Toyota FJ Cruiser.
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Land Cruiser Compact. FJ Cruiser. Compact Cruiser. Who knows what name Toyota will give to their new smaller off-road-oriented SUV? But it’s coming.
Toyota showed a small compact SUV concept in 2022 called Toyota Compact Cruiser EV. While the concept was an EV, the production version could end up being powered by Toyota‘s new Hybrid system using the new 1.5 Liter or even the larger 2.0 Liter engine.
They went nuts on EVs a couple of years ago and showed tons of EV concepts for Lexus and Toyota. It seems things calmed down since and a few of these concepts might end up seeing production with hybrid powertrains.
It has since also been called the Land Cruiser FJ. More recently there was a rumor of the new SUV being based on the much cheaper IMV Pickup platform.
The new 2025 Toyota 4runner is rumored to start at around $43,000. This would leave plenty of room for something cheaper and a bit smaller. Something closer to the Ford Bronco Sport, currently starting at around $32,000.
Toyota shows a small blurry picture as part of the new Land Cruiser launch last year. And it didn’t look like the illustration above. But also didn’t really look like the Compact Cruiser either.
So no one really knows what this little guy will look like, or what will power it. A Bronco Sport competitor from Toyota has a real chance to be quite a hit in many different markets, especially since the 4runner has become so expensive.
So far, Toyota is planning 2 new large 3-row EV SUVs built in the US next year alone. With more EVs to follow. I still think that whoever will be first to offer a small offroad EV with an attractive outdoorsy personality will have a big hit on their hands…