The Toyota Belta sedan has been revealed and yes, it’s basically a rebadged version of the Suzuki Ciaz.
The Toyota Belta sedan has been announced and is a product of the Suzuki – Toyota partnership agreement that sees the two brands working together. Here’s exactly what it means for the two brands and no, Toyota is not squashing its Japanese compatriot.
Unlike the case of where the Toyota Urban Cruiser gained a slightly different front face when compared to its Suzuki Vitara Brezza twin, the Belta and Suzuki Ciaz are identical in every way. From the basic images we can see here, it’s only the badges that have been switched. Inside, the cabin is also identical, but that’s not a bad thing as the Ciaz interior is actually a spacious and well-thought-out place to be. Standard features for our market for the Ciaz at least are generous, with a large infotainment screen, climate control and steering wheel controls on offer.
Under the bonnet, the Belta features the same 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated 4-cylinder motor that produces a 77 kW and 138 Nm. Like the Ciaz, the Toyota Belta will also feature a manual transmission and automatic gearbox options.
So, as it stands there are three products on sale in South Africa resulting from this partnership. The Suzuki Baleno / Toyota Starlet, Suzuki Vitara Brezza / Toyota Urban Cruiser and recently, the Toyota Rumion / Suzuki Ertiga reached dealerships.
Will the Toyota Belta come to SA?
We suspect the Toyota Belta will not be coming to South Africa due to the presence of the locally-assembled Toyota Corolla Quest which already has that segment covered.
