on the facelifted Vitara Brezza that was introduced in February 2020, it is likely to get the latest touchscreen infotainment system integrated with Apple Car Play and Andriod Auto alongside cloud-based functions.
Toyota’s new Brezza based model will borrow the 1.5-litre four-cylinder K15B petrol engine from its donor producing 104.7 bhp and 138 Nm of peak torque. The engine comes mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox along with a 4-speed torque converter automatic transmission as an option in the Vitara Brezza.
The price of Toyota Urban Cruiser is expected to be close to the Maruti Vitara Brezza Facelift. It might even offer a warranty and other schemes in order to make it more appealing than the Vitara Brezza. The company is planning to launch this model once the COVID’19 lockdown is lifted. Once launched, the sub-compact SUV is expected to compete against the likes of Hyundai Venue, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300, and the upcoming Kia Sonet in the Indian market.
Read Also : Kia Sonet Launch Pushed to Festive Season 2020