We know that the Toyota Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser Prado are great SUVs, and we have also seen the Urban Cruiser here in India, but what if i told you that there is something called Land Hopper too!
Few months back Toyota revealed the new Land Cruiser Prado but at that time the company also revealed that they are going to introduce two more models – Compact Cruiser EV and a bZ concept.
The company has now applied a trademark for the name Land Hopper and it is said to be a mini version of the Land Cruiser and internally it is called Jimny Killer. The vehicle is likely to be unveiled by October end at the Japan Mobility Show.
While there could be a electric-only variant, Toyota is also likely to offer petrol, diesel and hybrid powertrains. The hybrid engine will be a 1.5-litre turbo petrol unit from the Corolla Cross while the diesel could be the Fortuner’s 2.8-litre unit. The electric powertrain being developed for the Toyota Tacoma could be shared here.
As far as the platform goes, the vehicle is likely to be based on the GA-F platform, but a shortened version of this platform will be used because the vehicle will be 4.3-metres long, including the spare wheel, which means it will be a little bigger than the Jimny and Thar, and somewhat the same size as the Creta and Elevate.
The GA-F platform also underpins the Tundra, Tacoma and Lexus GX. The SUV is expected to measure 4351 mm in length, 1854 mm in width and 1880 mm in height.
Realistically, it will be one segment above Jimny and if it does come to India, it will rival the Thar 5-door and even the Scorpio-N. The next generation Fortuner will be even more expensive so the Land Hopper will be a good product below that.
Globally, the closest rival of the Land Hopper will be the Jimny only along with the Ford Bronco. It is still unclear whether Toyota will launch this in India or not, because the 2.8 diesel won’t be cheap but Toyota’s SUVs have also always sold in big numbers, so it could just work for them even if it’s in the Rs. 25-30 lakh segment. There is also a possibility of the Land Hopper getting only the petrol-hybrid option in India. What do you think about this SUV? Will such a product find takers here if launched?
