Small Urban SUV previews new Toyota EV

TOYOTA will launch the second of its b2-branded all-electric models next year - a new small SUV that's set to rival the Volvo EX30 - and this show car gives us a solid preview of how it will look.

- Steve Fowler

The Toyota Small Urban SUV concept was revealed at the brand's annual Kenshiki Forum held in Brussels, and next year's production model is expected to stay true to the concept's design.

Although the Small Urban SUV measures around 4,900mm in length, the actual car is expected to be closer to the Yaris Cross and Volvo EX30 in size, at around 4,200mm long. "The proportions of the concept are correct, but the dimensions are not," Toyota's Andrea Carlucci, vice president of product strategy and marketing, told us.

The chunky-looking concept features slim LED daytime-running lights that stretch across the front of the car, just beneath the bonnet line, with slim LED headlights sitting at each side underneath.

There's no grille, just a deep bumper, while a dark lower valance - dissected by a gap in the middle - extends over pronounced, squared-off wheelarches and into a deeper dark panel, along the bottom of the flanks, that is aimed at disguising the car's height.

At the rear, the darker section kicks up to just below the tailgate opening, while the lower bumper is also dissected to mirror that at the front. There's another slim LED light bar across the tailgate, too.

We've no clue yet what the interior will hold, although we'd expect it to follow the bZ4X's theme, with a large central touchscreen, a relatively small steering wheel and high-set digital instrument panel.

Toyota is staying tight-lipped on technical details until wraps come off the production car some time in the first half of 2024, but it has revealed that it will be offered with a choice of two battery sizes and either two or four-wheel drive.