Toyota Urban Cruiser

Toyota has given the Urban Cruiser a modern and feature-rich cabin, which is finished in a theme of dual-tone black and burgundy, along with soft-touch leather and satin silver accents which make it feel even more premium. The satin silver accents are present on the spokes of the steering wheel and the sides of the centre console.

The three-spoke multi-functional steering wheel here is both tilt and telescopic adjustable and comes with audio, Bluetooth and cruise controls on it, with a conventional instrument console having a 4.2-inch TFT MID in the middle. At the top of the centre console, a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity and a 6-speaker audio system, sits as a floating unit.

The middle of the centre console houses the panel for the single-zone automatic climate control and AC vents above it. The lower centre console has USB charging ports, a 12V charging outlet and a wireless charging pad. The Urban Cruiser also comes equipped with leather seats, driver seat height adjustment, a head-up display, a push start-stop button, paddle shifters, and ambient lighting.

If it comes to sleekness, the Toyota Urban Cruiser ranks quite high when compared to the rest of the conventional upright SUVs from Toyota’s lineup. The aerodynamic design and sharp creases give the Urban Cruiser a sense of style, making it a preferable choice for urban car buyers.

At the front, the Toyota Urban Cruiser welcomes one with its sleek-looking slanted front grille, which gets a chrome accent across its width. Placed adjacent to the sides of the grille are sleek daytime running LED strips, which also get chrome accents. The LED projector headlamps are placed within separate housings sitting on the front bumper, which gets a large air dam as the extension of the front grille. The silver cladding below the front bumper adds a sense of ruggedness to the front look.

From the side, the Toyota Urban Cruiser has an upright stance, but the slightly slanted bonnet line gives it a nice aerodynamic appeal. The 17-inch machined alloy wheels, body cladding all around and squared wheel arches give the Urban Cruiser an upmarket look, which is further enhanced by the chrome finish for the door handles and roof rails.

At the back, the Toyota Urban Cruiser has a sleek-looking set of LED tail lamps, which stretch horizontally below the rear windscreen towards the Toyota logo in the middle, above the license plate housing. There are additional lights, including turn indicators and reverse lights, which are placed in separate housings on the corners of the rear bumper, which like the front, also gets silver cladding below it.

The Toyota Urban Cruiser is a nice handler for urban conditions and is an easy-to-drive SUV, courtesy of the light steering setup and a well-sorted suspension setup comprising of Macpherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the rear. The SUV rides on 17-inch wheels, which gives it a planted driving experience.

The Toyota Urban Cruiser in the UAE car market comes with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine as the only powertrain option. Originally a Suzuki engine, this four-cylinder mill comes paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission as standard and produces 102 bhp of maximum power and 138 Nm of maximum torque. The engine is assisted with a mild-hybrid system consisting of a lithium-ion battery for functions like idle start-stop system, regenerative braking and torque assist.

The Toyota Urban Cruiser is decently equipped with safety essentials like six airbags, ABS with EBD, brake assist, emergency call system, cruise control, 360-degree parking camera, vehicle stability control, hill hold assist, tyre pressure warning system and reverse parking sensors.

For an SUV which will be primarily driven in urban conditions as a daily commuter, the Toyota Urban Cruiser fits the bill as a nice, balanced and reliable product with proven underpinnings and all the essential features on board.