Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Maruti Suzuki India are ready to foray into the highly competitive mid-size SUV segment in coming months. Both carmakers have jointly developed new SUVs that will share their platform, engines, design elements and features. While the upcoming Toyota mid-size SUV will be named Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, the new Maruti SUV is reported to be called Maruti Vitara.
The new mid-size SUV from Toyota will make its world debut on 1st July and its launch might happen in August or September. Maruti Suzuki’s new SUV will hit roads near around 2022 festive season. Toyota’s Karnataka based plant will serve as production hub for both models. Both SUVs will enter into production in the month of August.
Under the hood, the upcoming Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Maruti Vitara will feature a 1.5L K15C Dualjet petrol engine. While the lower variants will be available with the mild hybrid technology, the higher trims will get strong/full-hybrid system. The new SUVs will come with the FWD (front-wheel-drive) and AWD (all-wheel-drive) system options. Reports suggest that the FWD and self charging system will be exclusively offered with the strong hybrid powertrain.
Interestingly, the new Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Maruti Vitara will be the first cars in their segments to offer AWD drivertrian. There will be two gearboxes on offer a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed torque convertor automatic. The strong hybrid model will have e-CVT gearbox as we have seen in the newly-launched Honda City Hybrid.
If reports are to be believed, the new Toyota and Maruti Suzuki mid-size SUVs will be designed on Suzuki’s Global-C platform that underpins the Brezza and the global-spec Vitara SUV. Design and styling of both models will be slightly different.
More details on the upcoming new Toyota and Maruti Suzuki SUVs are likely to be revealed in near future. Stay tuned to IndiaCarNews.
