Another day, another teaser image from Toyota. And another one that tells us very little, except that in the case of this new image of a vehicle’s taillights and rear badging we can conclude two things:
1) This is not a new all-electric vehicle. The HEV logo is hard to misinterpret, and in any case Toyota’s press release straight out calls it a “hybrid electric mid-size SUV”.
2) The nameplate this future hybrid SUV carries starts with a ‘C’. Now that narrows things down, at least in eliminating a new variant or next generation of any current Toyota SUV, since there are no current Toyota SUVs in North America with a name starting with C. In any case, the rear lighting doesn’t match that of any existing Toyota model, in fact it looks more like that of a Lexus model.
Looking farther afield in the Toyota lineup, we find three models – cars – that start with C: the Corolla, the Camry and the new Crown (almost a crossover itself, but that’s another question).
Could we possibly be looking at a Camry Cross? Possibly. Toyota’s already turned that trick with its Corolla, and the Corolla Cross small SUV has been well-received.
As for the Crown, we know Toyota has a whole range of models planned globally under that banner, including an SUV. Recall that in July 2022, Toyota made a global reveal of a four-strong lineup of future Crown models, including a coupe-style small crossover but also a larger SUV.
For our money, that’s what we’re being teased today. We may learn more at the Tokyo auto show this week. Otherwise, it's expected the model will be officially unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Auto123 will be on hand to report on that.
If this is indeed a Crown Cross, the question then becomes how exactly this new model will fit into an SUV lineup that already includes the compact RAV4 and the three-row mid-size Highlander. Will this be the Toyota equivalent to Honda’s in-betweenie Passport?
One more clue comes in Toyota’s very short press release. The statement makes a point of saying this model goes “beyond what’s expected”. We are going to speculate that this might refer to the hybrid’s electric capabilities. Might the model be destined to receive Toyota’s next generation of hybrid-powertrain battery, one that could improve fuel economy even further? Again, Tokyo might educate us further on that question. Stay tuned.