Toyota Urban Cruiser (Rebadged Vitara Brezza) Gets Approval From Maruti’s Board.

Toyota Urban Cruiser is the rebadged Maruti Vitara Brezza that has been in the news for a long time. It is now; Maruti Suzuki Board has approved the supply of Vitara Brezza to Toyota Kirloskar Motors. The news officially confirms the arrival of Urban Cruiser to Toyota dealerships near you.  However, Toyota is yet to announce the launch date for this compact-SUV. This decision is the part of Maruti-Toyota collaboration that was announced in March 2019. Earlier the production of Toyota-badged Vitara Brezza was planned to commence at Toyota's manufacturing facility in 2022. But, with the new announcement from Maruti Suzuki’s board, the Urban Cruiser reaches closer to the production line, earlier than expected.

Toyota Urban Cruiser is expected to be launched in the September this year.

Talking of the Urban Cruiser name, TKM officials have not confirmed anything about the same. However, it came in the limelight only after Toyota applied for trademark registration for the Urban Cruiser name. It is still not evident if the Japanese carmaker would use this name or would choose to go with a different one.

On the styling front, the Urban Cruiser will sport a different front face than the Vitara Brezza. It is expected to borrow design cues from the bigger RAV4. Expect a different bumper, grille, headlamps, and the bonnet on the Urban Cruiser in respect to the Vitara Brezza. It should be noted that Toyota cannot change much on the sides, save for the alloy wheel design, as the car will use the identical monocoque as the Vitara Brezza. The rear facet will also be updated in accordance with Toyota’s design language.

2020 Maruti Vitara Brezza First Drive Review

The interior design on the Urban Cruiser is expected to be carried over from the Vitara Brezza only. Toyota might change the colour scheme to give the cabin an upmarket appeal. Powering the Urban Cruiser will be the same K15B unit as the Vitara Brezza. With 1500 cubic centimetres of displacement, the 4-cylinder naturally-aspirated motor produces 105 PS of peak power and 138 Nm of peak torque. The gearbox options include a 5-speed MT and a 4-speed AT. The Urban Cruiser will feature Suzuki’s Smart Hybrid tech as standard across the range to offer better mileage and efficiency than the Vitara Brezza.