Toyota sub-compact SUV expected soon

This was only a matter of time, the Honda 'Vezel' or HR-V will be here soon enough....

Toyota sub-brand Daihatsu previously sold the first-generation Terios compact SUV

A new city SUV to sit below the Toyota RAV4 appears to be high on the Japanese company’s to-do list.
Development of city-sized SUVs is currently booming. A number of new sub-compact soft-roaders having gone on sale in current months, including the Holden Trax, Peugeot 2008, Ford EcoSport and Nissan Juke. And now, it seems, Toyota is set to enter the battle.

Toyota Australia product planning manager Mark Dobson told CarAdvice that the blossoming sub-compact SUV segment  cannot be ignored.

“Everybody needs to be there,” he said. “It’s a market for all players. And Toyota is interested in any market that is growing.”

The company has looked at research on current and future trends of the wants and needs of buyers, and the common themes are low fuel use, high safety, compact dimensions and lifestyle status. Dobson says a sub-RAV4 model could fit that criteria.

“That’s what customers are saying,” he said. “That’s the car they want to buy. Those types of cars were seen to satisfy those trends.”

Toyota sub-brand Daihatsu previously sold the first-generation Terios compact SUV in Australia, and the second-generation model would have appeared to fit the bill for most buyers.

“From a size point of view it was probably the right car,” Dobson said, though that car has been in production since 2006. Looking at that brand’s product lifecycles, a replacement could be seen within 12 months.

In Indonesia the brand sold a unique version of the current-generation Terios, which was badged Toyota Rush.

Toyota already offers an alternative to the RAV4 SUV and Corolla small cars with its Rukus boxy hatch. However, that model is a size above a potential sub-compact high-rider, and with prices starting from $27,990 it is positioned too high up the dollar-meter to fight against the circa-$22k city SUV crowd.

Source;
http://www.caradvice.com.au/270861/toyota-sub-compact-suv-expected-soon/

Carscoop takes a good look at the upcoming 2013 Toyota RAV 4

Yes it's almost that time; like when your faithful old phone or television becomes out of date - your attention is then drawn to finding something newer, trendier, self-fulfilling enough to make the neighbors envious. 

Insert Toyota and its popular crossover here; the current RAV4 is fast growing a few grey hairs and has lost some of its youthfulness of yesteryear. Not wanting its direct competitors to seize on this, the boffins at Toyota have been working hard on its next generation of their popular compact SUV. 

This hard work has become more apparent in recent months with numerous camouflaged spy photos hitting the cyberspace. Based on those photos, I have created an illustration that previews the new design direction for the 2013 Toyota RAV4. 

 

Gone is the upright stance of old; replaced by a steeply raked cabin that looks to have been shaped by a wind tunnel stuck on hurricane setting. This sleekness has also transferred onto the sheet metal; there are now more contemporary creases and stylized lines - the outgoing model in comparison looks like it had too many deep-fried pies.

What you can't see here is the banishment of the tailgate mounted full-size spare; with it now being out of sight the tail-lights now span horizontally like the Camry's. 

At the business end, the grill and headlights take on the corporate look that will adorn the upcoming Corolla/Auris series. 

It may not be the most attractive nose, but does have an interesting chrome bar running from the headlights into the grill. There's even a hint of the Lexus 'spindle' grill in the front bumper, although some could argue that the designers had a fondness for pinched cheeks.

Overall the design is a much more contemporary effort; but one has to ask - is it enough to make the neighbors envious? It certainly has some strong opponents; with the latest generations of the Ford Escape / Kuga, Mazda CX-5, and Honda CRV being no duds in the beauty stakes. 

Regardless of where it sits in the style rankings, Toyota has always had a popular recipe with the RAV4, and one can bet they are not going to sabotage it by using dog meat.

By Josh Byrnes 

Source;

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2012/08/2013-toyota-rav4-compact-crossover-we.html