The Toyota Starlet will be manufactured at Maruti Suzuki’s Gujarat plant, and will be exported to as many as 47 African markets after launch later this year
Toyota made use of its global product-sharing agreement with Suzuki last year to introduce its very own premium hatchback in the Indian market, based on the grossly popular Maruti Suzuki Baleno. While the Toyota hatch hasn’t been able to outperform the donor car, it is a fairly decent performer, with the car recording a sale of 1,418 units in the month of August 2020.
Now, Toyota is working on launching the Glanza in African markets, and the premium hatch has officially been revealed there. We were the first to bring to you the news of Toyota taking the made-in-India Glanza/Baleno to African markets late last month, with the car all set to be launched in as many as 47 African markets later this year.
However, Toyota has dropped the Glanza nameplate, and renamed the hatch as ‘Starlet’; which was originally a sub-compact hatchback manufactured by Toyota from 1973 to 1999. The Starlet will go on to become the fourth Toyota vehicle on the entire continent, after the Land Cruiser 200, Hilux and the Hiace.
The Starlet will be offered with a 1.4-litre petrol engine, with a max power output of 93 hp. However, the India-spec Maruti Suzuki Baleno and Toyota Glanza come equipped with a 1.2-litre four-cylinder NA petrol engine that belts out 83 hp power and 113 Nm torque. A mild-hybrid version of this engine is also on offer, and it puts out 7 hp additional power.
Talking about the Glanza sold in the Indian market, it comes equipped with features like a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a TFT multi-info display for the instrument cluster, UV protect glass, automatic climate control, electro-chromic inside rear-view mirror, auto projector headlamps with DRLs, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, dual airbags and more.
Toyota currently retails the Glanza in the Indian market at a starting price of Rs 7.01 lakh, going all the way up to Rs 8.96 lakh. On the other hand, the Maruti Suzuki Baleno is priced between Rs 5.63 – 8.96 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom).
