Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor debuts as a rebadged Suzuki Fronx

Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor debuts as a rebadged Suzuki Fronx

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‍With vehicles like the Toyota Urban Cruiser, Rumion, Starlet, and Vitz, the Toyota-Suzuki alliance has evolved into an interesting partnership. 

Notably, these models are essentially rebadged versions of the Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ertiga, Baleno, and Celerio, respectively. This collaboration has allowed both carmakers to offer a diverse range of cars for different customers. 

Speaking of such, Toyota is set to introduce a new crossover SUV, and as expected, it’s based on the stylish-looking Fronx from Suzuki. 

Called the Urban Cruiser Taisor, it’s expected to arrive in South Africa before the end of the year, and while aesthetically it doesn’t deviate entirely from the model on which it is based, it gets a reworked front grille, headlight clusters, tri-LED foglights, slimmer headlights, and revamped chrome accents.

The rear, on the other hand, gets a taillight-connecting LED strip, revised bumpers, new stylish alloy wheels, and, naturally, a Toyota logo. 

Moving inside, not much has changed. We can see amenities such as the 9-inch touchscreen infotainment screen, which is further complemented by a 360-degree camera and head-up display.

Power will likely come from the same 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder engine with 77kW and 138Nm that powers the Fronx. This will be paired with either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission. 

For the Indian market, the lineup includes a naturally aspirated 1.2-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine with 67kW and 113Nm, as well as a more powerful 1.0-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit with 74kW and 148Nm, available with a 5-speed manual or 6-speed automatic gearbox.

When it finally launches in Mzansi, the Urban Cruiser Taisor will go against rivals such as the Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger in the competitive subcompact crossover SUV stable, and it will be interesting to see how it stacks up against the Fronx on the sales charts. 

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