RUSH HOUR

TOYOTA’S NEW COMPACT SUV

The Terios, a compact SUV from Daihatsu available here up until March 2015 when the Japanese brand decided to pull out of South Africa, is back, but this time in Toyota guise …

The latest, second-generation Rush, Toyota’s version of the Terios, will imminently be launched here to take on the Honda BRV, Mahindra TUV300, Haval H1, and Suzuki Ertiga. The compact crossover/suv with seven-seater practicality built in Indonesia, has a definite “mini-fortuner” look to it, entwined with some Avanza cues.

Like its Daihatsu counterpart it was offered with four-wheel drive in its previous incarnation, but the latest model, even while mooted as an SUV, is only available with rear-wheel drive.

Its front visage is dictated by a large grille flanked by LED daytime running lamps and a high-set bonnet. Flared wheel arches and a slightly higher ride height (220 mm) gives the Rush a more purposeful stance. In normal trim the Rush comes with 16-inch alloy wheels, six airbags, ABS, EBD, ESP, hill-start assist, emergency brake signal, an engine start/stop button, seve-inch touchscreen audio system, and an air-con system with memory function.

In top-line trim it gains sporty body cladding, LED tail lamp clusters, and 17-inch alloy wheel. It is powered by a dual VVT-I 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (77 kw and 136 Nm of torque), paired with either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission. No diesel model is available.

The interior is predominantly black, but there is a sprinkle of beige trim and some silver accents. No pricing is available yet, but it will probably retail here for about

R280 000 to R300 000.