The luxury brand of the Toyota Group could offer an exclusive B-suv based on the Toyota Yaris Cross The BX as it may be called is intended for the European and Asian markets, not the USA.
by Corrado Canali
The luxury brand of the Toyota Group could offer an exclusive B-suv based on the Toyota Yaris Cross The BX as it may be called is intended for the European and Asian markets, not the USA.
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Immediately after the presentation of the Toyota Yaris Cross, the first B-suv of the Japanese company designed in particular for European markets where suvini are the ideal mobility solution especially in the city, word spread that Lexus was working on its own urban suv compact using the same technical and functional bases as the Cross. At the moment, in fact, the range of Toyota’s premium brand offers only the UX as an entry level model, of compact dimensions but not as much as the Cross and therefore there could be space for an even smaller model that, perhaps, would take the abbreviation of BX .
Key markets of the Lexus baby in Europe and Asia, no North America. The future BX is unlikely to be on sale in the US, given that the baby Lexus will focus exclusively on the Old Continent as well as on the Asian, Japan, India and China markets in particular. Like the Cross, the B-suv Lexus will also use the 1,500 cc full hybrid unit combined with an electric motor for a total of 116 hp of maximum power. Also the gearbox will be the same e-CVT and the basic front-wheel drive, but as expected for the Cross, the baby Lexus will also be offered with all-wheel drive, but with higher power and in the F-Sport variant that has always identified the more aggressive models of the brand.
The calender typical of all Lexus as well as premium-style interiors.Powetrain aside, the baby Lexus will stand out from Toyota’s cousin for a different exterior design. Starting from the front grille of all the models of the brand, while chroming could be used for some bodywork details, not to mention that the ground clearance of the BX will be slightly lower than the Yaris Cross. As for the interior, the Lexus model should inherit details from the Cross starting with the infotainment, but offer the premium solutions already seen on board the UX. To be defined, as also for the B-suv Toyota, prices that could, however, start from less than 30 thousand euros.
The other B-SUVs arriving? All or almost all will be electric In addition to the baby Lexus, the offer of B-SUVs is destined to grow with many new products, especially electric propulsion. It is no longer a mystery that Smart in the joint management between Daimler and Geely’s Chinese partners plans to launch a B-SUV EV in 2022. In fact, by working with Geely, the brand has access to extensive synergies since the Chinese also have Volvo. It is precisely from the close collaboration between the two brands that the high-wheeled version of Smart will be born, the model that was missing to increase sales compared to today. But perhaps also for a decidedly more compact electric baby Volvo than the XC40.
Mini, no mega suv, but a future urban model suvAlla Mini already have a model with high wheels, it is the Countryman which by the way is also available in an electrified plug-in hybrid version. A future larger or maybe 7-seater SUV would not adapt to the DNA of the Mini, but a smaller model, perhaps electrically powered, would be an interesting option. Mini has confirmed that there will be no smaller car than the current three-door sedan, also excluding the production version of the Concept Rocketman dated 2011. But since a smaller Countryman is not also expected, the B- remains suv. It will be known more, perhaps, during 2021.