The new Toyota Urban Cruiser will go on sale here in a few weeks in two versions. They will be a 1.33-litre Dual VVT-i petrol model with two-wheel drive and a 1.4 D-4D diesel with all-wheel drive. It combines the rugged muscular appearance of a Toyota all-roader with compact, urban-friendly dimensions and five-door practicality.
Toyota tells us that the Urban Cruiser is designed for an adventurous, active-lifestyle customer base. Dissatisfied with conventional hatchbacks, these customers require a vehicle that expresses a greater sense of value and individuality. Typically, they are singles and couples in their 30s and 40s. Urban Cruiser customers will include a significant number of those who want to combine an active lifestyle with a high level of environmental awareness.
The Urban Cruiser offers a spacious interior despite its compact external dimensions. A load-space capacity of 314 litres may be increased to 749 litres with the rear seats are folded down.
Two types of rear seats are available, each with an improved folding mechanism: the 2WD model has a 60:40 split seat with slide, recline and tilt-down functions, the AWD version has a 60:40 split seat with recline and double-fold functions.
In recognition of the active lifestyles of customers, the Urban Cruiser features a wide range of storage compartments.
The new Urban Cruiser has been designed to offer very high levels of active, passive and pedestrian impact safety performance. It is fitted with standard ABS, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD ), Brake Assist (BA ), Traction Control (TRC ) and Vehicle Stability Control (VSC ).
All Urban Cruiser versions are equipped, as standard, with seven SRS airbags; driver and front passenger airbags, a driver’s knee airbag, front side airbags and full-length side curtain shield airbags. This new model is also fitted with active front seat headrests to reduce whiplash injuries during rear end collisions.
Available in Terra, Luna and Sol model grades, the new Urban Cruiser offers a comprehensive standard equipment specification.
The Terra entry grade Urban Cruiser is equipped with: Anti-lock Braking System (ABS ), Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD ), Brake Assist (BA ), Vehicle Stability Control (VSC ), Traction Control (TRC ), seven airbags, active front seat headrests, push start button and smart entry, electric front windows, remote central locking, a six speaker radio/CD with MP3 compatibility, tilt and telescopic steering, driver’s seat height adjustment, Electric Power Steering, Optitron instruments, a gear shift indicator, 16” pressed steel wheels, a roof spoiler, and body-coloured door mirrors with turn indicators.
The Luna adds 16-inch matt alloy wheels, front fog lamps, Luna seat trim, manual air conditioning, a six speaker radio/CD with aux-in connection and Bluetooth® connectivity, rear electric windows, a leather steering wheel with audio and telephone switches, and a leather gearshift knob.
In addition to the Luna grade specification, the Sol adds All Wheel Drive, and All Wheel Drive Body-Kit, exclusive Sol trim, 16-inch super chrome metallic alloy wheels, climate control air conditioning, an electro chromatic rear view mirror, and rear and back privacy glass.
Through the adoption of Toyota Optimal Drive technology, both the Urban Cruiser’s petrol and diesel engines are highly efficient. As a result, customers benefit not only from lower fuel bills, but also, due to lower C02 emissions, lower motor tax starting from €104 for the 1.4 diesel model and €156 for the 1.33 litre petrol.
The Urban Cruiser’s 1.4-litre D-4D diesel powertrain is available with Active Torque Control AWD. Integrated with the vehicle’s other traction control systems, Active Torque Control AWD is seamlessly flexible, providing an optimized torque distribution ranging anywhere from 100:0 to 50:50 front to rear depending on driving dynamics and the prevalent road conditions.
I will bring you more details on the new Urban Cruiser including prices closer to launch date.
