JOHANNESBURG - Toyota South Africa gave us some heart warming news on Thursday with the announcement that the first ever Corolla Cross SUV would be built at the company’s local assembly plant in Prospecton from October this year.
However, given that the newcomer will be positioned between the CH-R and Rav4, where it will almost certainly hit a sweet spot in the market, it’s still not going to be an option for those shopping at the lower end of the market.
But luckily Toyota has another plan for that segment, and it comes in the form of the Urban Cruiser, which is closely based on the Suzuki Vitara Brezza. Incidentally, the latter will beat its Toyota cousin to the mark, with Suzuki South Africa planning to launch the Brezza in February.
Although it was almost a foregone conclusion that the Urban Cruiser would be coming to South Africa, it was only officially announced on Thursday at Toyota’s State of the Motor Industry presentation, where it was confirmed that the newcomer would be launched in March.
As mentioned, the Toyota Urban Cruiser is heavily based on the Suzuki Brezza, sharing its body shape and rear styling, however it does have a unique front end design inspired by the Fortuner.
Power will inevitably come from Suzuki’s 1.5-litre normally aspirated petrol motor, which produces 77kW and 138Nm.
Apart from the badge on the steering wheel, the interior is almost identical too.
Toyota has yet to announce pricing or final specifications, but as soon as we know, so will you.