2010 Toyota Urban Cruiser in Depth

[Plex]

* Distinctive new model in a growing market segment
* Targeting customers with active lifestyles
* Distinctive design � rugged exterior, refined interior
* Compact, urban-friendly dimensions
* Class-leading CO2 emissions with no-compromise driving dynamics



The new Toyota Urban Cruiser brings together three key attributes in a unique package: Toyota's proven expertise in rugged, all-road vehicle design, the comfort and versatility of a compact hatchback; and class-leading fuel economy and CO2 emissions, achieved with Toyota Optimal Drive technology.

Its robust design incorporates Toyota's Active Torque Control all-wheel drive system and high levels of occupant safety. It provides strong on-road traction and confidence-inspiring stability and agility in all weather conditions.

Urban Cruiser's dimensions are compact and urban-friendly, benefiting from state-of-the-art Toyota packaging know-how, honed in models such as iQ and Yaris. It has all the five-seat spaciousness, practicality and loadspace flexibility of ingenious compact cars, reflecting the diverse lifestyles and requirements of today's B-segment customers.

It also addresses market demand for environmentally responsible vehicles, with Toyota Optimal Drive technology delivering low fuel consumption and emissions without compromising Urban Cruiser's performance and driving dynamics.

Urban Cruiser will go on sale in the UK and Europe in May. The European objective for first full-year sales is more than 25,000 units, with AWD versions accounting for 30 per cent of the total. Toyota expects to sell approximately 2,500 Urban Cruisers in the UK in its first full-year of sales.

A distinctive new car in a diverse segment

New Urban Cruiser has been designed for Europe's highly competitive B-segment market, which has recently fragmented into several sub-segments. These sub-segments have more than doubled in size since 2002, growth driven by an increasingly diverse cross-section of customers who want more distinctive vehicles that fit in with their lifestyles.

Active lifestyle customer base

Urban Cruiser is designed for customers who are dissatisfied with conventional B-segment hatchbacks and want a vehicle that better expresses their individuality. Typically these people are singles and couples in their 30s and 40s. Urban Cruiser customers will include a significant number who combine an active lifestyle with a high level of environmental awareness but who are not willing to compromise on style.

Distinctive design: rugged exterior, refined interior

Urban Cruiser meets the needs of its target customers with a stylish design that combines the rugged good looks of an all-roader within a compact, urban friendly package. The high quality interior provides five-seat spaciousness, practicality, versatility and a flexible load space, together with more comfort and refinement than is usual in the segment.

Compact, urban-friendly dimensions

Urban Cruiser is 3,930mm long, 1,725mm wide and 1,525mm tall (1,540 with AWD). These dimensions make it ideal for city streets, but in spite of its compact size, its long, 2,460mm wheelbase means there is plenty of room for five on board and ample luggage space.

Driving performance is agile, stable and firmly balanced, qualities that are further improved in the 1.4 D-4D model with AWD.

Class-leading CO2 emissions with no-compromise driving dynamics

The application of Toyota Optimal Drive technology enables Urban Cruiser to meet the growing demand for socially responsible vehicles. With CO2 emissions that fall within the 130g/km threshold, it responds to the introduction of emissions-based vehicle taxation, yet still provides a dynamic, enjoyable driving experience both around town and out on the open road.

Urban Cruiser is available with a choice of two highly efficient new engines: a 100bhp (101 DIN hp) 1.33-litre Dual VVT-i petrol engine with Stop & Start technology and an 89bhp (90 DIN hp) 1.4-litre D-4D diesel. The latter is available in the UK exclusively with an AWD powertrain, producing CO2 emissions of 130g/km � the world's lowest level for any all-wheel driven passenger car. Urban Cruiser 1.33 Stop & Start produces CO2 emissions of ?129g/km.

Design

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Rugged styling in the Toyota all-road vehicle tradition
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Aerodynamically efficient, Cd 0.315
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High quality interior styled at Toyota's ED2 European design studio
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Spacious, flexible and practical


Rugged styling in the Toyota all-road vehicle tradition

Urban Cruiser combines the rugged, muscular appearance of a Toyota all-roader with compact dimensions and five-door practicality.

Its striking looks meet the demands of customers for a car that stands out from the crowd. A high belt line, prominent lower doorsills and muscular wheelarches accentuate the robust stance. Emphasising the car's tough urban credentials, underbody components are finished in black, including the front and rear bumper underguards and side rocker panel mouldings. For an even tougher look, a body kit is available for the entire underbody section.

Urban Cruiser features a number of frontal design elements that instantly identify it as a member of the Toyota family, including a large horizontal bar integrated in the front grille; headlamps that are pulled back and outwards into the wings; and a deep, sculpted front bumper with integrated foglamps.

In profile, the vehicle's rugged appearance is further reinforced by the prominent wheelarches, broad shoulder surfaces and deep door panels. The large, body-coloured door mirrors are designed for optimum aerodynamic performance and low wind noise, and give excellent rearward visibility.

The broad rear stance is accentuated by a low-profile rear window, powerfully sculpted bodywork, a wide track and wide tyres. The rear combination lamps have integrated foglights and feature two-tone red and white outer lenses. A high-mounted LED stop light is incorporated into the tailgate trim.

Sixteen-inch alloy wheels with a high gloss finish are fitted as standard.

Aerodynamic performance

In spite of its rugged exterior design, Urban Cruiser displays admirable aerodynamic characteristics, with a drag coefficient of 0.315. This was made possible by careful tuning of the airflow over the bodywork, in particular the 'pagoda' roof and rear spoiler. The angle of the roof sides was optimised and the lower section of the front bumper and the door mirrors was shaped for optimum aerodynamic performance. Adding front and rear wheel spats has significantly reduced air turbulence in the wheelarches.

High quality interior

Urban Cruiser's interior was designed at Toyota's European Design Studio ED2. Its quality and refinement are unprecedented in the B-segment all-road market.

The strong horizontal emphasis of the dashboard emphasises the bright spaciousness of the interior design. Its careful integration with the concave door trim surfaces also adds to the vehicle's class-leading occupant safety attributes.

The speedometer and tachometer are combined in a concentric circle and covered by a smoked glass plate with a non-reflective coating, giving the impression of a high-tech radar screen. A gear shift indicator shows the optimum gear change points to help the driver achieve the best fuel consumption and emissions performance.

The design of the 'floating' centre cluster is both original and functional, with excellent switchgear ergonomics. The centre cluster, front console and door switch panels have a metallic silver finish, adding to the overall sense of quality and refinement.

Space, flexibility and practicality

Urban Cruiser's 2,460mm wheelbase and short, 785/685mm front/rear overhangs allow for a remarkably spacious interior within the vehicle's compact exterior dimensions. The 314-litre loadspace capacity can be increased to up to 749 litres (1.3 VVT-i 2WD) when the rear seats are folded down.

The seats are upholstered in a high quality jersey material that compliments the dark grey interior. The sports front seats have a particularly thin profile, which improves legroom for rear seat passengers.

There are two different rear seat designs, according to model. The 2WD Urban Cruiser has a 60:40 split rear bench, with slide, recline and tilt-down functions, while the AWD version has the same configuration, but with the benefit of a double-fold system.

Urban Cruiser has a wide range of storage compartments around the cabin, including upper and lower glove box sections, rear door pocket bottle holders, a rear centre bottle holder, a utility box next to the handbrake, a front driver's side utility box, twin front centre cupholders, and a front passenger side cupholder that's handily located in front of the air vent to keep drinks cool in warm weather.

Powertains



* Toyota Optimal Drive technology gives more power with lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions
* New 100bhp (101 DIN hp) 1.3 Dual VVT-i petrol engine with Stop & Start system
* Revised 89bhp (90 DIN hp) 1.4-litre D-4D diesel
* 1.4 D-4D AWD has world's lowest AWD passenger car CO2 emissions and fuel consumption
* New six-speed manual transmission



New Urban Cruiser benefits from Toyota Optimal Drive technology, a range of powertrain innovations that strengthens Toyota's position as a leader in environmental responsibility and sustainable mobility, and is fundamental to it achieving a whole-fleet CO2 average below 140g/km.

Toyota Optimal Drive showcases wide-ranging, advanced technologies that are designed to achieve the best balance of performance and driving enjoyment with fuel economy and low emissions. These focus on three key aspects of powertrain development: reduction of weight, reduction of mechanical losses and maximisation of combustion efficiency.

New Toyota Optimal Drive 1.33-litre Dual VVT-i petrol engine

Toyota's new 1.33-litre petrol engine features Stop & Start technology and Dual VVT-i variable valve timing, and operates at a remarkably high 11.5:1 compression ratio. It generates 100bhp (101 DIN hp) at 6,000rpm and maximum torque of 132Nm at 3,800rpm. Excellent dynamic performance is matched by combined cycle fuel consumption of 51.4mpg and 129g/km CO2 emissions.

The engine's design benefits from Toyota's extensive motor sport experience in being exceptionally lightweight and compact, with a small bore and long stroke, giving a very high power to weight ratio. It features a resin-type cylinder head cover and intake manifold, and an intake channel that has been streamlined to optimise airflow and thus improve combustion efficiency.

Dual VVT-i helps boost response across the entire rev range by varying the air-fuel intake and exhaust valve timing to suit conditions at any given time. As well as improving torque at low and medium engine speeds, the system also reduces emissions and contributes to better fuel efficiency.

Stop & Start

New Stop & Start, featured on the 1.3 Dual VVT-i engine, automatically switches the engine off when the vehicle is stopped and in neutral. In urban driving, the system can deliver significant reductions in fuel consumption and emissions (up to four per cent).

Developed by Toyota, the system is the first in the world to feature a permanently engaged starter motor mechanism. This brings two major benefits: quiet operation and rapid restarting.

Stop & Start turns off the engine when the car comes to a halt, the gear shift is moved to neutral and the clutch pedal is released. Automatic restart is instantaneous as the driver engages the clutch again to select a gear.

To ensure comfort and safety, the engine will not stop if the desired cabin temperature has not been reached; when the selected temperature has been achieved, the air conditioning will switch to �ECO-run loading�, allowing the automatic engine stop function to operate. The engine will automatically restart in the event of low battery charge, or if the vehicle begins to move.

Revised Toyota Optimal Drive 1.4 D-4D diesel engine

Toyota has comprehensively revised its 1.4-litre D-4D common rail diesel engine, available in Urban Cruiser in the UK exclusively with all-wheel drive. It uses the latest piezo-electric injector technology and is equipped as standard with a diesel particulate filter (DPF).

The piezo-electric injectors work at exceptionally high, 160MPa injection pressure and can supply larger, more precise volumes of fuel at twice the speed of conventional injectors. Thanks to their high operating speed, they can deliver multiple injections in each combustion cycle, optimising the combustion process to give responsive performance with low fuel consumption and reduced emissions.

The engine generates 89bhp (90 DIN hp) at 3,800rpm and 205Nm of torque between 1,800 and 2,800rpm. Combined cycle fuel economy is 57.7mpg and CO2 emissions are 130g/km, the lowest for any AWD passenger car.

New six-speed manual transmission

Both engines use a new six-speed transmission, which also benefits from the application of Toyota Optimal Drive technology. Gear changes are quiet and smooth and a wide sixth gear ratio helps the powertrain achieve world-class levels of efficiency and fuel economy.

Driving Dynamics





* Active Torque Control AWD
* MacPherson strut front suspension, rear torsion beam
* Fuel-efficient Electric Power Steering (EPS)





Active Torque Control AWD

The 1.4-litre D-4D Urban Cruiser is equipped with Active Torque Control all-wheel drive. Integrated with the vehicle's other traction control systems, Active Torque Control is seamless and flexible, providing optimum torque distribution ranging from 100:0 to 50:50 front to rear drive, according to driving dynamics and road conditions.

The system uses an electronically controlled coupling located in front of the rear differential to give the vehicle better traction and cornering stability. When pulling away or accelerating on a low-grip surface, torque is directed to all four wheels to ensure the best possible acceleration with minimal loss of traction. During low-speed cornering torque distribution to the rear wheels is reduced, to avoid tight corner braking. When braking, the coupling is disengaged to optimise operation of the ABS. In normal cruising conditions Urban Cruiser operates in front-wheel drive, with torque apportioned to the rear wheels only when necessary, thus saving fuel.

Active Torque Control is fully automated, but the system can be locked using a dashboard switch, to improve traction in mud or snow. When locked, the system distributes maximum torque to the rear wheels. When vehicle speed goes above 25mph, �Lock mode� is released and the vehicle automatically returns to �Auto mode�.

Suspension

Urban Cruiser features a high-rigidity, compact, L-arm type MacPherson Strut front suspension, which gives excellent ride comfort, minimal body roll and agile handling performance.

The rear torsion beam suspension with integral anti-roll bar was chosen for its compact, lightweight design, which causes minimal intrusion in the loadspace. The result is outstanding packaging efficiency with first class ride comfort and handling.

Electric Power Steering (EPS)

The Electric Power Steering (EPS) gives variable assistance for low-speed manoeuvrability around town and added weight and feel for high-speed driving. It uses electric power only when assistance is needed, so is more fuel-efficient than conventional hydraulic systems. And because it doesn't use hydraulic fluid, no waste oil is generated, making it kinder to the environment, too.



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