Toyota introduces the Urban Cruiser compact electric SUV
The Urban Cruiser is a further development of the Urban SUV Concept and is based on a new platform for battery-electric vehicles. It is available in two LFP battery variants with 49 and 61 kWh and with a choice of front-wheel or all-wheel drive. The 49 kWh battery is only available in combination with front-wheel drive; the electric motor in this version has an output of 106 kW.
A version with a 61 kWh battery and 128 kW motor output is also available for the front-wheel drive model. The all-wheel drive version with a 61 kWh battery has an output of 135 kW. The new Toyota Urban Cruiser will make its debut at the Brussels Motor Show in January 2025 and will be available in Germany in the summer of 2025.
The vehicle data does not come as a surprise, because the Urban Cruiser is the result of a cooperation between Toyota and Suzuki. The smaller Japanese manufacturer had already presented the Suzuki e Vitara at the beginning of November, which offers exactly the same drive system. Like Suzuki, Toyota has not yet specified a WLTP range or charging capacity. The only thing that is clear is the published photos: As with the bZ4X, the charging port is located at the front left between the driver’s door and the front wheel.
But there is some information about the platform itself. The structure manages without cross members in the floor, ‘so that more space is available for the battery’. In this way, the Japanese were also able to use the cheaper and more robust LFP cell chemistry, which has a lower energy density than NMC cells, with a wheelbase of 2.70 metres. Especially in compact vehicles (the Urban Cruiser is 4.28 metres long), the space between the axles for the battery is often limited. The platform is also designed to be ‘stable yet lightweight’, creating the conditions for a spacious interior, according to Toyota. In fact, the rear bench can be moved, offering a certain degree of flexibility.
In the all-wheel drive version, the 128 kW electric motor on the front axle is supplemented by a 48 kW motor on the rear axle. Although its power output seems rather low, Toyota promises ‘confident and safe handling on loose and slippery surfaces and thus a reassuring driving experience in difficult conditions’. To underpin the electric SUV’s off-road credentials, there is also a hill descent assistant and a trail mode: if a wheel is spinning, it is braked and the drive torque is transferred to the opposite wheel. The front-wheel drive models also have a snow mode, which controls the drive torque to reduce the risk of spinning wheels on snow-covered roads.
The Toyota Urban Cruiser will make its debut at the Brussels Motor Show in January 2025 and will be available in Germany in the summer of 2025. Toyota has not yet announced prices.
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