The outgoing Toyota Urban Cruiser will be replaced by the larger Hyryder in South Africa, though it won’t wear that badge in the local market. Here’s a look at what we can expect…

Toyota has finally confirmed our suspicions that the Hyryder is coming to South Africa, announcing the latest Indian-built crossover will replace the outgoing Urban Cruiser (and indeed inherit its predecessor’s name) in the local market.

The Japanese firm’s local division made the announcement at its 6th annual State of the Motor Industry (SOMI 2023) event, held at Kyalami in Gauteng. The new vehicle was displayed on stage at the event, where Toyota SA Motors also revealed its new Vitz, a rebadged Suzuki Celerio set to replace the Agya.

The Hyryder will be badged simply as the new “Urban Cruiser” in South Africa, despite the fact it’s considerably larger than its forebear (and wears the Hyryder suffix in India). Toyota SA Motors plans to release the fresh-faced model in the 2nd quarter of 2023.

As a reminder, news of the Urban Cruiser’sshock axingfirst emerged in November 2022. Despite this, it achieved 3rd place on the list of SA’s best-selling passenger vehicles in 2022, with a total of 16 992 registrations.

As we pointed out in our earlier story predicting the Hyryder’s eventual arrival on local soil, the newcomer is yet another product of Toyota’s global alliance with Suzuki. It was developed by Suzuki alongside the closely related new Grand Vitara but is produced by Toyota Kirloskar Motor 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.

Family clash?

You may be wondering where the popular Toyota Corolla Cross fits into the scheme of things and at face value, you may think the two products are potentially rivals. Expected pricing suggests otherwise.

MORE: Browse the latest Toyota price and specs here

At the time of writing (February 2023), the locally built Corolla Cross range started from R371 200, while the outgoing Toyota Urban Cruiser retailed for just R283 200.

Measuring 4 365 mm from bow to stern, the Hyryder is 370 mm longer than the outgoing Urban Cruiser, while its wheelbase is 100 mm lengthier at 2 600 mm. That puts the Hyryder fairly close in size to the locally produced Corolla Cross which is 4 460 mm long and has a wheelbase of 2 640 mm.

However, we expect Toyota SA Motors to be particularly shrewd with the new model’s engine options and specification list to minimise any overlap.

Features and powertrains

That means it won’t (at first, that is) employ the relatively expensive hybrid powertrains that do duty in the Indian-spec Hyryder. Instead, we’d speculate the new Urban Cruiser will again use Suzuki’s K15B naturally aspirated 1.5-litre petrol mill to power the front axle.

Toyota SA Motors says the new model will feature a “an all-new SUV design, a larger body with more space, increased safety specification, climate control, cruise control and a reverse camera”.

In India, the Hyryder is electrified thanks to Toyota’s 4th-generation hybrid system. Peaks of 68 kW and 122 Nm from the 1.5-litre motor combine with an electric motor, giving a total system output of 85 kW and 141 Nm. Impressively, Toyota India claims it has a pure electric range of up to 25 km.

Another engine offered in that market is the 1.5-litre mild-hybrid petrol, which features an integrated starter generator. This powertrain produces 75 kW and 137 Nm. As far as transmissions go, the full hybrid gets what Toyota calls its “e-drive” CVT, while the mild-hybrid features either a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed torque converter. All-wheel drive is offered, too.

Some of the features on offer in India include niceties such as a panoramic sunroof, 17-inch alloy wheels, wireless smartphone charger, head-up display, 360-degree parking camera and the ability to activate certain remote functions like climate control through your smart device.

A source closed to Cars.co.za suggests our local derivatives could lose some features in order to prevent the new Urban Cruiser overlapping too much with the locally built Corolla Cross. In addition, the hybrid derivatives won’t be available initially, surely in an effort to keep the price competitive.

If the company manages to keep the price down while offering similar or better levels of standard kit (and appreciably more space) than the outgoing model, it will surely have another impressive volume driver on its hands.

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