Is Toyota's new bargain electric car coming to Australia? 2025 Toyota Urban Cruiser is a Suzuki e Vitara clone bound for the UK but BYD Atto 3 and MG ZS EV fighter is yet to be confirmed for Oz

Toyota has revealed its latest electric car, the Urban Cruiser. 

The new model is twinned with the Suzuki e Vitara, a crucial model for the smaller Japanese brand to keep a foot-hold in Europe as emissions regulations tighten. It’s the same recipe for much larger Toyota, which needs more EVs than just the bZ4X to survive. 

The Urban Cruiser will make its physical debut at the 2025 Brussels Motor Show and go on-sale in the UK in the third quarter of 2025. Toyota Australia is yet to announce local plans for the Urban Cruiser. It is the same story for Suzuki’s e Vitara. 

“The new Urban Cruiser is an exciting next step on Toyota’s electrification journey. At Toyota Australia, we’re always looking to expand our product offerings to customers but we have nothing to announce today,” a Toyota Australia spokesperson told CarsGuide. 

India will be an important market for the new Urban Cruiser, so expect it to be priced competitively at its release.

Measuring 4285mm long, 1800mm wide, 1640mm tall and riding on a 2700mm wheelbase, the new Urban Cruiser is a half-size up from the Yaris Cross hybrid, currently Toyota’s smallest SUV in Australia. 

Based on Suzuki’s Heartect-e architecture, which was a combustion platform coverted to EV rather than Toyota’s e-TNGA, the Urban Cruiser comes with either a 49kWh or 61kWh battery. 

Driving ranges are yet to be confirmed overseas, however a small-ish SUV with those battery capacities should be able to achieve up to 350km for the smaller pack and 440km from the larger. 

2025 Toyota Urban Cruiser

A front-mounted electric motor delivers 106kW and 189Nm in 49kWh models while the 61kWh Urban Cruiser gets a power bump to 128kW while torque remains at 189Nm — don’t expect hair raising acceleration. 

Toyota will offer a twin-motor Urban Cruiser with a 48kW rear electric motor bringing combined outputs to 135kW and 300Nm. Like the bZ4X, Toyota’s new model will feature on off-road cruise control known as Downhill Assist Control (DAC) along with a Trail drive mode. 

Charging speeds peak at 150kW (DC), which should see the Urban Cruiser recuperate 10-80 per cent in less than 30 minutes. 

Inside, there’s a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display that blends into the 10.1-inch multimedia touchscreen. The Urban Cruiser’s cabin is not tied to other Toyota products visually, though uses the same peculiar shift-by-wire gear selector as the larger bZ4X. 

2025 Toyota Urban Cruiser

Making the most of the compact dimensions, the rear seats slide forwards and backwards and the Urban Cruiser has a 40:20:40 split-fold back rest.

Premium trims will feature niceties such as a JBL sound system, sunroof and power seat adjustment. 

Suggesting the Urban Cruiser will come to Australia is a trademark filing valid until 2027, although it was approved back in 2008 when the Japanese market Ist was imported to Europe as the Urban Cruiser. No plans are confirmed yet. 

In the UK, Toyota’s new Urban Cruiser is expected to start under £35,000, or nearly A$70,000. 

To be competitive with fierce rivals from China, such as the MG4 and incoming S5 EV, the BYD Atto 3 and Dolphin and GWM Ora, Toyota would need to drastically cut the Urban Cruiser’s price to a sub-$50,000 start in Australia.