Yahoo Autos Toyota's mini Land Cruiser rumored coming in 2024 — possibly called the Land Hopper
Let's quickly get the timeline set. In 2021, the Toyota Compact Cruiser surprises everyone as part of the automaker's preview of battery-electric future vehicle concepts. In December 2022, the 17-year-old gas-powered FJ Cruiser that exited the U.S. market in 2014 ends production in Japan. In the middle of August, Toyota Japan applies to trademark the name "Land Hopper" in Japan. Two days later, during Toyota's introduction of the reborn Land Cruiser, one of the images contains the silhouette of something that could easily be mistaken for a slightly tweaked Compact Cruiser. This brings us to September and two reports out of Japan from Best Car and Mag X, via Australia's Drive, that say the downsized Land Cruiser is coming to production as soon as next year.
Let's just call it the Land Hopper as a placeholder name for now. The Japanese reports say it's not going to be electric only, that it will offer shoppers some combination of gas and diesel engines, maybe a hybrid powertrain, and potentially, further down the line, an all-electric variant that closes the loop with the 2021 Compact Cruiser concept. The engine switch-up is said to be due to the platform, Toyota reportedly putting the Land Hopper on a shortened version of the GA-F body-on-frame chassis that supports the 300- and 250-Series Toyota Land Cruisers, the Sequoia SUV, the Tundra and Tacoma pickups, and the new Lexus GX. For now, the ladder frame chassis would impose too many compromises on an all-electric powertrain.
