Details leak of miniature Toyota LandCruiser FJ, a Suzuki Jimny XL rival

UPDATE, Tuesday 27 February 2024, 4:00pm: Drive can confirm Toyota trademarked the name ‘Land Cruiser FJ’ in Australia in recent days. The original story continues below.

Details of the highly anticipated ‘mini’ Toyota LandCruiser FJ have been leaked by the Japanese magazine, Best Car – known for accessing early information on future models from Toyota.

Featuring a computer-generated image of the compact 4×4 on the cover, the magazine claims the Toyota FJ badge will make a return on the new small SUV.

The report by Best Car notes the LandCruiser FJ is expected to be officially revealed in December 2024 and will feature a 2.7-litre four-cylinder petrol engine – the same 122kW/245Nm powerplant used in the recently-launched Toyota Hilux Champ utility and entry-level Toyota HiLux utes currently sold in Australia.

This suggests that the LandCruiser FJ will use the same Toyota iMV ladder-frame underpinnings as the Champ, albeit with a four-wheel-drive transfer case as opposed to the Champ’s rear-drive platform.

With a wheelbase of between 2745mm and 2750mm (depending on application) the Toyota platform is longer than the new five-door Suzuki Jimny XL at 2590mm.

The FJ nameplate was last seen on the Prado-based Toyota FJ Cruiser which was sold in Australia between 2011 and 2016, itself a throwback to the FJ-Series LandCruiser produced between 1960 and 1984 (or even as late as 2001 for Brazil).

Despite Toyota referring to the concept as the Compact Cruiser EV at the time – and the vehicle sharing design elements with the FJ Cruiser – images released by the car giant at the time showed the name ‘LiteCruiser’ on the digital instrument cluster, while the tyres bore the name ‘Yaris Cruiser’ in white lettering.

“While Toyota Australia is always looking at ways to expand its line-up with compelling new vehicles, we have no information about this particular model,” a spokesperson for Toyota Australia told Drive.