Toyota Stout compact ute takes shape

An explosion of internet chatter surrounding an all-new compact Toyota dual-cab ute rocked the automotive world in late 2022, following fresh trademarks of the Stout name in South America.

And now we’ve got a better idea of what it might look like.

These latest renders from the prolific KDesign appear to blend the Ford Maverick’s body with an ultra-modern Toyota front-end design to deliver a timely preview of the design that may be revealed by Toyota around mid-year.

Expected to be based on a variation of the TNGA platform that underpins various models from the Japanese auto giant including the Toyota RAV4, the car-based ute will almost certainly be offered with petrol and petrol-electric hybrid powertrains in key markets across North and South America.

It would compete against the likes of the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz ‘lifestyle’ utes in the US, and the Dacia Oroch, Fiat Strada and RAM 700 in South America.

While small utes went out of favour in Australia following the demise of the Proton Jumbuck and Subaru Brumby, both Ford and Hyundai have expressed a desire to bring the Maverick and Santa Cruz utes to Australia if they are produced in right-hand drive.

And it should be noted that Toyota has trademarked the Stout name in Australia until 2029.

Previous Toyota Stout models were built in Japan between 1954 and 1989 and sold Down Under in the 1960s and 1970s.

It’s anyone’s guess as to whether the new ute is destined for Oz, but it would provide a smaller, cheaper and probably very popular alternative to Australia’s top-selling vehicle (seven years in a row), the Toyota HiLux.

The world’s biggest car-maker is yet to confirm any details about the born-again Stout nameplate, but Toyota North America product planning and strategy vice-president, Cooper Ericksen, last year told US publication Motor Trend that two new pick-up options were being considered – a rugged ladder-frame (body-on-frame) vehicle or a monocoque (unibody) model.

“If there’s a customer that needs a rugged, smaller body-on-frame vehicle, we can consider that, but if it's more for urban use and less extreme off-road, then it would make more sense to use the TNGA unibody platform,” he said.

Another senior Toyota USA decision-maker, executive vice-president of sales Bob Carter, previously suggested details of a new compact pick-up could be revealed in June 2023 at Toyota’s annual HQ Confidential future product media conference.

Stay tuned for more details as they come to hand.