Two years ago, Toyota presented a series of concepts foreshadowing its future direction. Among them was the Compact Cruiser, a small SUV in the spirit of the FJ Cruiser, an off-roader that enjoyed a short but successful career in North America in the early 2010s.
Since then, rumours of a pint-sized off-roader have continued to surface. This past August, Toyota applied to trademark the Land Hopper name in Japan.
Two days later, during the presentation of the new-generation Land Cruiser, we caught a glimpse of a model silhouette that could easily be a smaller Land Cruiser.
Speculation has now been further fueled by two stories by online outlets Best Cars and Max X, and shared by Australian outlet The Drive. These claim that the baby Land Cruiser will be produced as early as next year.
There’s further speculation in Japan that the model would offer different engine options, eventually turning to electric power.
The powertrains evoked are a bit all over the map, especially as the model would obviously be sold in a variety of markets. A 1.8L 4-cylinder? A turbo/hybrid 4-cylinder? The 2.0L 4-cylinder of the Corolla Cross? The 2.5L 4-cylinder of the RAV4 hybrid? There are many candidates being mentioned. The electric powertrain said to be under development could also be used for the Tacoma.
It’s reported the vehicle could be 5 inches shorter than the Corolla Cross, but 2 inches wider and 10 inches taller.
We'll have to see if the company presents anything related to this vehicle at the Tokyo Motor Show at the end of October. The event, now known as the Japan Mobility Show, is sure to be a real eye-opener, as Japanese manufacturers, including Toyota, have plenty to show.
As for the possibility of a mini Land Cruiser coming to North America, we're still a long way off, but we'll be keeping an ear to the ground.