Toyota’s lineup of high-riding vehicles is expanding, with the popular RAV4 crossover SUV leading the way. However, the company is also focusing on the rugged side of the family. The all-new 2024 Land Cruiser, along with the N400 Tacoma, 4Runner, Sequoia, and Tundra, are part of this emphasis.
While Toyota offers a wide range of high-riding vehicles in North America, some models are exclusive to international markets. The Tacoma and 4Runner have counterparts in the Hilux and Fortuner siblings. The Hilux, in particular, is a well-known and legendary model, with the Fortuner SUV arriving in the mid-size market in 2004.
The Fortuner is an important part of Toyota’s IMV project for emerging markets. It offers two or three rows of seats, rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive configurations, and has gone through two generations. The current generation was introduced in 2015 in countries like Australia and Thailand, making it almost a decade old.
To address the aging design of the Fortuner, a digital car content creator known as Theottle has come up with a virtual solution. Using CGI, Theottle has transformed the N400 Tacoma into an off-road SUV that resembles the third-generation Fortuner. This project has the potential to become the sixth generation Toyota 4Runner, as the current model has been on the market since 2009.
This raises the question of whether Toyota could bridge the gap between the N400 Tacoma and the upcoming Hilux, and also combine the next 4Runner and Fortuner. This approach would help reduce costs, as the modular TNGA-F platform could be used for all these models. However, it remains to be seen if Toyota will pursue this strategy or keep the vehicles separate from an economic standpoint.
