Toyota has unveiled the Urban Cruiser, Europe’s version of the 4WD Japanese-market ist. The same car, with a slightly different face and FWD, is sold here in the US as the Scion xD. The 5-passenger hatch slots neatly below the upwardly mobile RAV4, and Toyota hopes its compact dimensions prove to be a hit with European car buyers. No drivetrain specifics have been released except to say that 4WD will be available. The JDM ist can be had with 1.5L and 1.8L gasoline engines, so you can begin your guessing game there. Given that this is Europe’s version, perhaps a small diesel could be in the cards as well — we’ll just have to wait and see what Toyota comes up with. Whatever finds its way behind the car’s bulldog face is expected to emit under 140 g/km of CO2. And speaking of that face, we wish it was also on the US-market Scion — the Toyota’s simply the better-looking car of the two. Look for the Urban Cruiser to hit the market in 2009, with additional details likely to surface closer to launch.
The vehicle was first previewed with a concept over two years ago, but it has changed considerably in terms of exterior styling on the road to production.
“The new Urban Cruiser is designed as an aspirational urban SUV that is very close in spirit to the discontinued three-door RAV4 with its compact dimensions, clever packaging, practicality and four-wheel drive transmission,” the company said in a press release.
Jom komen!