Toyota Urban Cruiser: new small SUV covers 250 miles on a charge

On sale Winter 2025 | Price from £36,000 (est)

Like Jurassic Park, Matlock and Star Wars, the new Toyota Urban Cruiser is a reboot of something that’s come before. Where the previous Urban Cruiser was a fairly underwhelming SUV, however, this rebooted version is bang up to date. 

Based on the Urban SUV concept revealed in 2023, the new model will be the sister car to the Suzuki e Vitara, with the two cars sharing their underpinnings, batteries and motors. 

Key rivals will be as numerous as a blockbuster-filled cinema, including models such as the Hyundai Kona Electric, Jeep Avenger and Smart #1, plus upcoming entries like the Ford Puma Gen-E.

The Urban Cruiser sports a similar look to the existing Yaris Cross hybrid SUV, including that car’s black body cladding around its lower edges, which is designed to emphasise its rufty tufty nature. Yet it has a very distinct look from the new Toyota C-HR+ and refreshed 2026 Toyota bZ4X – the two larger electric SUVs in the firm’s range.

The Urban Cruiser's colour palette will include bi-tone paint options, allowing drivers to have a contrasting roof and body, and alloy wheels of up to 19in in diameter.

Two battery sizes will be offered, with entry-level models using a 49kWh battery (total capacity) which sends its power to the front wheels via a single 142bhp motor. The larger 61kWh battery ups that power to 172bhp.

While a four-wheel drive version with more power and modes to make it easier to climb and descend hills, plus a snow mode, will be offered elsewhere, it’s a version that will be denied to UK buyers.

The Urban Cruiser will match the Suzuki e Vitara’s driving range, with the 49kWh model capable of 186 miles under official figures. The 61kWh battery ups this to 250 miles, which is slightly less than the #1 can cover in Pro+ form, but is similar to the official range of the Jeep Avenger.

All versions of the Urban Cruiser come with a heat pump as standard, which allows for more efficient pre-heating of the battery and interior, helping you to go further in colder conditions. In our What Car? winter range test, we found that cars fitted with a heat pump could be around 5% more efficient than those without.

In our test, which involved driving identical versions of the Volkswagen ID 7 electric saloon both with and without a pump, we covered an extra 14 miles in the car with the pump compared to the one without before we ran out of range.

We’ve sat in the Urban Cruiser, and found the interior stylish, with a good use of mostly attractive and tactile materials. The low-set driving position feels good, and there’s a good mix of physical controls. 

Rear leg room is impressive, thanks in part to an increased wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear wheels) over the Yaris Cross. The rear seat bases split 50:50 to vary leg room and boot space, and with the seats pushed all the way back, there’s space for a six-foot passenger to sit behind a six-foot driver. The lack of a gearbox tunnel in the rear means there’s plenty of foot space, too.

Three trim options will be available: Icon, Design and Excel. Entry-level Icon trim comes with a number of features as standard, including Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring through a 10.1 touchscreen, a 10.25 digital instrument display, a rear view camera and driving assist technologies such as adaptive cruise control and lane assist

Mid-level Design trim models get a heated steering wheel, heated front seats and door mirrors, as well as rear air vents.

Top-of-the-range Excel trim comes exclusively with the larger 61kWh battery, and includes a JBL sound system, a panoramic roof, adaptive LED headlights and a wireless smartphone charging pad.

A 360deg parking camera, electric seats and a fixed sunroof will be available as options.

Like Toyota’s other cars, the Urban Cruiser benefits from the brand’s 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty if you service at your local dealer. In addition, Toyota’s battery warranty provides cover for up to 650,000 miles.

While prices have yet to be announced, we’d expect the Urban Cruiser to command a small premium over its e Vitara stablemate. At around £36,000, the new Toyota would be slightly more expensive than its Kona Electric and #1 rivals

Read more: Best and worst electric SUVs >>

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