Part of Toyota’s electric car onslaught for the Japan Mobility Show is an electric version of the Land Cruiser, since just one Land Cruiser reveal for the year wasn’t enough. But this has a very different vibe than Toyota’s other Land Cruisers.
Whereas gas-powered Land Cruisers are very tall, chunky, and equipped with big tires, the Land Cruiser Se concept is comparatively low, lean and sleek, something emphasized by the forward-leaning rear hatch. And those wheels are enormous with thin tires. It looks far more suited for cruising streets downtown rather than land out of town.
That’s not to say it’s without any design inspiration from the long-running SUV line. It does have squared-off wheel wells and fenders, a practically horizontal hood and a roof available in contrast colors. Plus, Toyota says it has three rows of seats.
There’s not much to say about the mechanical aspects of the Land Cruiser Se (and yes, the e is lowercase), despite its electric powertrain being the biggest departure so far. In addition to being all-electric, it also adopts a unibody construction, instead of body-on-frame (or some combination of the two) like today’s Land Cruisers. Toyota didn’t say specifically, but we can at least safely bet this would have at least two motors for some level of four-wheel drive.
This of course is a concept, and Toyota hasn’t said anything about whether it would go into production. We’re not sure if this is something that would be fast-tracked, but it seems almost guaranteed that someday, the Land Cruiser will be electrified. But we’re hoping that the styling stays closer to today’s SUVs.
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