The Perodua Traz may have already debuted here, but its Toyota twin, the Toyota Yaris Cross, has been eluding our market. But that might change soon, as UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT) has teased the arrival of its new B-segment SUV on its social media channels.
The Yaris Cross’ arrival to our market was long due, with the model originally making its global debut in Indonesia back in 2023, followed by Thailand in the same year.
DNGA-Based with HEV Option
Not to be confused with Japan and Europe’s TNGA-based Yaris Cross, the Malaysian-bound model is built on the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA) and was developed specifically for the Southeast Asian market.
While UMWT is keeping things under wraps for now, we know that the Yaris Cross comes in both pure combustion and hybrid (HEV) powertrain options, with the former being the same 1.5-litre 4-cyl 2NR-VE engine found on the Traz, delivering 106 PS and 138 Nm to the front wheels (FWD) via a CVT gearbox.
As for the hybrid version, it employs Toyota’s 1.5-litre 4-cyl 2NR-VEX engine that makes 91 PS and 121 Nm by itself, which is augmented by an electric motor rated at 80 PS and 141 Nm to deliver a combined output of 111 PS.
Given that Perodua has dibs on the pure combustion setup, it won’t be too far-fetched to assume that the Yaris Cross would only be offered with the HEV option in Malaysia—similar to what the Thai market did.
B-Segment SUV, Sporty GR Parts Coming to Malaysia Too?
Dimension-wise, the ASEAN-spec Yaris Cross spans 4,310 mm long, 1,770 mm wide, and 1,615 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,525 mm, making it slightly lower than the Traz, which sits taller at 1,655 mm.
More importantly, this puts the Yaris Cross in the same pack as other popular B-SUVs in Malaysia, including the Honda HR-V, Proton X50, Chery Tiggo Cross, and even the recently-launched Mitsubishi Xforce.
What’s special for the Yaris Cross is the GR Parts aero package offered in Indonesia, featuring a special GR-badged bodykit with GR branding scattered around the exterior and interior of the car.
As of writing, UMWT has yet to unveil any launch dates or tentative prices for the upcoming Toyota Yaris Cross, but given that the Perodua Traz currently retails at RM76,100 for the 1.5 X variant and RM82,000 for the top-spec 1.5 H, we can expect the Yaris Cross to be priced somewhere closer or even surpass the RM100,000 mark.
