In an ever-growing segment of compact SUVs, Toyota has made an emphatic entry with the Urban Cruiser ‘TaiSor’ – a car that combines crossover-like styling with the practical mindset of an urban customer.
26.83 lakh), and the Taisor is Toyota’s most significant model yet to try and woo the style- and budget-conscious of India who are now demanding more for a lot less; a taste of SUV but without the tyranny of size and expense.
Design Ingenuity: Urban Chic with Crossover Class
The Taisor quickly stands out due to its distinctive design language which walks the fine line between sportiness and elegance.
Based on the underpinnings of the Maruti Suzuki Fronx owing to Toyota’s alliance with Suzuki, the Taisor has some unique styling features to make a mark of its own.
Up front, an assertive grille design with triple-barrel LED headlamps, and at the rear, a connected LED light bar lend an upscale look with a hint of modernness.
At a length of 3995mm, width of 1765mm with a height of 1550mm, the Taisor finds its place in the compact crossover segment and decent ground clearance of about 190mm.
This careful sizing enables it to avail of the tax advantages for sub-4-meter cars in India, while still providing adequate interior room. The stance is set by a set of 16-inch alloy wheels that fill the arches well and help to give it that ‘urban SUV’ look.
Toyota is making the Taisor available in eight color choices, some of which are dual-tone with black roofs to compliment its sporty nature.
Particularly attention grabbing are the Lucent Orange and Sportin Red choices, showcasing off the fact that this vehicle is being marketed for the younger generation.
Powertrains: Something for Everyone
The Taisor’s numerous powertrains is one of its strong points, allowing the buyer to select his or her favored performance, fuel-efficiency, luxury and price category. Hankook’s tyres rounded out the top five and are impressive enough to be the choice for three separate engines:
The base variant comes with a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine which delivers 90 PS and 113 Nm and available with a 5-speed manual and 5-speed AMT. It’s a fair compromise of price and just-right power to zip around town.
For those who want a bit more get-up-and-go, the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine is the pick of the range.
Despite being downsized, this turbocharged engine offers 100 PS and a strong 148 Nm of torque for significantly punchier acceleration and improved highway cruising capabilities.
Drivers can choose between a 5-speed manual gearbox or a slick 6-speed torque converter auto that betters the driving experience.
Rounding off the range is a factory-fitted CNG variant with the 1.2-litre engine, generating 77 PS and 98.5 Nm of torque limited to a 5-speed manual gearbox. This version is aimed at the increasing demands of a more affordable and greener fuel options in the Indian auto industry.
The fuel consumption numbers are also very competitive in all cases. With the standard petrol engine, the percentage difference between the transmission variants is 5.1 and both with the same, the ARAI mileage is rated at 21.7kmpl (MT) and 22.8kmpl (AT).
The CNG version of the car takes it a step farthest and offers an astounding 28.5 kms/kg making it a great option for the price-conscious customer.
Comfort and Technology Inside
When you step into the Taisor, you’re met by a cabin designed with an eye for both comfort and technology.
The driver focused and user-friendly dashboard features a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system on the top-spec trims with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.
The inside space has been used well for a sub-4-meter car such that there is enough leg room and head room for the front passengers.
The rear seat provides very good comfort for two adult passengers, but those who are taller might feel a little short of headroom. The boot offers 308L of space which easily takes all your weekend bags and daily essentials.
Step up to upper trim levels and you can get more luxuries like automatic climate control, a head-up display that projects important information onto the windshield, wireless smartphone charging and connected car technology.
A 360-degree camera system on top trims also adds to the vehicle’s urban functionality and parking ease in tight quarters.
The seats are comfortable to sit on and give you good support – the higher-spec models get better fabric upholstery that makes the cabin look more upmarket.
Although not plushness leaders, the general quality of the cabin offers what we’ve come to expect from Toyota, which is durable and well-considered ergonomics.
Safety: Peace of Mind on the Road
Safety is now an important consideration for the Indian car buying public and the Taisor checks all the boxes with a complete range of features across its variants. On the standard safety front, the Sonet gets dual airbags, ABS with EBD and electronic stability control.
Higher trim levels raise the stakes with a maximum of six airbags and also a 360-degree camera system, rear parking sensors, and ISOFIX child seat anchors for advanced in-cabin safety for all occupants.
Although the Taisor is yet to be bombarded with a Bharat NCAP crash test, Toyota’s global standing for robustly built cars should provide peace of mind for safety-conscious buyers.
The electronic stability program is there to keep cars under control whenever you have to make an emergency manoeuvre, while the hill-hold assist (available with AT only) is there to make sure the vehicle does not roll backwards when you have started on a driver before you head down hill – a trivial but very encouraging feature for everyday driving.
Pricing and Variant Strategy
It’s placed right in the sweet spot Toyota has done its homework well when it comes to the pricing of the Taisor, which ranges from ₹7.74 lakh to ₹13.04 lakh (ex-showroom) across its various variants.
This broad spectrum prices the Taisor up against everything from top-shelf hatchbacks to more established compact SUVs.
The menu of variants is according to Toyota’s established naming hierarchy – E being the entry-level spec, followed up by the range-topping V-spec, with a pair of S-spec and a G version in between.
There are more features and enhancements with each incremental step up the variant ladder, and the turbo-petrol engine is exclusive to the higher trims in order to keep their premium positioning.
Competitively priced is the base E model with some basic features such as power windows and manual aircon.
For many, the mid-range S model will be the sweet spot in the lineup, as it includes the touchscreen infotainment system, automatic climate control and keyless entry.
The range-topping V trims in particular, particularly with the new turbo-petrol engine, are very well-equipped cars with all the bells and whistles like the head-up display, wireless charger, as well as some up-ticked safety bits.
The Toyota Advantage- What It’s Like To Own One.
Outside of the car, the ownership experience of the Toyota brand is also a large component of the Taisor’s appeal. Standard warranty of 3 years/100,000 km for new customers.
Furthermore, the strength of Toyota reputation for reliability and lower cost of maintenance enhance the ‘long run’ value equation.
The service network isn’t the most expansive of the bunch, but is reputed for quality and reliability. Toyota is increasingly reaching out to buyers in smaller cities and towns in its bid to make car ownership easier for those living beyond major urban areas.
What also adds to the ownership allure is the Taisor’s anticipated solid resale value – a well-known trait of Toyota cars in India.
This often balances out the slightly higher up front cost of purchase versus some competition and makes for a lower cost of ownership over the course of your vehicle’s life.
Competitive Landscape
The Taisor launches in a space that is very competitive, and is largely dominated by incumbents. It’s obvious rival is the Maruti Suzuki Fronx, as it shares the underpinnings with that car.
The choice between the two usually comes down to brand loyalty, styling variation or the perceived value of Toyota’s warranty and service reputation.
And sibling riallry aside, the Taisor also runs up against competition on several fronts. The upcoming Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger cater to a similar set of buyers with their aggressive pricing and the higher variants of the Taisor straddle the more premium names like Kia Sonet and Hyundai Venue. Every enemy has its strengths, be it in size, amenities or driving panache.
What makes the Taisor different in this crowded landscape is the combination of Toyota’s reputation for reliability, the many powertrain choices, and the equilibrium it strikes between more crossover-influenced styling and everyday usefulness.
The Driving Experience
Behind the wheel, the Taisor provides an experience that is in-keeping with its city crossover classification.
The suspension is geared for comfort over sportiness, but it absorbs road irregularities well while good body control is retained. Steering is light at low speeds, enabling easy city maneuvers, but it lacks a bit of feedback at highway speed.
Performance from the non-turbo 1.2 engine is adequate for town work and it delivers power quite smoothly and politely.
But it is the 1.0litre turbo-petrol that really works the Taisor, particularly in combination with the 6-speed automatic. The turbo kicks in with punchy acceleration, and has no trouble overtaking slower traffic on the highway.
The AMT gearbox is getting better with each generation, but it has a typical ‘head-nod’ you experience during gear-shifts that come with these kinds of gearboxes.
It’s perfectly sufficient for casual driving but lacks the smoothness of the torque converter automatic you get with the turbo engine.
NVH levels are well contained across the range and the turbo-petrol versions score individually too thanks to some additional sound insulation and sound dampening to add to the premium feel.
Wind and road racket are controlled at highway speeds, resulting in a surprisingly quiet experience behind the wheel for this class.
Min Fortuner Toyota Taisor new facelift : A contender in the crowded space
The Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor is a well-deployed entry into the sub-compact crossover category. It also neatly fuses a hatchback’s utilitarian virtues with the SUV-lite look and a feature list that will keep techheads happy.
The variety of powertrains help make the most of those different priorities — economy, performance, or alternative fuel capability.
In keeping with Toyota ethos, the Taisor won’t be the most flamboyant or potent vehicle in its segment. But rather than reaching for the moon, it aims to be good and sturdy for its owners for the long haul.
Half a moniker, but not half a vehicle; the Yaris is more aptly situated as the leader of the subcompact pack than the true subcompact itself Prices that’re a little bit “premium” compared to some competitors are justified mostly by the strong brand reputation of Toyota; what the vehicles lack in price they more than make up for in resale value.
Salient Features For those looking to get into a quaint crossover that has some flair but not too much compromise on practicality, and backed by one of the most reliable names in the market, then the Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor commands a good case for itself.
It’s not a segment shaker, but it’s a well thought out and executed car and one that is living up to Toyota’s attributes quite well and also bowing down to young India’s choices.
As the marketing tagline for the vehicle sums up in Toyota’s inimitable style, with Taisor “you have the confidence to listen to yourself and arrive in style” — an apt description for a vehicle that seeks to be both a practical daily companion and a statement of its owner’s personality.