In the past couple of years, Toyota has revealed a shocking number of electric car concepts, especially at this year’s Tokyo show. Many of them have been vaguely described as possibilities for future models. This Urban SUV Concept, though, is different in that it directly previews a production model. And it’s one that’s coming next year, at least for Europe.
The Urban SUV does still lean on the styling established by the cavalcade of concepts we just touched on. So it has the Prius-like full-width headlights, lots of crisply creased sheetmetal, and full-width taillights. Interestingly, while the bZ designation (for Beyond Zero) is missing from the name, it’s clearly seen in the design of the taillight ends. Where the Urban SUV deviates somewhat is in its boxier, more blunt shape. It also has especially pumped-up fenders. All of this is clearly in the service of emphasizing the SUV-ness of the car.
As for the size, Toyota has said the production version of the Urban SUV will compete in the B-segment in Europe, similar to Yaris Cross. And it is a tad small. It’s not quite 3 inches shorter in length than a Corolla Hatchback, but it’s also more than 6 inches taller.
Toyota has of course confirmed the production model for Europe, and that fits with the fact this is making its debut at a conference in Brussels. No other markets were specifically highlighted. We could see it showing up in at least one or two other places, but we’re not so sure America will be among them. It’s not massively smaller than a Corolla, but that’s about as small as most automakers go anymore in the U.S. It’s also not a segment that’s friendly to the potential cost premium of an EV. Toyota could always surprise us. But we would imagine that some of the other five production EVs that Toyota will be revealing for Europe by 2026 will be more likely to show up in the U.S.
Related video:
