With the Toyota Urban Cruiser on the way out in SA, the identity of its replacement has been the topic of much speculation. But we now have details suggesting the firm will massage the Hyryder into a suitable successor…

When news of the Urban Cruiser’s shock axing first emerged in November 2022, Toyota South Africa Motors confirmed to us it “had a replacement lined up”, though wouldn’t be drawn on its identity. Now, finally, we have some information suggesting the larger Hyryder will indeed serve as its successor.

According to our intel, the Urban Cruiser Hyryder – to use its full name – will join the local range at some point in 2023. Though no official launch date has yet been confirmed, we may well see the Hyryder (if it ends up wearing that badge here) on local soil as early as the first quarter of the year.

Back in June 2022, Toyota KirloskarMotor (the company’s division in India) confirmed it would export the Hyryder to “markets outside India, including Africa”, before Toyota SA Motors announced the model was “under study” for a local introduction.

As a reminder, the Hyryder is the latest product of Toyota’s global alliance with Suzuki. The newcomer was developed by Suzuki alongside the closely related new Grand Vitara but is produced by Toyota KirloskarMotor at its Bidadi plant in India. The outgoing Urban Cruiser, of course, was built by Maruti Suzuki at its Gurgaon facility and based on the Vitara Brezza.

Isn’t the Hyryder much larger than the Urban Cruiser?

Toyota’s outgoing Urban Cruiser is a sub-4-metre vehicle.

The Urban Cruiser – which will continue to be marketed in South Africa into the new year – measures 3 995 mm from nose to tail, with 2 500 mm separating its axles. The Hyryder, meanwhile, is 370 mm longer at 4 365 mm, with its wheelbase 100 mm lengthier at 2 600 mm.

Those dimensions put the Hyryder closer in size to the locally produced Corolla Cross, which comes in at 4 460 mm long (95 mm more than the Hyryder) with a wheelbase of 2 640 mm (40 mm up on that of the newer model). However, there’s seemingly just enough space to justify the presence of both in the local market, particularly if Toyota is shrewd with the new model’s engine options and specification list.

In addition, the small gap created below the Hyryder may well end up being filled by an upcoming coupé-style crossover reportedly based on Suzuki’s Baleno and possibly wearing the Taisor badge. More details on that rumoured model – and the likelihood of it being offered locally – should come to light in early 2023.

Won’t the Hyryder be more expensive than the Urban Cruiser?

Despite the “Hy” in its name, our info suggests the SA-spec model won’t be offered with a hybrid powertrain.

The biggest obstacle we initially saw standing in the way of a local introduction of the Hyryder as a replacement for the Urban Cruiser involved its surely higher price tag. However, from what we now understand, Toyota SA Motors is working hard to price the Hyryder not too much above than the Urban Cruiser’s current bookends of R280 400 and R353 600. After all, it can’t afford to tread on the toes of the Prospecton-produced Corolla Cross, which currently runs from R360 400 to R461 700 (and offers larger engines, including the option of a full hybrid set-up).

One way Toyota’s local division might be able to keep pricing in check is to forego the Hyryder’s relatively expensive hybrid powertrains offered in India in favour of a more basic (that is, non-electrified) engine. We’d speculate a version of Suzuki’s K15B naturally aspirated 1.5-litre petrol mill – as employed by the Vitara Brezza and indeed the outgoing Urban Cruiser – is the most likely choice.

Whereas the new Grand Vitara scheduled to launch in South Africa in the first quarter of 2023 will be available with both this unit and the latest K15C 1.5-litre dual-jet mild-hybrid motor, our information points to the SA-spec Hyryder sticking with the KB15 lump. We furthermore wouldn’t be surprised were it to be offered exclusively in front-wheel-drive guise, rather than with the option of a multi-mode all-wheel-drive system, as will be the case with the SA-spec Grand Vitara.

In addition, while the Grand Vitara will be crammed full of standard kit (including a 360-degree camera system, head-up display and wireless smartphone charging on range-topping derivatives) and serve as the flagship of Suzuki Auto SA range, the locally available Hyryder looks set to make do with a somewhat shorter specification list more befitting of its positioning below the Corolla Cross, C-HR, RAV4, Fortuner, Land Cruiser Prado and Land Cruiser 300.

Will the Hyryder sell as strongly as the outgoing Urban Cruiser?

The Urban Cruiser nameplate has been a hit with South African buyers.

Despite its time on the market coming to an end, the Urban Cruiser looks poised to finish 2022 as South Africa’s best-selling crossover. As many as 16 047 examples have been registered across the country over the first 11 months of the year, making it one of Toyota’s top-performing models locally.

Whether the Urban Cruiser Hyryder will be able to match these lofty sales figures remains to be seen, but its success will surely depend on just how sharply Toyota SA Motors is able to price the newcomer. If it costs only marginally more than the Urban Cruiser but offers similar kit and appreciably more space, the company may have yet another smash hit on its hands.

Fascinatingly, Suzuki Auto SA has yet to outright confirm the facelifted Brezza (revealed in India in June 2022 and ditching the Vitara prefix) for a local introduction, saying the current version will “continue to be sold in South Africa for this year and next year [2023]”, before adding “some model updates/changes are in the pipeline from mid-2023”.

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