Toyota Urban Cruiser Ebella Vs Maruti Suzuki e Vitara: What’s Different?

Earlier this week Japanese carmaker Toyota took the wraps off its first electric car for the India, the Urban Cruiser Ebella. The mid-size SUV is essentially a rebadged version of the Maruti Suzuki e Vitara which also is the first electric offering from the brand. Now that we have seen both these cars from close quarters lets list out for you how has Toyota tried to differentiate itself from Maruti Suzuki although the list is not very exhaustive.

Design

Faces differ on both SUVs with distinct placement of logos.

While dimesnions of both SUVs are same and so it the wheelbase that stands at 2700 mm, there are key differences when it comes to their faces. While both get active air flaps for better battery management, the headlamps are DRL patterns on both are quite different. Ebella gets monopod LED headlamps along with pine like DRLs while the e Vitara gets Matrix LED tech with Y-shaped DRLs. Bumper designs are distinct too with the Toyota being more sophisticated while the Maruti looks more muscular. It is also gets fog lamps exclusively which are missing on the Toyota. The profile is pretty much the same with loads of cladding though distinct designs of the 18-inch alloys stand out. The tail lamps of both SUVs compliment their faces nicely.

Also Read: All-Electric Toyota Urban Cruiser EBella Introduced; Booking Open For Rs. 25,000

Interior

Cabins are largely the same with different audio systems.

Features in the cabin are largely similar on both SUVs. Even the black and tan theme is common to both and dashboard design is similar too. The dual-screen setup, floating centre console, flat bottom steering wheel, ambient lighting, glass roof, electric driver seat, electric parking brake and front seat ventilation. What is exclusive to the Toyota is the 10-speaker JBL sound system while Maruti gets a 10-speaker Infinity sound system. Rear seats on both SUVs get recline and slide functions and there’s also a 40:20:40 split for added practicality.

Also Read: Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara Review: Worth The Wait?

Drivetrain

The SUVs share two battery pack options

Both SUVs also share two battery pack options - 49 kWh and 61 kWh. While the former makes 142 bhp and 189 Nm the bigger pack makes 172 bhp with same amount of torque. Claimed range is between 440 km and 543 km. Both SUVs get 3 trims with Maruti following the usual Nexa convention of calling then Delta, Zeta and Alpha while Toyota is calling its trims E1, E2 and E3. For safety both SUVs get 7 airbags, 360-view camera and Level 2 ADAS functions among other features. While Maruti has claimed a 5-star BNCAP rating, no such announcement has been made by Toyota.

Prices

For both the SUVs prices are still awaited and it remains to be seen which of two manufacturers announce them first. However, Toyota has gone ahead and exclusively announced a 60% buyback option after 3 years to gain more customer confidence while Battery as a service (BAAS) option also will be available on the Ebella which will lower the upfront cost of the EV. Both get a standard warranty of 8 years on the battery.