Urban Cruiser badge will receive the Taisor suffix next year as the first spin-off model.
Although tipped in September as being set to an imminent reveal “within weeks”, a newly uncovered report from India has alleged that a prolonged wait until 2024 is indeed on the cards for the Toyota twin of the Suzuki Fronx, the tentatively named Urban Cruiser Taisor.
A model, whose unveiling has been an ongoing topic of speculation since it first emerged in November last year, the Taisor had originally been expected to bow at the Delhi Auto Expo in February, which subsequently never happened for reasons never made public.
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Reported in August as being all but certain to wear the Urban Cruiser Taisor name in reference to the “standard” Urban Cruiser Hyryder, which does without the latter suffix in South Africa due to the absence of the hybrid powertrain option offered in India, the planned unveiling was then rumoured to happen around the time of Diwali celebrations that occurred on the 12th of this month.
Seemingly in accordance with a related report that broke a month prior, online publication gaadiwaadi.com claims the “first half of 2024” has been set aside for the Urban Cruiser Taisor’s premiere as opposed to the final quarter of 2023.
The model long believed to replace the discontinued Vitara Brezza now that the new not-for-South Africa Brezza has moved upmarket, the Urban Cruiser Taisor is set to take up station below the Urban Cruiser Hyryder, with subtle differences from the Fronx inside and out.
Known to have been favoured above an Indianised-version of the Yaris Cross that debuted in Indonesia six months ago, most likely as a result of cost, the Urban Cruiser Taisor is expected to retain the same engine options as the Fronx in India, namely the normally aspirated 1.2-litre DualJet petrol developing 67kW/113Nm and the turbocharged three-cylinder 1.0-litre Boosterjet that makes 74kW/148Nm.
While a direct replacement for the original Urban Cruiser under the reported Urban Cruiser Icon name appears on track to happen in 2026, albeit above the Urban Cruiser Hyryder and not below, the Taisor’s eventual reveal, and ranking in Toyota India’s SUV range, could see it become available in South Africa should approval be given.
Known to have attracted interest from Toyota South Africa Motors, whose positioning of the new Urban Cruiser as a more premium step-up from the original has left it without an entry-level SUV/crossover, the Taisor appears the most viable option in lieu of the Yaris Cross and its twin, the Japanese-market Raize, likely being too expensive come sticker time.
Should the Urban Cruiser Taisor be given the eventual greenlight for South Africa, expect similar to specification to the Fronx and motivation in the form of 1.5 K15B petrol engine rated at 77kW/138Nm.
For now, the Taisor remains open to secrecy and speculation, but expect official details and possibly even images to become apparent heading into December and ultimately, 2024.
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