Etios Cross - lamb dressed as wolf

It is all dressed up in safari regalia, complete with padded side panels, roof rails and pretend bull-bar silver plastic trimming around its large black grille, but under the make-up the Cross is nothing more than an Etios Hatch or Sedan in fancy dress.

Tucked away under its stubby bonnet is the same 1.5-litre engine pushing out 66kW and 132Nm linked to the same 5-speed manual transmission you will find in the Hatch and Sedan models. The top speed of 165km/h and the 0-100km/h time is virtually identical and so are the features such as ABS brakes, central locking, power steering, aircon, audio system and emissions.

Looks and price

So, the only real differences then are looks and price, with the Etios Cross R16,800 more expensive than the flagship Etios Sedan and about R23,000 more than the top Etios Hatch model - which is a lot of money to spend on the motoring equivalent of a pith helmet, khaki shirt, walking boots and a hiking stick. Look, it is a pretty-enough looking little dandy, but not so special that it will cause a flutter of telephone cameras or twisting necks and it is certainly not going to cause a buzz, tootling down the boulevard.

On the road it feels reasonably peppy although the gearbox is a bit notchy. It holds the road quite well but the suspension really doesn't like rough patches as we discovered on the stretch of well-worn tar road between Mamre and Darling where the Cross thumped and bumped its displeasure in no uncertain terms.

While the interior is surprisingly spacious, luggage space is minimal with four up. To increase this, the rear seat back has to be folded forward. The living quarters are also not particularly well insulated with wind and engine noises quite audible, even at legal speeds.

To close them the doors have to be slammed quite firmly and although the finish is quite good inside the living quarters, and the seats are comfortable, the cheap, shiny plastic dashboard and rather garish plastic-metal instrument display is unlikely to find wide appeal.

Glued and screwed together

When parked at the kerb the first thing to strike you about the Cross is the big gaps between the body panels which makes the car look like it was glued and screwed together in Russia, China or India and certainly not with the solidness and care one has become so accustomed to over the years with most vehicles bearing the much-trusted and respected Toyota badge.

The Etios Cross scores reasonably well in the looks department and will no doubt appeal to the younger end of the market, but overall it is expensive and a tad disappointing which makes the Hatch and Sedan versions the more sensible options.

There is only one model Etios Cross available and its R159,800 price-tag includes a two-year/30,000km service plan (which, incidentally, is the shortest period and lowest mileage of all Toyota service plans).