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Genre bending Toyota Tj Cruiser fuses a van and an SUV

Never let Toyota disappoint you at the Tokyo Motor Show, and of course they didn’t. This is the Toyota Tj Cruiser, a van-SUV crossover
Toyota Tj Cruiser
Toyota Tj Cruiser

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6 November 2017

TOKYO wouldn’t be Tokyo without some genre bending and Toyota didn’t disappoint with a new van and SUV fusion.

The Tj Cruiser features the roominess of a cargo van wrapped in the design of an SUV.

It is designed, apparently, for drivers with lifestyles where work and play dovetail seamlessly. The “T” in Tj Cruiser stands for “Toolbox” in reference to how the car can be used like a …. err toolbox, while the “j” stands for “joy” in reference to the joy of visiting various places by car.

And that’s “j” lower case…it being Tokyo and all that.

Speaking of which, Toyota also used the Tokyo show to debut its take on the London Black Cab look with new taxi inspired by the “best qualities of Japanese hospitality”.

Toyota JPN TaxiThe JPN Taxi (we’ve a picture, left, just in case you were wondering what it really looked like) is designed to be accessible, comfortable and safe for all kinds of passengers, from children to wheelchair users.

Toyota plans to use the new cab to greet and transport visitors to Japan from around the world when Tokyo hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020. It sees the new model as a way of presenting Japan as a more accessible, tourist-oriented country.

The JPN Taxi runs on a Toyota hybrid power system that combines an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) engine and an electric motor, giving cleaner running in city centres with lower CO2 emissions and fuel economy of around 55mpg. Read more about LPG here: What are the different types of green fuel.

Also on show was the Toyota Crown Concept in response to an IoT (Internet of Things) society with complete implementation of Data Communication Modules (DCM), Toyota hopes to provide new value to customers by utilising big data that is acquired from DCMs installed in Toyota vehicles. The DCM will come standard in the commercial model of the Crown Concept.

Headline on Lexus stand in Tokyo was the new LS, the luxury flagship. Sharing the stage was the LC coupe, a grand tourer as well the new NX luxury crossover SUV and the updated CT compact hatchback.

Lexus LS
Plenty on the Lexus stand at Tokyo, including the latest LS flagship

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Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton is an award-winning journalist and the founder of Business Car Manager (now renamed Business Motoring). Ralph writes extensively about the car and van leasing industry as well as wider fleet and company car issues. A former editor of What Car?, Ralph is a vastly experienced writer and editor and has been writing about the automotive sector for over 35 years.

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