In India, we saw the first product from the global alliance of Toyota-Suzuki in form of the Glanza. The Glanza was a Baleno with just a Toyota grille slapped on the front of the car. One year down the line, now we are hearing about the launch of the Vitara Brezza based Urban Cruiser compact SUV and it will be wee different from the Brezza. But in continuation, we haven't seen Suzuki benefitting by the alliance in India. Overseas, however, Suzuki has revealed the RAV4-based ACross SUV.
Exteriors
The new Suzuki ACross is a Toyota RAV4 with a slightly tweaked front end design. Rest of the body panels, interiors and powertrains are the same; even it is manufactured in the same plant alongside the RAV4. Talking about the Suzuki ACross, in particular, the front gets sleeker LED headlights which are connected with a slim grille. The main grille sits lower on the bumper - flanked by the fog lamp housings.
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The side of the ACross is identical to the RAV4 with exaggerated cladding and squared-off wheel arches. The Y-shaped alloy wheel design looks more appealing than that of the RAV4. However, the rear is more or less similar to the Toyota RAV4. Both the cars are as similar as one can mistake the ACross as the RAV4.
Stepping Inside
Stepping into the interiors, again, exactly similar to the Toyota RAV4. Remove the Suzuki logo from the steering wheel and you can't even tell the difference. The centre of the dashboard gets a free-standing 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple Car Play. Other features like the semi-digital instrument cluster, automatic dual-zone climate control, ventilated and heated front seats and driving modes are also offered.
Hybrid Propulsor
The Suzuki ACross gets a 2.5-litre petrol engine that is coupled with two electric motors. The engine is the same which we see in the Camry, however, the ACross also gets electric four-wheel-drive. The engine alone churns out 182bhp and 227 Nm of torque mated with an E-CVT box. As we told you earlier, the ACross gets two electric motors - one sits on the front axle producing 180bhp and 270 Nm of torque and the other one sits on the rear axle producing 53bhp and 131 Nm of torque.
Thanks to the two electric motors, the Suzuki ACross is an electric four-wheel-drive car and can also cover up to 75 km on sole EV power. As the ACross is a plug-in hybrid SUV, you can charge it in your garage and make use of the electric range. The ACross or the RAV4, both the SUVs lie in the segment of Tata Harrier, Jeep Compass and MG Hector.
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India Launch?
The Suzuki ACross has been revealed and will be launched soon in the overseas markets. The India launch of the Suzuki ACross is highly unlikely. But that is not the point. The point I want to make is that why the Indian market can't get such great SUVs from giants like Suzuki and Toyota?
Some may join the debate by saying "No one will pay around 30 lakhs for a Suzuki." That's fair enough, but then why Toyota is not launching the RAV4 in the Indian market? They are already selling the Camry hybrid in India and as the RAV4 is an SUV, it may do really well in India, with a perspective of the hybrid segment.
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