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Toyota has finally shown its electric hand in India with the Urban Cruiser Ebella. This compact electric SUV marks Toyota’s first full EV for our market, and it enters a segment that is already busy and only getting busier.
If the shape looks familiar, that’s because it is. The Urban Cruiser Ebella is closely related to the MS e Vitara, sharing its platform, batteries and hardware. Toyota’s effort has gone into making it look and feel distinct enough to stand on its own.
Design
Up front, the Ebella gets a sharper face than its Maruti sibling. The bumper is chunkier, the grille wears a gloss black finish, and the LED headlamps are paired with pixel-style DRLs. There is plenty of cladding all around and a faux skid plate to keep up appearances.
The side profile sticks close to the e-Vitara, riding on 18-inch alloy wheels with large windows and a shark fin antenna. At the rear, things get a little sportier with a coupe-like roofline, an integrated spoiler and connected LED tail lamps.
Overall, it looks clean, modern and suitably different without trying too hard.
Interior
Inside, the layout mirrors what we have already seen on the e-Vitara. The cabin uses a black and tan theme with gloss black accents. Toyota has retained physical buttons for key functions, which makes daily use refreshingly straightforward.
A dual-screen setup dominates the dashboard, paired with vertical air vents and a new twin-spoke steering wheel carrying the Toyota badge. The rotary gear selector keeps the centre console neat.
Rear seat space looks generous thanks to large windows, a fixed glass roof and sliding and reclining seats that add flexibility.
Features and safety
The Urban Cruiser Ebella comes well-stocked. Highlights include a 10.1-inch digital instrument cluster, a 10.25-inch touchscreen with wireless smartphone connectivity, ventilated front seats, a 10-way electrically adjustable driver seat, JBL audio, ambient lighting, PM2.5 air filtration and multiple drive modes.
On the safety front, it gets seven airbags, a Level 2 ADAS suite with blind spot monitoring, a 360-degree camera, electronic parking brake with auto hold, stability control and tyre pressure monitoring.
Given that the e-Vitara has already scored five stars at Bharat NCAP, expectations are similar for the Ebella.
Battery, range and charging
Toyota will offer the Ebella with two battery options, both driving the front wheels.
The smaller 49kWh battery produces about 142bhp and 189Nm, while the larger 61kWh pack delivers roughly 171bhp with the same torque output. The claimed range goes up to 543km on the larger battery.
Charging times are reasonable. A 7kW AC charger takes around 6.5 hours for the smaller battery and 9 hours for the larger one. An 11kW charger cuts that to about 4.5 and 5.5 hours, respectively. DC fast charging can take the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in 45 minutes.
An All Wheel Drive version exists globally, but India will get Front Wheel Drive only.
Launch, price and rivals
Toyota is expected to launch the Urban Cruiser Ebella in the coming weeks, with prices likely starting around Rs 18 lakh ex-showroom. It will be sold in three variants, E1, E2 and E3.
Competition will come thick and fast, including the Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara, Hyundai Creta Electric, Tata Curvv EV, Mahindra BE 6, MG Windsor EV and MG ZS EV.
The takeaway
The Urban Cruiser Ebella does not rewrite the rulebook, but it plays a careful, calculated game. Familiar underpinnings, a sensible feature list and Toyota’s reputation for reliability could be enough to win over buyers who want a calm entry into the EV space rather than fireworks.
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