Toyota Urban Cruiser : URBAN TOY

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Toyota's Urban Cruiser aims to be the urban 4x4 you don't have to sneer at. Steve Walker reports

What makes a 4x4 a 4x4? Is it the way it looks or the presence of four-wheel-drive mechanicals and at least a modicum of off-road ability? If it's latter, Toyota's Urban Cruiser 4x4 is coming dangerously close to not being a 4x4 at all but that won't matter to buyers who choose it for its chunky appearance, low running costs and general suitability for modern urban life.

Driving a 4x4 in the city is often portrayed as the social equivalent of piloting a speedboat around your local swimming baths but the negative press hasn't deterred Toyota from developing and all-wheel-drive car specifically for use in town. With a name like Urban Cruiser, its purpose could hardly be any less ambiguous and the Japanese manufacturer is confident that it can shed the stigma that's often unfairly attached to its contemporaries. The boom in compact 4x4 vehicles has been a defining feature of the market in recent years and Toyota was one of the first to book a place on that particular bandwagon with its RAV4. Now mainstream marques that lack a compact 4x4 product of some description are extremely rare but with the Urban Cruiser, Toyota could be reprising its talent for being quick to plug a gap in the market. Smaller than a RAV4 and without the off-road pretensions, the Urban Cruiser is an intriguing prospect in the sub-compact 4x4 sector. There are two and four-wheel-drive versions of the Urban Cruiser and even the 4x4 models use the Active Torque Control transmission from the RAV4 which directs power exclusively to the front wheels until a loss of traction is detected. If the wheels spin on an icy road or a muddy car park, the system diverts drive to the rear in a bid to maintain forward progress. This means that, for the vast majority of the time in their native urban settings, all Urban Cruisers will run in two-wheel-drive mode. The engines are small and economical. A 1.3-litre Dual VVT-i unit producing 99bhp is laid on for 2WD customers, while those with a taste for diesel and four driven wheels get a 1.4-litre D-4D common-rail diesel with 89bhp. Both units come mated to a six-speed manual gearbox and achieve similar performance. The petrol engine can cover the 0-60mph trip in 12.5s and the diesel is 0.2s slower.

"Saying that all 4x4s are bad for the environment is like asserting that all cats are dangerous. Here's one that isn'tâ€¦."

The Urban Cruiser is clearly no off-roader. It sits close to the ground, offering little more clearance than a standard hatchback and rides on MacPherson strut front suspension with a simple torsion beam at the rear. It could hardly be further removed from Toyota's mighty Land Cruiser 4x4 but it's designed to fulfil a role that's the polar opposite of that occupied by the UN Peacekeepers' stalwart. The Urban Cruiser doesn't immediately say 4x4 when you clap eyes on it. The impression is more one of a pumped-up hatchback. Distinctive styling is not something Toyota is known for but the Urban Cruiser has it with those bulging wheel arches, the pronounced shoulder line and a front end that's chunkier than a Toblerone sandwich. At 3,930mm in length and 1,725mm wide, the Urban Cruiser is certainly a compact customer but the long wheelbase of 2,460mm helps to deliver acceptable levels of interior space. A boot of 314 litres isn't bad and the 60:40 split rear seats up capacity to 749 litres when lowered. Inside the Urban Cruiser, there's a little more sparkle than in recent Toyota efforts but not too much. The novel instrument display is modelled on a radar screen and incorporates speedometer and tachometer dials within the same circle, secondary displays being then positioned to either side. The 2WD version features Toyota's Easy Flat seating system which allows the seats to slide, recline and fold but the presence of a transmission tunnel precludes the 4x4 models from utilising this feature. Standard equipment levels on the Urban Cruiser run to climate control, 16" alloy wheels, privacy glass, keyless entry and start, retractable door mirrors and a six speaker stereo with wheel-mounted controls. It's positioned in the market below the compact 4x4s like Toyota's own RAV4 and the Nissan X-Trail, alongside models that make little or no pretence at off-road ability, concentrating instead on rugged urban style. The Nissan Qashqai and Dodge Caliber spring to mind as obvious rivals. The Urban Cruiser's tough looks lead you to expect a certain ruggedness should the worst come to the worst. Sure enough, the body structure incorporates Toyota's Minimal Intrusion Cabin System which works to absorb impacts, distributing the forces around the vehicle and preserving the integrity of the passenger compartment. Seven airbags are fitted as standard which is impressive in a car of this size and active head restraints protect against whiplash. ABS, Brake Assist, brakeforce distribution, stability control and traction control are also standard, making this one of the best equipped small cars around from a safety perspective. Saying that all 4x4s are bad for the environment is like asserting that all cats are dangerous. At one extreme you have Tigers with their big pointy teeth and huge V8 luxury 4x4s that are used exclusively for shopping or collecting the kids from school. Toyota is intent on installing its Urban Cruiser at completely the other end of the spectrum alongside the fluffiest kittens. To do this it has installed advanced, fuel efficient engines; the 1.4-litre D-4D unit returns 57.7mpg on the combined cycle with 130g/km CO2 emissions (so the lowest emissions of any four-wheel drive car using an internal combustion engine) and the 1.3-litre petrol gets 51.4mpg and 129g/km with the aid of its Stop and Start technology. Toyota's Stop and Start system is simple but effective. When you come to a standstill in a traffic jam or at the lights, put the car in neutral and lift off the clutch, this causes the engine to stop. Depress the clutch and it instantly restarts so you can move off. In an urban setting where sitting motionless in traffic with your engine ticking over is the default state, the system has the capacity to save significant amounts of fuel, lowering emissions in the process. Toyota's Land Cruiser has won countless admirers down the years for its substance over style approach and monumental off-road ability. The marque's Urban Cruiser couldn't really be more different. Available in front-wheel-drive or with a part-time 4x4 set-up that only sends power to the rear when slip is detected, this is no off-roader - but does that matter? Fuel-efficient, strongly built and with sturdy foursquare looks that suggest a certain degree of shielding from the urban jungle, the Urban Cruiser is a sub-compact 4x4 built around the needs of the sector's buyers. What could make more sense than that? There are issues surrounding the 4x4 Urban Cruiser models which carry around a heavy 4x4 system that they may never need but with the kind of economy the vehicle returns, it can be forgiven this. Toyota's effort definitely offers an attractive alternative to a mainstream hatch thanks to its elements of 4x4 practicality and style. Any injection of style into manufacturer's product portfolio should be commended.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Toyota Urban Cruiser
PRICES: £14,520-£16,420 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 4
CO2 EMISSIONS: 129-130g/km
PERFORMANCE: [1.4 D-4D] Top Speed 133mph / 0-60mph 12.7s [est]
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.4 D-4D] (combined) 57.7mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Seven airbags, active head restraints, ABS, Brake Assist, brakeforce distribution, stability control, traction control
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/heightmm 3930/1725/1540mm