The latest product of badge engineering between Toyota and Maruti Suzuki is here. Called the Urban Cruiser Taisor, the compact SUV is based on the Maruti Suzuki Fronx with prices starting at Rs 7.74 lakh for the naturally-aspirated petrol engine variants and Rs 10.56 lakh for the turbo-petrol variants. It is also available with CNG option in a single variant priced at Rs 8.72 lakh (all ex-showroom prices).
Toyota has done a few design tweaks to differentiate it from the Fronx. The design of the grille, DRLs, alloys and tail lamp get slight revision. On the inside, the cabin uses a dual-theme for the interiors. It gets features like a 9-inch infotainment screen, heads-up display, 360-degree camera and more. The automatic variants with the turbo-petrol engine also get paddle-shifters.
The engine options are the same as the Fronx and include a 1.2-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine (90PS and 113Nm) with optional factory-fitted CNG kit (77.5PS and 98.5Nm), and a 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine (100.06PS and147.6Nm). There are three transmission options on offer – 5-speed manual, 5-speed AMT (NA petrol only) and 6-speed automatic (turbo-petrol only).
Apart from the Maruti Suzuki Fronx, the Taisor will compete against the Renault Kiger, Nissan Magnite, Tata Punch and Hyundai Exter.