By Chris Bruce, Motor1.com
At least in Japan, it could be on sale as soon as 2020.
The Toyota TJ Cruiser concept will allegedly get a production version, according to Best Car
from Japan citing Toru Endo, a person with close ties to the
automaker's dealer network. The report claims the weird model would
debut in October, and sales would begin in 2020.
The TJ Cruiser concept originally debuted at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show.
It features a boxy, van-like exterior, and the design puts an emphasis
on usability. For example, the front and second rows of seats fold flat
for loading items all the way up to the dashboard.
Best Car claims that the production version would be slightly shorter than the Toyota C-HR
crossover but also taller to increase the interior volume. Unlike the
concept, the production variant might switch to traditional doors,
rather than the sliding openings for accessing the second row.
Toyota
would allegedly offer the TJ Cruiser in two- and three-row interior
layouts. Both of them would retain the ability to fold the seats flat so
that owners can load the cabin with gear.
The powertrain choices reportedly include Toyota's 1.8-liter, hybrid-assisted four-cylinder from the Prius and Corolla Hybrid,
and this setup would allegedly only be available with all-wheel drive.
The other option would be a 2.0-liter four-cylinder, and buyers would be
able to select between front- or all-wheel-drive for it.
A small
van that's capable of swallowing lots of stuff could prove popular for
folks who have stuff to haul but don't need a much larger commercial
vehicle. Unfortunately, this report makes no mention of the TJ Cruiser
being available outside of Japan. Since it rides on the familiar TGNA
platform and uses powertrains available in models already available in
the U.S., there doesn't seem to be much holding Toyota back from
bringing the model to America, though.
