Baby Toyota LandCruiser looking good for Oz

Toyota has taken another step towards the release of a shrunken LandCruiser via the local trademarking of the ‘Land Cruiser FJ’ name with IP Australia, following a similar trademark application in Japan late last year.

It remains to be seen whether the born-again Toyota LandCruiser FJ ends up being a rival for the Suzuki Jimny XL or something a little bigger like a GWM Tank 300, or a small SUV not based on a ladder frame but a car-like unibody platform. And it also remains unclear if it will be an EV.

But it’s no secret Toyota has been working on a sub-Prado off-road SUV for quite some time now, given the all-new model was teased as a concept during the new Prado’s global reveal last year.

Toyota’s last FJ (Cruiser) was an essentially a retro-inspired and more off-road oriented version of the outgoing Prado and, based on what we’ve seen so far from Toyota, there’s every reason to believe the new one will follow a similar recipe, especially since the new Prado will be near enough the same size as the LandCruiser 300 Series.

The teaser released by Toyota in August showed a shortened wheelbase, heaps of ground clearance, a tailgate-mounted spare wheel and a front fascia heavily inspired by the 2021 Toyota Compact Cruiser EV concept – a compact off-roader long thought to preview a smaller off-roader.

According to Japanese media last year, the production FJ will feature various internal combustion powertrains globally before an EV version materialises later – as per the concept – with the exact nature of the IC engines set to depend on market preferences.

Insider information suggests the new FJ will be roughly the size of the current Toyota Corolla Cross (4460x1820x1600mm) but with considerably more height on account of its extra ground clearance, while the bigger RAV4 is tipped to donate its 2.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid system for most markets.

Dimensions like that would put the FJ in between the Jimny XL and Tank 300 in terms of size, while matching the latter in terms of firepower… at least when referring to the turbo-petrol 300.

Toyota has remained tight-lipped on the subject ever since it revealed the FJ teaser last year, but word is the baby LandCruiser will at least be revealed this year. And judging by the trademark application dated February 23, it should be in line for an Aussie release.

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