Toyota has applied to trademark the Urban Cruiser Taisor badge in India, leading to renewed speculation a fresh Suzuki-based model will soon slot in below the latest Urban Cruiser…

Since the current Toyota Urban Cruiser is larger and more expensive than the version it replaced, a bit of a gap has opened up right below it. But if a new trademark application in India is anything to go by, that space will soon be filled by a fresh-faced model called the Urban Cruiser Taisor.

As uncovered by Autocar India, Toyota filed to trademark the Urban Cruiser Taisor badge on 8 August 2023. Of course, the Japanese firm’s Indian division applied to register the Taisor badge (note, sans “Urban Cruiser” prefix) back in June 2022, but after checking the Intellectual Property India website, we discovered the status is now – rather fascinatingly – listed as “opposed”.

Toyota’s recent trademark application in India (as per IPI website).

So, what do we know about the Urban Cruiser Taisor? Well, while there’s virtually no official information available, reports suggest this new model will be based on the Suzuki Fronx (as part of the automakers’ wide-reaching alliance), a Baleno-based coupé-style crossover that recently arrived in South Africa. It would thus measure less than 4 metres long and be based on Suzuki’s Heartect platform, perhaps benefitting from a few choice styling tweaks (like the latest Starlet is differentiated from the Baleno).

Just as the Fronx will fill much of the space left by the Vitara Brezza in South Africa (once stock of the now-discontinued model is depleted), the new Taisor is expected to pick up where the old Urban Cruiser left off. From our perspective, that makes it exceedingly likely to be offered here in South Africa.

The new Suzuki Fronx will arrive in South Africa soon.

Why? Well, the previous Urban Cruiser was a smash hit with local buyers, finishing 2022 on 16 992 sales and claiming 3rd place on the list of South Africa’s best-selling passenger vehicles (behind only the Volkswagen Polo Vivo and Suzuki Swift). Since the new version – which launched locally in late-April 2023 – is bigger and somewhat more expensive (now priced from R329 400), it hasn’t enjoyed quite the same success.

While sales in May 2023 (the new model’s first full month on the market) came in at 713 units, that figure fell to 281 units in June before rising to 382 units in July. Of course, it’s early days in this model’s lifecycle (and one should never rule out production or supply issues), but its current monthly average of 459 units is far off the old Urban Cruiser’s 1416-unit average achieved in 2022.

The upcoming Taisor could play a similar role to that of the old Urban Cruiser.

In India, the as-yet-unrevealed Toyota is likely to be offered with the same engines as the Fronx, which in that market uses either a turbocharged 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder engine or a naturally aspirated 1.2-litre, four-cylinder unit. Of course, once the Fronx makes local landfall, we’ll have a better idea of what could power the Urban Cruiser Taisor should it come to South Africa.

Toyota has yet to announce a reveal date for the new Urban Cruiser Taisor (or indeed confirm its existence), but reports from India suggest the unveiling isn’t far off…

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