Clone Wars

The Fronx's Toyota-badged twin is here and we got behind the wheel of the sporty crossover to find out what has changed and if the Taisor is a more favourable buy

- Dhruv Saxena

The Fronx has been a big hit for Maruti Suzuki and now, its partner Toyota wants in on the action with the Urban Cruiser Taisor. Toyota hasn’t simply slapped its badge on the Fronx, though. There are some styling tweaks that differentiate the cars and there are other factors to consider while deciding if the Urban Cruiser Taisor is the right car for you.

Relative to the Fronx, the Taisor gets a redesigned bumper with a grille that sports a different shape and mesh pattern. The DRLs sport a different look too replacing the three-pod Nexa signature of the Fronx with continuous LED strips. Over to the side, there’s a new design for the 16-inch alloys and at the back, the LED lighting has been tweaked to help differentiate it from the Fronx, especially at night. There’s an orange shade for the exterior exclusive to the Taisor, although this particular Sportin Red and Black roof combo seen on our test car is similar to the Fronx’s Opulent Red and Bluish Black roof treatment.

Inside, the Taisor and the Fronx get the exact same treatment in terms of layout, colours, upholstery and features. In this top-end V trim, the features list includes automatic aircon, a 9-inch touchscreen with wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay support, wireless smartphone charger, head-up display (HUD) and 360-degree camera view. In a world increasingly moving towards digital instrument clusters, analogue dials actually look quite cool and there is an MID to relay all relevant data to the driver. While there are AC vents, charging ports, three-point seat belts and adjustable head rests for all three occupants in the back, there is no central armrest.