The Toyota Urban Cruiser has been revealed as the Japanese giant’s latest electric vehicle (EV), but we’ve seen it before.
That’s because it’s a lightly restyled version of the recently revealed Suzuki e Vitara, with a new ‘hammerhead’ front-end design to align it with recently launched Toyota models like the Prius and the Chinese-market bZ3X.
Other changes are minor, and include things like unique tail-light graphics and badging.
While it has been confirmed for Europe, Toyota has yet to confirm if the Urban Cruiser will come to Australia.
“The new Urban Cruiser is an exciting next step on Toyota’s electrification journey. At Toyota Australia, we’re always looking to expand our product offerings to customers but we have nothing to announce today,” said a Toyota Australia spokesperson.
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Toyota says it plans to have 15 zero-emission vehicles in its European range by 2026, including six EVs on a dedicated platform. It has been more modest with its goals in our market, announcing early in 2023 it planned to have three EVs in Australia by 2026.
The Urban Cruiser’s close relation to the e Vitara also means the Toyota is mechanically unchanged.
Front-wheel drive models offer a choice of 49kWh and 61kWh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, while all-wheel drive models come exclusively with the 61kWh LFP battery.
With the smaller battery, front-wheel drive models produce 106kW of power and 189Nm of torque. Upgrading to the larger battery bumps power up to 128kW, while adding all-wheel drive brings outputs up to 135kW and 300Nm.
Regardless of battery, a heat pump is standard along with manually operated battery pre-heating.
Dimensions are unchanged from the e Vitara, apart from a modest 10mm increase in length:
| Toyota Urban Cruiser | |
|---|---|
| Length | 4285mm |
| Width | 1800mm |
| Height | 1640mm |
| Wheelbase | 2700mm |
It has a 140mm longer wheelbase than the Yaris Cross, despite measuring 105mm longer overall, and rides a new dedicated EV platform.
Suzuki calls this Heartect-e, and says it was developed in collaboration between not only it and Suzuki but also Daihatsu.
The Urban Cruiser rides on either 18- or 19-inch alloy wheels, with a fixed sunroof optional.
Inside, there’s a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
The 40:20:40 split/fold rear seats also slide, while there’s 12-colour ambient lighting. Optional niceties include a power driver’s seat and a JBL sound system.
Standard safety equipment includes adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, and a surround-view camera. All-wheel drive models feature hill descent control.
This isn’t the first time Toyota has used the Urban Cruiser nameplate.
Toyota Urban Cruiser 
Suzuki e Vitara
It has previously been used on a European-market version of the Toyota Ist/Scion xD; an Indian-market version of the Suzuki Vitara Brezza; and an African and Middle Eastern-market version of the current Suzuki Grand Vitara.
Toyota and Suzuki have shared vehicles on numerous occasions.
In markets like South Africa, for example, Toyota rebadges the Suzuki Baleno as the Starlet, while in Europe Suzuki rebadges the Toyota Corolla and RAV4 as the Swace and Across respectively.
Toyota has a stake of around five per cent in Suzuki.
MORE: 2025 Suzuki e Vitara is an electric SUV that’ll also wear Toyota badges
