We had earlier seen the spyshots of the Toyota Etios Cross being tested in Brazil, which has now been officially launched with a rugged suit. With the increasing demand of compact crossovers and SUVs, manufactures have started sprucing up their hatchbacks for a tough SUVish look to gather attention. In India, we have seen the Skoda Fabia Scout, Volkswagen Cross Polo and the international market has seen cars such as Fiat Idea Adventure, Hyundai HB20X, etc. Similarly Toyota has come up with the same recipe of adding tough looking body cladding and roof rails to the Etios hatchback in Brazil.
The Toyota Etios Cross comes with cosmetic changes as well as an updated suspension, unlike the Volkswagen Cross Polo that only gets visual changes. On the styling front, the Etios Cross gets black cladding all around the lower body with silver front and rear scuff plates and a redesigned grille. It gets practical roof rails that can support luggage up to 50 kgs. The alloy wheel pattern has been changed for a sporty look. The Etios Cross rides on taller suspension for the sake of being a ‘Cross’ edition. It retains the other mechanicals.
Powering the Toyota Etios Cross is the same 1.5-litre petrol engine that produces 96 BHP of maximum power, mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. No, it’s not a 4-wheel drive, all the power is transmitted to the front wheels. The changes inside the cabin compared to the regular Etios include new seat fabrics and all-black theme. The Cross edition is based on the range topping Etios XLS. The Toyota Etios Cross retails at R$45,690 (Rs. 12.47 lakhs) in Brazil. Keeping in mind the recent absurd facelift by the automaker in the form of 2014 Innova, we can expect Toyota to follow the same recipe in India to boost volumes.
