The Urban Cruiser is a pretty cromulent car for a family SUV on a budget. Another vehicle that forms part of the Toyota Suzuki Alliance and has some decent value to offer. You can check out our thoughts on the Urban Cruiser here.
Related: Hyundai Venue 1.0T N Line (2022) Review
As expected, the B-SUV segment is highly competitive, so you can either bring your A-game or stay home. Cue Hyundai with their current Venue, the price mate to the Urban Cruiser. Both cars are attractively styled, but what value for money and specifications do you get with these vehicles? For this comparison, we used the Urban Cruiser in 1.5 XR Auto trim and the Venue in 1.2 Executive trim. Let's compare them.
Toyota Urban Cruiser
The Urban Cruiser is an all-around budget SUV in 1.5 XR Auto trim. It's roomy, quite stylish compared to its previous iteration, and seeks to be frugal. The Urban Cruiser also markets itself as rich with features, so let's see what it offers.
Powertrain
Powered by the trusty 1.5-litre naturally aspirated 4-cylinder petrol engine that's found commonplace in many of the Toyo-Zuki vehicles, and for good reason, it's a solid powerplant. The mill produces 77kW / 138Nm, which is sent to the front wheels via a 4-speed automatic gearbox in the XR trim. This setup is claimed to return 6.1 L/100km and has a range of 738km from the 45-litre tank.
Notable Standard Specification
- Two-tone body colour
- Power retractable side mirrors
- Cruise control
- Reverse camera
- Toyota Display Audio
- Tilt and telescopic steering wheel
- Toyota Connect
- Keyless entry
Notable Safety Specification
- 6 airbags
- Rear 3-point centre seatbelt
- ISOFIX child seat anchors
- Front seatbelts with pre-tensioners and force limiters
- Rear park distance control
- ABS, EBD, Hill Start Assist, VSC
Practicality
The Urban Cruiser is a 5-seater SUV. The rear seats are split at 60:40, and you have boot space with a volume of 353 litres. You have a steel spare wheel to help you in a pinch. Regarding towing capacity, the specs are 400kg unbraked and 1 200kg braked.
Price and Value
The Urban Cruiser in this trim starts at R359 700. A 4-services /60 000km service plan and 3-year /100 000km warranty are included in that purchase price. If you opt to finance your Urban Cruiser, use our finance tool and set the parameters at 72 months, a 10% deposit, no balloon/residual, and a 12% interest rate. You can expect to pay around R6 329 p/m
Hyundai Venue
Hyundai's bread and butter vehicle, the Venue, is another B-SUV competitor. Its lineup was recently revised and refined. The Venue now sports the flowy Hyundai design language inside and out to give it a pretty presence.
Powertrain
The 1.2-litre Kappa engine powers the Venue in this trim. It's a naturally aspirated 4-cylinder petrol engine that makes 61kW / 115Nm, which is sent to the front wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission. This setup is claimed to return 6.5 L/100km of fuel consumption and a range of 692km from the 45-litre tank.
Notable Standard Specification
- Infotainment system with device application connect feature
- Electric side mirrors
- Cloth and leather seating
- Reverse camera
Notable Safety Features
- Driver and passenger airbags
- ABS, EBD
- Rear park distance control
Practicality
The Venue is a 5-seater SUV. The rear seats are 60:40 split, and the boot area's volume is rated at 343 litres. A steel spare wheel is available in case of emergency. Regarding towing capacity, the Venue in this trim is rated at 750kg unbraked and 1100kg braked.
Price and Value
The Venue in this trim costs R329 900. The purchase price includes a 3-year/45 000km service plan, 5-year/150 000km vehicle warranty and 7-year /200 000km drivetrain warranty. If you opt to finance your Venue, use our finance tool and set the parameters at 72 months, a 10% deposit, no balloon/residual, and a 12% interest rate. You can expect to pay around R5 805 p/m.
Who wins?
Overall, the Urban Cruiser has better specifications in notable standard features, service plans, and safety, which are all that matter. Though the Venue is cheaper, it's more sparse than the Urban Cruiser. You can search AutoTrader for the latest Urban Cruiser and Venue offerings here and sell your car.
