Written by: Martin Ward
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 

The Urban Cruiser model line up is easy to follow, with just one model and two engines. The car we tested was fitted with a 1.3 VVT-i petrol engine that produces 101ps and is front wheel drive. The other engine is a 1.4 litre diesel that produces 90hp and is only available with 4WD.

 

The Urban Cruiser (or UC as Toyota like to call it) is based on the Yaris. It shares the same platform and also shares many components. The UC is 3,930mm in length and 1,525mm in height, whereas the Yaris is 3,780mm in length and 1,530mm in height so there is very little difference in dimensions. Other cars that may compete would be the Auris which is 4,220mm in length, Skoda Fabia which is 3,992mm in length, Vauxhall Meriva which is 4,052mm in length, Ford Fusion which is 4013mm in length and the latest competitor to the market, the Kia Soul which is 4,105mm in length.

 

The 1.3 VVT-i petrol is a very capable engine. It is quiet, very smooth and refined; it was also fitted with Toyota’s new stop/start system. As more and more of these systems come in to the market, we are finding there are some excellent ones to use and some that are less useable and disappointing. The Toyota ranks up there with some of the best. It fires up quickly and you are on the move in milliseconds, with no hesitation from the starter or engine. However, like all the systems, you have to be in an ideal world. You need the correct outside temperature, the air conditioning has to be on low, the radio turned down and in some cases the list goes on.

 

This car is certainly not the quickest we have driven. It did feel slow and seemed to be struggling on some of the hills around Yorkshire. The official 0-62mph figure sums it up at 12.5 seconds, which does not make it the slowest in its class but certainly not the quickest either. Fuel economy as expected was good but without an on board computer, we couldn’t get a reading. The official combined figure on paper is 51.4mpg and it has a Co2 emissions figure of 129g/km.

 

It is a very practical car with a good sized boot and the rear seats slide back and forth to create either more legroom or luggage space. The seats are comfortable and five adults can be seated easily with plenty of headroom.

 

The one big disadvantage Toyota seem to have with the Urban Cruiser is the starting price. Admittedly it has a reasonable amount of standard specification but compared to lead in prices of its competitors, it does look to be on the face of it, expensive. The Yaris starts at £8,955, the Auris at £12,900, the Fabia at £8,195, the Meriva at £11,235, the Fusion at £11,990 and the Soul at £10,495. You have to do spec for spec comparisons to get a more accurate picture of prices but a lead in price often attracts buyers into a showroom.

 

The price of the Urban Cruiser 1.3 VVT-i 2WD is £14,500 and the diesel 4WD is £16,500. This just seems a bit expensive for a car that is not remarkable and doesn’t appear to offer anything different.

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