Toyota's small four-wheel-drive may be new, but its old engine isn't clean enough to be sold in LandCruiser-loving Australia.
Emissions standards will bar the compact, petrol-only Toyota LandCruiser FJ off-roader from Australian showrooms for the foreseeable future.
It is not the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard – the targets penalising brands for selling too many high-CO2 vehicles – holding the Toyota 4WD back, but rather new Euro 6d legislation mandating the nitrogen oxide and other gases legally allowed to emerge from car exhausts.
The LandCruiser FJ is powered by a 2.7-litre non-turbo petrol engine, a 20-year-old unit that, in its current form in the HiLux Workmate in Australia, is only compliant with less stringent Euro 5 rules.
Toyota Australia sales and marketing chief Sean Hanley told media at the Tokyo motor show that missing out on the FJ is "not about NVES, it's just about ... emission standards on that particular vehicle."
"I looked at that little FJ today, and I think it's a great-looking car. There's no doubt the looks and the LandCruiser name in Australia would be very appealing," said Hanley.
"But the hardcore reality is we are facing in our country ... variable regulations [Euro 6d], new criteria, [the] New Vehicle Efficiency Standard.
"We have to look very carefully at our product portfolio. What do we think we're gonna need? What are we gonna sell in numbers? What do customers want and need?
"Customers need the bigger LandCruiser. Customers need that LandCruiser ute. Customers need that HiLux."
Should the 2.7-litre engine in the LandCruiser FJ prove to be compliant with Euro 6d, Hanley said it would be considered for sale in Australia.
"If it were Euro 6, I'd reconsider it. If that was a Euro 6 engine, and if it does turn out to be that way – which it could, because I don't actually know what it is at the moment, I really don't – then that's something we could reexamine."
Another potential roadblock in the LandCruiser FJ's path is that it is based on the HiLux Champ, a compact ute sold in south-east Asian markets with less stringent safety standards.
Among the crash-safety rules not in force in HiLux Champ markets such as Thailand and Indonesia is side-impact regulation known as ADR 85, which forced the Lexus IS, Nissan GT-R, and other models to go off-sale in Australia in recent years.
"I can't answer that question, I don't know. I haven't got that amount of detail," Hanley said, when pressed on if the FJ, which will meet tougher Japanese safety criteria, will pass the side-impact rules.
An example of the HiLux Champ has been spotted in Australia on Victorian registration, but Hanley confirmed "we didn't bring that car in."
Hanley was also coy on whether the FJ would cannibalise Prado sales if introduced in Australia, telling Drive: "I've got no plan, so I've not thought about it."
While it looks similar in size to a Suzuki Jimny in photos, the LandCruiser FJ has a similar footprint to a Toyota RAV4 family SUV, but sits on a ladder-frame chassis.
It enables genuine off-road credentials, with part-time four-wheel-drive, a low-range transfer case, and a locking rear differential.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
