Rent Toyota Rush 2023 in Dubai

The Toyota Rush 2023 is badged as a seven-seat SUV, and it is one, but the body wrapped around that claim is only 4.4 metres long, closer to a tall hatchback than a proper family SUV. We think that's worth saying upfront: three rows in this footprint means the last row is genuinely tight, and we'd rather you knew that before delivery than found out with a booster seat in hand. We bring it to your door in one to two hours, rent it from age 25, and the mileage on this car has no cap and no per-kilometre bill waiting at the end. This page is about what that seventh seat actually buys you, and where it runs out.

The engine, and how it drives

Under the bonnet is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol making 103 hp and 135 Nm, paired with a 4-speed automatic that's noticeably older tech than the CVTs and six-speed boxes most rivals in this class now use. It isn't a fast car. Toyota's own numbers put 0 to 100 km/h at 13.0 seconds, and you feel that gap most on a highway on-ramp, where the gearbox holds a lower gear a beat longer than you'd expect before the car settles into cruising speed. Once you're up to speed on Sheikh Zayed Road, that stops mattering, and the Rush cruises comfortably enough, with a claimed top speed of 175 km/h you'll never actually need.

Power goes to the rear wheels only, and there's no all-wheel drive version sold here, which is unusual for a compact SUV shape since most rivals in the class are front-wheel drive. On Dubai's dry, well-paved roads that makes no practical difference. Where it does matter is off the tarmac. This platform is related to Daihatsu's Terios rather than to Toyota's body-on-frame trucks, so treat the raised ride height as bump and ramp clearance, not an invitation to head into the desert.

Seven seats, and the honest boot trade-off

The seven-seat badge is accurate, but it's worth being clear about what each row is for. The middle bench is where two adults or a couple of kids actually sit in comfort. The third row folds up from the boot floor and suits children on a school run or a short hop across town, not adults on an hour down the E11. Anyone taller than a ten-year-old will know within five minutes that they're stuck back there.

Cargo space tells the same story. With all three rows in place, the boot holds roughly 210 to 220 litres, enough for a couple of soft bags or a supermarket run, not the suitcases for a family flying in with the third row full of passengers. Fold that last row flat and the Rush turns into a properly useful small load bay, closer to what you'd expect from a compact hatchback with the seats down. That's really the trade the Rush is selling: a seventh seat you can call on for one trip, at the cost of the boot on the trips when you actually use it.

The upside of staying this compact shows up at the barrier and the ramp. At 4,435 mm long and 1,695 mm wide, the Rush fits an ordinary mall or tower parking bay without the three-point turns a full-size seven-seater forces, and threading through a tight multi-storey feels closer to driving a hatchback than an SUV.

No mileage cap, fuel and the cabin in summer

We rent this Rush with unlimited mileage included, so there's no daily allowance to watch and no per-kilometre bill waiting when you drop the keys back. That matters more on this car than on most, because a week that mixes school runs with a couple of long days out to Al Ain or Hatta can rack up distance fast, and you shouldn't have to do mental math on the odometer before deciding whether to make the trip.

Toyota's fuel economy figure for this engine is 16.3 km/L, around 6.1 litres per 100 km, which on the 45-litre tank works out to a claimed range near 730 km. That's a best-case number. Real Dubai driving, with the AC running hard and stop-start traffic through the week, will use noticeably more fuel than the claimed figure suggests, so treat the range as optimistic rather than what you'll see on the gauge.

The small cabin cuts both ways in the heat. There's less air for the front vents to pull down once you're moving, so the front seats cool off quickly, but that same small volume heat-soaks fast if the Rush sits in direct July sun for a few hours. Give it a minute with the doors open before you climb back in rather than dropping straight into the seat. The 220 mm of ground clearance shrugs off speed bumps and steep mall ramps without drama, and Salik tolls plus any RTA fines during the rental are the renter's responsibility, the same as with every car we hand over.

Who should rent it, and who should size up

Rent the Rush if you need a seventh seat occasionally rather than daily: a school pickup with a friend's kid along, visiting grandparents for a week, or a small family that wants the option without paying for a bigger SUV's running costs. For that job, with unlimited mileage covering whatever the week throws at it, the Rush does exactly what it's asked to do.

Size up if the third row needs to carry adults regularly, or if you're arriving with enough luggage for a full car. A full-size seven-seater, or a body-on-frame Toyota like the Fortuner if you also want real 4x4 capability, will do that job properly where the Rush is honest about not trying. If you never actually need more than five seats, a compact SUV without the extra row will be easier to park for the same money and won't leave two seats folded up and unused all week. For the specific job of an occasional third row without the size or the bill of a bigger SUV, the Rush earns its place.