You can now reserve the new Toyota Raize nationwide

The first major release of 2022 comes in crossover form with the new Toyota Raize. After weeks of teasers and speculations, Toyota Philippines has confirmed the vehicle's arrival as it begins accepting reservations at dealerships nationwide.

The Japanese company seems poised to respond to the local popularity of breakthrough subcompact crossovers like the Geely Coolray and Kia Stonic. With the Raize, Toyota is putting its foot down on the crossover segment much as it did with the Rush and the seven-seater MPV/SUV hybrid genre.

Apart from alliteration, these two Toyota vehicles share more in common than meets the eye. Both have underpinnings based on two distinct Daihatsu models. The Raize takes after the Rocky, and the Rush famously gets its looks from the Terios.

Based on the Rush's success in the Philippines and the apparent local demand for stylish small crossovers, bringing the Raize seems like a no-brainer. People will buy it. At this point, Toyota's name carries a lot of weight in many places, and the strength of these compact vehicles only adds to their marketability.

With that said, banking on the Raize succeeding here doesn't seem like a tough bet to make. When it releases, it will become one of the most affordable options in its class. Toyota has set an aggressive starting price of P746,000 for the manual version. The top trim turbo CVT model will set you back just a hair over a million, which is still very competitive. 

You get two engine options for the Raize: A 1.2-liter three-cylinder naturally aspirated mill for the more affordable variants and a 1.0-liter turbocharged engine for the upper trim. Additional specs are not yet available, but with its launch window opening Toyota Philippines should be close to sharing more information soon. The 2022 Toyota Raize is now open to reservations at dealerships nationwide.