► New Toyota ‘FJ’ Land Cruiser revealed
► Will be a smaller, customisable offering
► Launches at 2025 Tokyo motor show
How cute! Toyota has unveiled a new member of the Land Cruiser: the FJ. The brand confirms it’ll be at the 2025 Tokyo motor show.
The new, baby Land Cruiser model is primed to take on the smaller Land Rover Defender that’s set to launch soon, and actually uses a familiar codename. There was, in fact, a 4×4 already called the FJ Cruiser manufactured between 2007 and 2014 – itself a funky and chunky 4×4 much like this one.
Toyota is prioritising customisability, with a range of features designed to get future buyers to make their new FJ Land Cruiser their own. The brand says the front and rear bumpers are easily removable, meaning you can spec round headlights instead of the stock rectangular ones, or a snorkel or roof rack.
Inside, it’s very much like the Land Cruiser we get in Europe. Lots of big chunky details, solid materials used and – thankfully – a range of physical controls. There’s even a manual handbrake.
As for specs, the new FJ Land Cruiser uses a 2.7-litre four-cylinder petrol engine at launch that develops a rather weedy 161bhp, mated to a part-time four-wheel drive system and a six-speed ‘Super ECT’ – effectively a torque converter.
Naturally, because this is a Land Cruiser model, Toyota has focused on giving the new FJ some off-road prowess. The wheelbase is 270mm shorter than the Land Cruiser 250 we get in Europe (also known as the Prado in some markets), and the brand says the new FJ has good approach and departure angles.
The FJ will officially launch in the middle of 2026, but there’s no word on whether it come to Europe or the UK for the moment, but we might find out more when the FJ Land Cruiser makes its public debut at the 2025 Tokyo motor show.
Jake has been an automotive journalist since 2015, joining CAR as Staff Writer in 2017. With a decade of car news and reviews writing under his belt, he became CAR's Deputy News Editor in 2020 and then News Editor in 2025. Jake's day-to-day role includes co-ordinating CAR's news content across its print, digital and social media channels. When he's not out interviewing an executive, driving a new car for review or on a photoshoot for a CAR feature, he's usually found geeking out on the latest video game, buying yet another pair of wildly-coloured trainers or figuring out where he can put another car-shaped Lego set in his already-full house.
By Jake Groves
CAR's news editor; gamer, trainer freak and serial Lego-ist
