The Toyota Starlet Facelift was revealed earlier today. Here’s what’s changed, plus an estimated arrival time in SA.

In case you were not aware, the Toyota Starlet is one of many products which are the result of a collaboration between Toyota and Suzuki. Essentially, it’s a badge-engineering exercise, with the mechanicals being mostly Suzuki. Products like the Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Suzuki Ertiga have Toyota-badged equivalents, while the Toyota Corolla Sports Tourer and RAV4 now have Suzuki equivalents. The Suzuki Baleno is the Toyota Starlet.

These are notofficial press images, but low-res examples that appear to have been sourced from a brochure.

Back to the Starlet. Badged as the Toyota Glanza in India where it is made, this compact hatchback arrived in SA as a replacement for the ageing Etios. It has been a solid performer in the sales charts, with over 1000 units sold every month.

Visually, the Toyota Starlet Facelift gets a bold new look with an updated front grille with chrome detailing, redesigned LED project headlights, new-look front bumper, new LED tail lights and redesigned 16-inch alloy wheels. Inside, the cabin gains a two-tone black and beige interior theme with gloss back inserts on the dashboard.

There’s a new 9-inch touchscreen that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but Toyota has also fitted a voice assistant that can be activated by ‘Hey Toyota’. Other noteworthy features are the 360-degree camera, automatic climate control, heads-up display and rear air conditioner vents. As far as safety features go, there are up to 6 airbags, hill-hold assist, anti-lock brakes, and reverse camera to name but a few.

As far as engines go, the Indian-spec Toyota Starlet Facelift comes with a 1.2-litre petrol engine which produces 65 kW and 113 Nm. Power goes to the front wheels via a 5-speed manual gearbox, with the option of a 5-speed AMT.

We suspect that our market won’t get this engine, based on Suzuki SA confirming the new Baleno’s engine to be a more powerful 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated 4-cylinder engine now delivering 77 kW and 138 Nm.

Now the race is on to see which car company will get its product to South Africa the quickest. Suzuki SA has said its updated Baleno will be hitting showrooms in June 2022. We suspect the Toyota Starlet will be arriving at a similar time.

Further Reading

2022 Suzuki Baleno revealed

Where would Toyota be without Suzuki – sales figure analysis