Is the Toyota Urban Cruiser on its way to ASEAN?

It looks like Toyota will be launching more crossovers for the Southeast Asian market.

Late last year, we already received insider information that the Yaris Cross could make its way to the Philippines in Q1 of 2023. Unfortunately, it appears Toyota Motor Philippines had a change of mind and decided to delay its arrival since it’s already May and there’s no sight yet of the Yaris Cross on PH roads.

However, there could be another crossover SUV that might arrive in the Philippines - the Urban Cruiser Hyryder. First launched in India last July 2022, this crossover benefits from electrified powertrains and will supposedly debut in ASEAN very soon…or so they say.

According to a report by Indonesian publication Autonetmagz, they received an invitation from Toyota Astra Motor for the world premiere of “Toyota’s new Urban Cruiser Icon”. While the invitation could simply mean the ASEAN launch of the said crossover, we did notice how Toyota used the word “Urban Cruiser” to describe the upcoming vehicle. This could possibly mean that they will be launching something else entirely and not the actual Urban Cruiser.

Earlier this year, a new Vios-based crossover is reportedly being developed by Toyota and will be based on the DNGA platform. It will purportedly be called the Yaris Cross and will differ from the TNGA-based Yaris Cross that’s made in Japan. Codenamed project D03B, the reported “Yaris Cross” crossover will use the Vios DNGA platform as a base and will likely slot above the Raize.

When it comes to powertrain options, it will reportedly be available with a naturally-aspirated engine and a hybrid drivetrain. The former could supposedly use a 1.5-liter gasoline engine or a 1.5-liter that may be derived from the JDM Yaris Cross. There’s also the possibility that it will have the e-Smart Hybrid system which is basically Toyota’s version of the e-Power system currently being used by Nissan.

Other details about the upcoming crossover set to be revealed in Indonesia are still a mystery. But with only just a few days left before the big reveal, all we can do for now is wait and keep our eyes peeled for any possible leaks or new details to be divulged.