[TorqueIndia]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Rumour: Toyota Urban Cruiser bookings to open on August 22

According to a media report, bookings for the Toyota Urban Cruiser are likely to open from August 22, 2020. The report also indicates that the crossover will be launched sometime in September, this year.

Attachment 2035927

The Urban Cruiser is essentially a rebadged Maruti Vitara Brezza. While it will share the same bodyshell, Toyota will give it a few design tweaks to differentiate it from the Maruti version. Just like the Glanza, the Urban Cruiser could get a new grille and redesigned bumpers among other changes.

Toyota might make a few changes to the interior as well. Besides replacing the Maruti badges with Toyota ones, the car could also get lighter coloured interiors that could make the interior feel more airy.

The Urban Cruiser is likely to be powered by the same 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol mild-hybrid powertrain from the Vitara Brezza. This engine makes 104 BHP @ 6,000 rpm and 138 Nm @ 4,400 rpm and comes mated to either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission.

Another sub-4 meter SUV that is scheduled to be launched this festive season is the Kia Sonet. It will compete in the same segment as the Urban Cruiser.

Source

Link to Team-BHP News

So , it's Sonet,Urban Cruiser,Kiger and Magnite awaiting for the launch in to the sub4m CSUV segment.
By the way is there any design changes between Glanza & Baleno ? 🤔
Even MG launched a variant of Hector with a handful of exterior updates .

[Accelerati]

Good News from Toyota India !

The product is going to be a strong contender in the Compact SUV segment I believe. The Vitara Brezza in itself has been a very successful product for Maruti and there are a few things going in favour of this new Compact SUV this time

Unlike Glanza which was sadly a Ctrl C Ctrl V Job, people from the Toyota Camp are hinting that the product shall have an different front design and interior from the Brezza.

Even though Glanza has no visual difference from the Baleno, it has done well considering the fact that Toyota started off with only limited variants of Baleno. Not to forget that Toyota has very limited touch points across the country compared to Maruti and numbers were bound to be less.

The SUV shall get launched in the Festive season, and the company has already given a press release for the product, a week before the launch of Kia Sonet. It appears they are trying to throw their product in the ring so that people planning to book a Sonet may have second thoughts

[MMV]

While the rebadging may work economically as a business strategy, at least in short term, wonder whether Toyota has evaluated the impact on its brand due to this. MS , though the market leader is still not seen as maker of robust cars (read build quality and safety). Also people buying cars worth 10+ lacs don't consider MS as the undisputed choice unlike the segment below 10.
IMO unless the rebadging strategy is not logically concluded and evolved into a better business integration in 2 years, brand Toyota will have lot to worry about and brood over.

[Accelerati]

Originally Posted by MMV

While the rebadging may work economically as a business strategy, at least in short term, wonder whether Toyota has evaluated the impact on its brand due to this. MS , though the market leader is still not seen as maker of robust cars (read build quality and safety). Also people buying cars worth 10+ lacs don't consider MS as the undisputed choice unlike the segment below 10.
IMO unless the rebadging strategy is not logically concluded and evolved into a better business integration in 2 years, brand Toyota will have lot to worry about and brood over.

The Indian market is fragmented in many tiers. The Sub 10 Lac On Road segment is driven by value for money cars with major competitors being Maruti, Hyundai and Tata. If one asks me to compare these three, I would rate MSIL to be the best of the lot.

The fact is that Toyota has thought long and hard at the small car segment which is the backbone of the Indian Market. They tried with a Made In India product in the Etios series and they did not do well. Toyota had to make as many as 40 changes to that product ever since they launched it in the market. Just goes to show their expertise in the small car segment. The situation of the customers who bought an Etios Liva was never better than those who bought a Swift !!

So the QDR which we talk about for Toyota was never there in the Etios series at the beginning. They trialled and erred and kept on improving on the product with time.

The end result was that the product flopped and never caught the imagination of the Indian customer. Also, I would add that they did it a cost. A cost to their customers. They never managed to keep the prices under check. The Liva and the Etios costed the customers at least 50 K more than the competition with no bells and whistles !

Toyota was unable to make good cars at the price point the customers expected them to make !

And MSIL smartly divided this sub 10 lac segment into two segments. The sub 6 lac segment which they targeted with the Altos and WagonRs; and the Sub 10 Lac segment which they targeted with the Baleno and the Glanza.

Their is a distinct difference between these two segments at MSIL. The Altos, Spressos are below average products and bang for the buck.The Baleno and Vitara Brezza are at par with the market in safety and general reliability at a competitive price point.

Toyota is not going to the sub 6.5 lac category. It is trying to establish itself in the sub 10.5 lac category with products that are proven, acceptable and competitive.

I remember seeing spy shots of Daihatsu cars running around in Bengaluru. They had their team in India trying to assess if Daihatsu could match MSIL in being competitive and cost effective. I think the result was that even Daihatsu team bowed away concluding that they could not compete with MSIL when it comes to cost effectiveness at an acceptable quality.

My conclusion is that when it comes to this sub 10.5 Lac category the difference between a MSIL product and others is not much. MSIL products are good for what they offer and Toyota would not have offered anything extra-ordinary at this price point from its own stable anyways !

What Toyota had intiially offered with this JV wass a better brand, and reliable after service. Toyota services are more customer friendly than MSIL. I have driven an Innova for years and tried their services at three different dealerships. The uniformity across the places had amazed me everytime. Plus the service centres are less crowded than MSIL and that's an added bonus. The grudge was that the JV Products looked like Seeta and Geeeta on the roads !!

As it is being hinted that upcoming Compact SUV will have differentiated exteriors and interiors from the Brezza, solves my grudge against them atleast. If I buy this car then I get the brand of Toyota, the reliability of MSIL (which is good at this segment),hassle free service experience and this time no one calling it a duplicate as was the case with the Glanza !

I would rather wait for this SUV and have a good look at it before I book a Sonet or as a matter of fact any other compact SUV !

[MMV]

Originally Posted by Accelerati

I would rather wait for this SUV and have a good look at it before I book a Sonet or as a matter of fact any other compact SUV !

Agree, it's better to wait and see the product before concluding.

Etios and Liva, though failure as per sales numbers still has its USPs (not to forget 4star NCAP rating for the seemingly lightweight fiber filled car). These made to budget Toyota omitted lots and lot of goodies and gadgets. But even these plain jane models were lapped up by fleet operators and few loyal customers (incl me) only due to QDR, though in terms of mass appeal these models were lacklustre.

So though Toyota failed to package an all rounder model in sub 10lac space, continued use of an external platform and architecture does not augur well for the brand. Anyways finally it's for the market to decide

[Mynameis]

Brezza twin seems interesting.

But i hope its twin looks different at least from inside. Those interiors of Brezza lack in both design and quality. Does not have that wow feeling of the interiors of Nexon or sporty interiors of Ecosport.

Also, price will play an important role in the success of Urban Cruiser. Brezza itself, if not overpriced, is not well priced either, considering those basic interiors. So, Toyota needs to price it really competitively if they want to sell UC in decent numbers.

Can Toyota legally put a new engine/gearbox in UC (considering the nature of this partneship business type) or will it be same as Brezza? I wish that petrol 4-speed TC is replaced by a 6-speeder autobox (not AMT).

[charanreddy]

Good news considering Brezza desperately needs better interiors. Currently it has only the "M" / "S" badge going for it while the competition has moved on and how !

[Accelerati]

It appears that the bookings of the Toyota Urban Cruiser ( I liked the name ) will begin in August itself !

Does this mean that the car shall be available by this October? Durga Pooja is in October and Diwali in November. May be Toyota is eyeing the festive season.

While the Toyota Glanza has a lot in common with the Maruti Baleno (save for the badges), the Urban Cruiser won’t be a mirror copy of the Maruti Vitara Brezza. It will likely feature a different front fascia to distinguish it from the Maruti model. We also expect it to be offered in different shades to further strengthen the distinction.

The Urban Cruiser’s feature list will be shared with its donor SUV and will include cruise control, auto AC, a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and rain-sensing wipers. Its interior is likely to get a dual-tone theme, Toyota badges and new upholstery when compared to the Maruti Vitara Brezza.

Toyota will offer its sub-4m SUV with the Vitara Brezza’s 1.5-litre petrol engine (105PS/138Nm) with the choice of a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed automatic gearbox. The Urban Cruiser could also get Suzuki’s mild-hybrid tech that offers improved fuel efficiency.

This Festive Season, the compact SUV segment will be all fired up for sure, with new entrants in Kia and Toyota !

Source: https://www.cardekho.com/india-car-n...gust-25883.htm

[volkman10]

Toyota gears up for the launch of its compact SUV- 'Urban Cruiser' this festive season ( Oct-Nov).

Buoyant by the success of its Premium hatchback the Urban Cruiser is being produced by Maruti Suzuki.

In the case of this SUV Toyota will differentiate with more changes as compared to the earlier badge engineered Glanza.

- The Urban Cruiser will get more of a Toyota identity up-front, with relatively inexpensive-to-change 'soft parts’, like the plastic bumpers and grille.

-In order to brighten up the insides and make it look a bit more upmarket, Toyota will use lighter colours.

-Toyota's Urban Cruiser could also be the first of the compact SUVs to come with the hybrid tech on the manual version.

Link

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by volkman10

-In order to brighten up the insides and make it look a bit more upmarket, Toyota will use lighter colours.

-Toyota's Urban Cruiser could also be the first of the compact SUVs to come with the hybrid tech on the manual version.

And while they are at it, Toyota might as well throw in at least a 5-speed AT box, if not 6-speed, form their parts bin. Even, a CVT would be welcome. The very mention of word 4-speed in 2020 turns you off. Other than that, this has got everything going for it. Right size for city, AT box convenience coupled with reliability, more back-seat room than arch-rival Venue and, last but not the least, most trusted brand names of Suzuki/Toyota.

[sumeethaldankar]

I doubt the car would look different from the Brezza. I can barely see any difference between the Glanza and the Baleno.

[TusharK]

Toyota teases Vitara Brezza-based Urban Cruiser

Toyota has released a teaser image of its upcoming Urban Cruiser crossover. It is the brand's first compact SUV in India.



The Urban Cruiser is a re-badged version of the Maruti Vitara Brezza. It is expected to get a few cosmetic changes including a new grille to help differentiate it from Maruti's version.

The Urban Cruiser could get light coloured interiors and the usual set of features like a touchscreen infotainment head-unit, automatic climate control, cruise control among others.

The Urban Cruiser is likely to be powered by the same 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol mild-hybrid powertrain from the Vitara Brezza. This engine makes 104 BHP @ 6,000 rpm and 138 Nm @ 4,400 rpm and comes mated to either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission.

Toyota has not revealed the launch date of the Urban Cruiser. However, rumours suggest that bookings could open on August 22, 2020.

Link to Team-BHP News

[sumeethaldankar]

Yup you put your company's badge on some other company's product and sell it to me that is definitely teasing. The badge states "Hey...I won't get world class leading products that I sell elsewhere in the world but I will put my name on your No 1 car manufacturer and sell it as mine so that you can finally fulfill your dream of owning a Toyota". I hope they have something really substantial to differentiate between the regular Brezza and theirs. I don't mind the Suzuki engine but the Brezza interiors at the price point in a simple word to describe is "ordinary" for the price they charge.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Toyota has released a teaser image of its upcoming Urban Cruiser crossover. It is the brand's first compact SUV in India.

So Toyota knows all the tricks of the trade still. They haven't forgotten any typical processes of the auto business. They go the distance to even release a "TEASER" of a car that pretty much has been every other car on the road since last 5 years. But they don't do anything else that also is a part of the auto business in India. Things like bringing cars, selling them, offering more options to customers. I don't have any problem with badge engineering. Need of the hour etc may have resulted in Toyota deciding this. But then Teasers really is laughable. The other adjectives coming to mind are not exactly in parliamentary language.

[neo_narender]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Toyota teases Vitara Brezza-based Urban Cruiser

Why does it need a teaser? Although I am excited if they would bring 4Runner-esque front, would look butch from the front end. To me Brezza looks boring. Also I believe they will just launch two variants of Urban Cruiser like in Glanza (Zeta/ZXi & Alpha/ZXi+) by undercutting Maruti's pricing by 4-5k.

I don't mind buying this, with a 4-star Global NCAP rating & a Toyota's fuss-free service centers (as far as I know in Hyd). Also Maruti service stations in Hyderabad are nothing to write home about, with so much volume, service quality takes a hit.

Neo