Recently, the Japanese automaker revealed the Toyota Rumion MPV for the South African market. It’s essentially the re-badged version of the 7-seater Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. Now, the company has filed trademark application for the Toyota Rumion nameplate in India. It hints that the 7-seater MPV will be introduced in India with the same nameplate. The automaker will first roll out the Maruti Ciaz based sedan (Toyota Belta) as a replacement to the discontinued Yaris. The Ertiga based MPV will make its way to Toyota’s showrooms in coming months.
Design and styling of the Toyota Rumion MPV is similar to the Ertiga. Though, it receives minor cosmetic changes including a newly-designed front grille with a Toyota’s signature badge. The body panels, alloy wheels and other design elements are carried over from the Maruti Ertiga.
Interior layout and features are also identical to the Ertiga. What differentiates both models is the black interior theme with wooden trim. It continues to feature a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and navigation, rear parking camera, leather wrapped steering wheel, automatic climate control, height adjustable driver’s seat and more.
Powering the Toyota Rumion 7-seater MPV is the same 1.5L, 4-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine benefited with the SHVS mild hybrid technology. The gasoline unit pushes out a peak power of 103bhp and 138Nm of torque. It can be had with either a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed torque convertor automatic transmission.
Talking about Toyota’s future plan, the Japanese carmaker is working on a mid-size SUV that will be developed under its partnership with Suzuki. The model is reported to come with the ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) and connected car technology. Here, it will lock horns against the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq and the newly-launched MG Astor and Volkswagen Taigun.
