Toyota Taisor Review: Is it the Best for City Rides?

Toyota Taisor Review: The sub-4m compact SUV segment offers a wide variety of options, priced from ₹6 lakh onwards. Buyers looking for a sub-4m compact SUV, having good space, decent features, and punch from the engine, can check out multiple options. Toyota in the sub-4m compact SUV segment offers the Taisor, which is the rebadged version of the Maruti Suzuki Fronx.

The design of the Taisor and the Fronx is different from the front and the alloys; the rest of it has the same rear profile, chassis, engine options, and features.

Recently, we got our hands on the Toyota Taisor turbo petrol variant paired with a 5-speed MT gearbox for a few days. We drove it for 600 kilometres in the city, checked its fuel efficiency, and tested its performance on highways. Here are our thoughts and experiences, whether buyers should consider the Toyota Taisor or not:

What’s Good

Performance

The Toyota Taisor comes with a 1.2L naturally aspirated inline four-cylinder petrol engine, paired with a five-speed manual or an AMT gearbox. There is also a 1.0L inline three-cylinder turbo petrol engine on offer, which makes 100 bhp and 145 Nm of peak torque, paired with a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic gearbox.

We drove the five-speed manual variant of the Taisor. The performance from the turbo petrol engine was good. There was decent punch lower down, and below 2,000 RPM, there was certain lag, and it required a downshift.

The mid-range is the sweet spot in the Taisor, delivering the maximum power output. However, in the top-end, it does feel flat and it redlines around 6,200 RPM. Overall, after driving it for more than 600km, our experience with the performance was good, and we didn’t feel that this engine is under tuned.

Fuel Efficiency

Toyota claims the Taisor 1.0L turbo MT variant has a claimed fuel efficiency of 21.5km/l. During our test experience, we got a fuel efficiency of 17.6 km/l. The fuel efficiency was decent, and one thing to note in Toyota and Maruti Suzuki cars is that, on driven sedately, the range in the MID increases.

Ride Quality

The ride quality of the Toyota Taisor is on the softer side. During our driving experience for 600km, we took it to the extreme roads and bad potholes. The Taisor performed well on the bad roads and potholes and however, the bumps and the expansion joints filtered inside the cabin.

Talking about the body roll, it is evident that if you take a sharp bend at a higher speed, the body roll is present. Regarding the feel and feedback from the steering wheel, it is lightweight and easy to maneuver in the city traffic. However, at high speeds, it does feel disconnected, and some weight could have been added to enhance the driving pleasure. During quick overtakes, a little more weight in the steering wheel could have been better.

Design

The design of the Taisor is very similar to that of Maruti Suzuki’s iteration, Fronx. Except for the front, the interiors, the rear, and the side are similar to those of the Fronx.

The front has a revised design for the grill and has an LED DRL, which connects with a chrome badge and lining. The LED headlamps have a similar design to the Fronx, and during night drive experience, the throw of the light was decent. Toyota could have improved the illumination by offering stronger LED headlamps.

On the side, it has a similar design to the Fronx. The design of the alloy wheels is different, which indeed looks good on the Taisor, and the addition of the roof rails enhances the sporty aesthetic of the car. It comes in a dual-tone paint shade, and looks good on it.

The rear of the Taisor has an identical design to the Fronx. It has the same design for the LED tail lamp and indicator. The boot capacity is decent, and since the loading lib is on the higher side, stuffing luggage inside the boot can be a task.

Also Read: Volvo XC90 500 km Review: Is This the Best Luxury SUV Under ₹1.25 Crore?

What’s Bad

Comfort

Since the Taisor is based on the Fronx’s platform, the dimensions are unchanged. Since it is not a tall SUV, the headroom can be a bit of an issue for the rear seat passengers. Further, there is decent knee room, legroom, and shoulder room on offer, and seating for three passengers in the rear can be a tight space.

The front seats of the Taisor are comfortable, and there is decent space as well. There is good bolstering support on offer, but even though we drove the top-spec variant, Toyota has cut corners by offering fabric seat upholstery and not leatherette upholstery in the Taisor.

Features

The Toyota Taisor is a feature-loaded car in the segment. It comes with a 9-inch infotainment screen with wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a heads-up display, a wireless charger, automatic climate control, a 360-degree parking camera, and others.

During our experience, the camera quality from the 360-degree parking camera was decent, and at night, it did get pixelated. Further, it misses out on several features, which the other competition has, like front ventilated seats, driving modes, ADAS features for safety, and the most popularly, the sunroof.

Should You Buy It?

The Toyota Taisor is priced at ₹9.12 lakh (on-road, Noida) for the base variant, and goes to ₹15.58 lakh (on-road, Noida) for the top-spec variant. Since we drove the V 1.0 Petrol MT Dual Tone variant, it is priced at ₹13.94 lakh (on-road, Noida).

The Toyota Taisor is an underrated option in the segment. It does get the reliability tag of Toyota, has decent performance, and is loaded with ample features. However, you may feel that the engine is slightly underpowered, and there could have been more features for the price on offer. However, the Taisor is a good-looking, comfortable, and feature-loaded offering in the segment.

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