Jaco Van Der Merwe

By Jaco Van Der Merwe

Head of Motoring


Urban Cruiser or Vitara Brezza? 2021 Motoring Newsmaker No 3

Compact SUVs are very popular and Toyota and Suzuki offer a car in this segment that seems very similar.


Two-thousand-and-twenty-one was an interesting year for the South African motoring landscape.

Some things changed, like an acceleration towards greener cars, while others stayed the same like Toyota topping the monthly sales charts.

In this series of 2021 Motoring Newsmakers, The Citizen looks back at the top 20 most popular online stories of the year. The series is dominated by South Africa’s most popular body style, bakkies, while the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 was by far the most viewed single model on our website. Other local favourites in the form of hot hatches, fuel efficient hatchbacks, big, mean SUVs, compact SUVs, Mercedes-AMGs and BMW M cars also drew their fair share of attention.

In February Suzuki introduced the Vitara Brezza to the local market, a compact SUV that has sold like hot cakes in India over the last five years. Hot on the heels of the Vitara Brezza was the Toyota Urban Cruiser, which is essentially the same car. The vehicle is the result of a collaboration between Toyota and Suzuki similar to the ones that produced the Baleno and Starlet hatchbacks and Ertiga and Rumion seven-seaters.

But even though the Urban Cruiser and Vitara Brezza are very similar barring a few styling tweaks like the front grille, there are quite a few differences for buyers to consider. These include pricing, trim levels and after sales backup.

To read The Citizen’s complete guide to the differences between the Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Toyota Urban Cruiser, click on the link below.

2021 MOTORING NEWSMAKER NO 3: Which is better, Toyota Urban Cruiser or Suzuki Vitara Brezza?

The rest of The Citizen’s 2021 Motoring Newsmakers are:

No 4: Prado Land Cruiser gets more power

No 5: Peugeot bakkie makes comeback

No 6: Golf GTI smokes BMW 128ti

No 7: Is 190 kW Amarok worth R1-million?

No 8: Toyota Starlet can run on fumes

No 9: This Isuzu bakkie has X-factor

No 10: Mercedes-AMG E63 S sledge hammer of a sedan

No 11: Land Cruiser: Which is better, petrol or diesel?

No 12: Kia cans bakkie plans

No 13: Mercedes A35 Sedan the thinking man’s AMG

No 14: Toyota Corolla Cross outsells Polo pair

No 15: BMW X5 M Competition pips Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S

No 16: The Golf GTI for nerds

No 17: Never be late in a Merc GLS 580

No 18: Toyota HiAce 54 years young

No 19: New Ford Ranger revealed

No 20: Toyota Land Cruiser gets stuck the mud

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