Toyota's new Urban Cruiser gets European premiere

The new Toyota Urban Cruiser is an environmentally responsible, small sports utility vehicle (SUV) aimed at the urban all-roader market.

Presented at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month, the Toyota Urban Cruiser is the design preview of the production model that will be introduced in the first half of 2009.

The new Toyota Urban Cruiser will be launched into the small SUV market, a segment that has virtually doubled in size since 2002. It provides a thoughtful answer to the consumer desires for SUVs and for low fuel bills and CO2 emissions.

The new Urban Cruiser meets these demands with contemporary five-door styling and projected low CO2 emissions below the 140g/km threshold.

The Urban Cruiser draws on Toyota's rich heritage of successful SUVs. The first Toyota SUV, the legendary Land Cruiser off-roader, was launched in 1951. While the new Urban Cruiser embodies all of Toyota's SUV past, it also represents the very latest in a line of compact SUVs, a market segment that Toyota created with the original RAV4 back in 1994.

The new Urban Cruiser is an aspirational urban SUV very close to the spirit of the discontinued three-door RAV4 model with its compact dimensions, packaging, practicality and four-wheel drive transmission.

The Urban Cruiser measures 3,930mm in length and is 1,725mm wide and 1,540mm tall. While the compact dimensions make it ideal for handling city streets, the Urban Cruiser has spacious accommodation for five people and ample luggage space.

The high belt line, additional bumper protection, prominent lower doorsills, and freeform geometrics that describe the muscular wheel arches provide the Urban Cruiser with a robust appearance.

Headlamps reach backwards from the front grille and outwards into the wings, further accentuating the car's wide tough road stance while adding to the car's up-market city appeal. The Urban Cruiser will be available in Malta next year. For more information on the Urban Cruiser and the current Toyota range visit the new Toyota showroom in Notabile Road, Zebbuġ.