Toyota took to the stage at the Tokyo Motor Show with a host of futuristic concepts. One of them is the Tj Cruiser, the manliest van ever. The Japanese giant claims that the Tj Cruiser Concept has the practicality of a cargo van and the stance of an SUV.
The ‘T’ in Tj Cruiser stands for ‘Toolbox’ in reference to how the car can be used like a toolbox, while the ‘j’ stands for ‘joy’ in reference to the joy of visiting various places by car. While the ‘Cruiser’ is traditionally used by Toyota for its SUV line-up, the Tj is a boxy vehicle with a square-ish cab. Meanwhile, the raised suspension with the large SUV tyres lends it a sporty demeanour. The Tj Cruiser symbolizes a new genre incorporating the strengths of a van with those of an SUV, according to the Japanese carmaker. The show car measures 4,300x1,775x1,620mm in dimension with a wheelbase of 2,750mm.
The cabin is spacious enough for four passengers. The passenger seat can be reclined completely flat and can accommodate items of up to three metres in length. The backs of the seats and deck boards include numerous tie-down points. It enables easy anchoring of items from small packages to longer objects lending it a cargo van’s practicality. The back door is large enough for easy loading/unloading of large items. The car also features sliding doors for comfortable ingress/egress.
The Tj Cruiser is based on Toyota’s versatile TNGA platform. The car is powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine in conjunction with a hybrid powertrain. It comes with a front-wheel-drive as standard but can be had with four-wheel drive as well.
Although the Tj Cruiser won’t see the production line, we expect several elements of the concept to trickle down to Toyota’s future products.
