New Toyota Starlet Cross: SA details uncovered!
The new Taisor will launch in South Africa as the Toyota Starlet Cross towards the middle of the year. We’ve uncovered early details of what will serve as Toyota SA’s most affordable crossover…
Yes, our earlier report here on Cars.co.za was absolutely spot on: we can confirm that the new Urban Cruiser Taisor recently revealed in India will indeed be badged as the Toyota Starlet Cross when it launches in South Africa. And it’s coming to local shores a little earlier than we first thought.
According to our latest information, the new Starlet Cross – which is, of course, a coupé-style crossover based on the Suzuki Fronx – is scheduled to hit the Mzansi market as early as June 2024. From what we understand, the local Starlet Cross line-up will comprise 4 derivatives at launch, each powered by the ubiquitous 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine.
As it does in various other Suzuki and Toyota applications, this K15B mill will send 77 kW and 138 Nm to the front axle via either a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed automatic transmission. Just as we suspected, that means the atmospheric 1.2-litre and turbocharged 1.0-litre petrol engines offered in India won’t be available here in SA.
Toyota SA Motors looks set to offer the Starlet Cross in a pair of familiar trim levels – XS and XR – with no base Xi grade likely to be available at launch. As such, the line-up will mirror that of the likewise 4-strong Fronx portfolio, which similarly includes only the traditionally mid-tier GL and flagship GLX trim levels.
So, what sort of standard specification do we anticipate? Well, we believe the XS grade will include items such as 16-inch alloy wheels, LED headlamps, automatic air conditioning, a leather-trimmed steering wheel, a 7-inch touchscreen system, cruise control, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. Safety features for the XS, meanwhile, will include ABS with EBD, stability control, hill-ascent control, dual front airbags and ISOfix child-seat anchors.
According to our information, upgrading to the XR trim level will add items such as silver (as opposed to black) side-sill garnish, 4 extra airbags (for a total of 6), an electro-chromatic interior mirror, a colour instrument display, a 9-inch touchscreen, a 360-degree camera system, a head-up display, push-button start, wireless smartphone charging, an illuminated glovebox and tilt-and-telescopic adjustment (as opposed to just tilt- in the XS) for the steering column.
In South Africa, the new Starlet Cross will be offered in a choice of 6 exterior paint colours, along with 3 bi-tone options (the latter exclusive to the XR grade and gaining a black finish for the roof, rear spoiler and side-mirror caps). Furthermore, we believe all SA-spec variants will come with the “black and berry” fabric interior colour theme used in India.
As a reminder, Toyota SA Motors has not officially confirmed the Starlet Cross name, saying only that the Urban Cruiser Taisor will be launched in our market “under a model name yet to be announced”. However, after some digging, Cars.co.za discovered that Toyota Motor Corporation had applied to register “Starlet Cross” as a trademark in SA back in June 2022, the very same month it filed to trademark “Taisor” in India.
While local pricing for the new Starlet Cross has yet to be released, the new model is expected to slot in at the foot of Toyota’s local crossover line-up, below the likewise Indian-manufactured Urban Cruiser (which currently starts at R342 500).
That would make it the Japanese firm’s most affordable crossover locally (for the record, the Fronx currently kicks off at R288 900, so we may well see the new Starlet Cross priced just above that). As such, it could turn out to be yet another significant Suzuki-built volume driver for Toyota SA Motors, potentially picking up where the old Urban Cruiser left off.
New Toyota Starlet Cross line-up for South Africa
Toyota Starlet Cross 1.5 XS 5MT
Toyota Starlet Cross 1.5 XS 4AT
Toyota Starlet Cross 1.5 XR 5MT
Toyota Starlet Cross 1.5 XR 4AT
We expect a 3-year/100 000 km warranty and a 4-service/60 000 km service plan to be included in the as-yet-unrevealed price.
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