Toyota’s Exhilarating New Rush

Being one of the first people to drive Toyota’s new Rush in Namibia is nothing short of an honour.

Probably one of the most prominent car dealerships in Namibia, Toyota has come, seen and possibly conquered the local motoring industry. What helps is the quality vehicles they constantly produce. The newest kid on the block lives up to that standard.

The all-new Rush is exactly just that, a rush to drive. Although there may not be many aspects that make this vehicle stand out aesthetically, it is still undeniably a Toyota. Resembling the Fortuner, the Rush seems like the younger sibling who’s slightly smaller, but has all the Toyota family characteristics.

While being an SUV, the Rush feels much smaller once you get in. With a spacious yet intimate interior, the Rush sports a multi-information display (MID), detailed canvas and suede seats built for comfort, and sleek leather trimmings adding a touch of luxury.

Like any other SUV, the Rush has a robust build, however, contrary to its size, weaves through traffic with the ease of a hatchback, with turns sharper than most vehicles smaller than itself. Driving the Rush in town is not as fun as taking it on the highway. Passing slower vehicles in the Rush is a breeze as the outside world’s noise is faded out from within the secluded interior.

Driving the automatic model is slightly less enjoyable than the manual I would imagine, as the automatic shifting has a slight lag when pushing to pick up speed, but this is just a small kink which can easily be ignored.

When it comes to safety, the Rush features driver, passenger, side and curtain airbags. This accompanies the child restraint system if you have little ones, as well as a speed-sensing door lock system.

Standard with most other vehicles, the Rush comes equipped with anti-locking braking system (ABS), vehicle-stability control (VSC), hill-assist control (HAC), and rear park distance control (PDC).

As comfort is key, the Rush allows for more space in the rear folding seats for increased cargo space. This is in addition to the 609l luggage space. It also features auto dual-zone air conditioner, second row seat configuration, multi-function leather steering wheel and a push-start system of course.

Reversing might be a small but stressful task, but with the Rush, that burden becomes much lighter with its reverse camera. The touch screen multimedia system is accompanied with display audio and a navigation system. Connecting your phone to your Rush is effortless with AutoPlus Show for Android and Apple Car Play (iOS) for iPhones.

The Rush was a pleasant and exciting drive. The comfort makes the ride, and without any negative points besides items subject to personal taste, the Rush should appeal to a broad customer base. But you don’t have to take my word for it, the Toyota Rush is launching today at the Indongo Toyota showroom. And with an open day, you can head over there to get a Rush of blood to the head with test-driving Toyota’s all-new SUV.

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