There’s a Toyota event coming up early next month that I’m scheduled to go to, and this event will be a “reveal event.” As for what is being revealed, aside from my own likely ineptitude, wasn’t said. The product communication person who has been sending out the invitation emails is from Toyota’s “Unibody SUV’s, Crossovers, Minivans” division, so if I had to guess, I’d say this will be some sort of SUV, Crossover, or Minivan, likely a unibody one. That’s called journalism, people.
Beyond that, I don’t really have any idea what this thing could be. I have a feeling it’ll be electrified in some way, if not a full battery-electric vehicle (BEV) than a hybrid or range-extended BEV, most likely. Toyota did send out a teaser image last night, when I’m writing this, embargoed until this morning, when you’re reading this.
Want to see the image? Well, you kind of did, up in that topshot there. But here it is, in a more pure form:
Hm. Okay, it does look like some sort of SUV. One with pretty big headrests that block a lot of that rear window. And with a dual-band, full-width taillight design. Biggish shoulders, too. And some roof rails and a centrally-mounted sharkfin-type antenna. And it can exist in maybe a dust storm or intense sunset or aurora, or maybe in front of a lava pit or whatever the hell is going on in that background.
Maybe we can find out more if we play with some of the image settings:
Hm. Not really. There’s just not much more information here, save from a little bit more information about the width of this thing.
Here’s the blurb that Toyota sent along with the teaser image:
“PLANO, TX (Jan. 27, 2026) – Something new is on the horizon.
…
Toyota directly employs nearly 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 35 million cars and trucks at our 11 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.”
Well, thanks for that. Maybe the battery thing is a hint that this is electrified in some way? Is the “horizon” bit some kind of hint? Those taillights are very horizontal, after all?
That’s all they gave us. There’s not much to go on here. I suspect it’s a new nameplate instead of a revival of a previous one, because they never mentioned “heritage” or anything like that. Which sucks, because I’d be down for a new Previa.
In the absence of any information. I’m forced to speculate. I plugged some parameters and fed this image into the Autopian Mainframe, a Mattel Aquarius enhanced with a massive array of interconnected flea collars to assist in processing, and got three likely options for extrapolating what this teaser image is showing:
First, a three-wheel SUV design. This would allow Toyota to avoid a lot of costly regulations to offer an SUV or crossover that sells for $10,000+ less than its nearest competitor. This would be a very bold choice, and one that’s been a long time coming.
An amphibious vehicle is another possible option, and one I think makes a lot of sense. Keeping a boat is fun, but a colossal hassle. Why not make a vehicle you can drive to work all week, and drive right into a lake on the weekends? This could be great.
Maybe Toyota is going to announce something that is genuinely ahead of every other major automotive player: a true hovercar. Impossibly smooth, all-terrain, and fast, a hovercar is the way of the future. But would Big Tire let them get away with this?
We won’t know what Toyota is up to until February 10, I believe. Until then, I think it’s healthy for us to speculate, wildly.
UPDATE: Some have suggested this could be the next Highlander, and comparing the teaser image to this patent image does seem to support that, especially based on the taillight design:
I think a hovercraft that floats would be a stellar choice, and might force me into a brand-spaking-new vehicle. I could hover to the lake, then hover onto the water, and finally plop down into the water for a nice float. Hopefully the interior can be reconfigured into a day or weekend cabin. What’re we thinking for toilet options?
I think it is probably an electrified Maverick competitor like everyone else. Competition in that segment is great, but I’d rather a flying/floating place to poop.
Wagon please
https://www.motortrend.com/news/2028-toyota-small-pickup-what-we-know-future-cars
Looks a whole lot like a small pickup to me from the article’s pic, too!
It’s the new Celica, guys, which, following in the footsteps of the Ford Puma, Mitsubishi Eclipse and Ford Capri is coming back as a compact SUV.
Hopefully it’s a small hybrid/EV truck to compete with the Maverick at about the same price point
bZ4X, meet lZ9VS
“My interest is piqued” – Larry David and also Me. I do wonder what the powertrain is
I’m piling on to the unibody truck hypothesis. The horizontal surface between the cab and the sides looks like the bed rails that appear to stick out due to perspective.
I can’t wait to be wrong and find out it’s a new boxy MR2.
Sorry, Jason, but I think the commentariat are on to something here. That picture is giving unibody trucklet/ute. I welcome another Maverick competitor to the space, although my only gripe with the Ford is lack of physical controls on the newest model, and I am historically disappointed in their paint quality and corrosion protection. I doubt Toyota will be able to make a better driving trucklet than Ford, but time will tell.
True…the only warranty to my ’25 Maverick was to repaint the hood.
I had to have the rear hatch on my Fiesta ST repainted twice, and by the time it was 3 years old had a rust bubble on the roof by the antenna. I sold it almost immediately. Its a shame, because that was an otherwise phenomenal car.
A few years ago I worked at an automotive supplier that was quoting parts for a 3-row electric SUV for Toyota. Maybe a 3-row variation of the new bZ woodland? Made in North America (instead of Japan)?
It really looks very truck-ish to me. But that just might be wishful thinking on my part. BUT!! If Toyota does release some sort of PHEV/BEV maverick competitor, they will have my money.
I can already tell it will be ugly. Save this post.
The beltline does kinda suggest truck. But would the tail lights really be placed at the very top edge of the bed? Seems like they’d be very vulnerable in practice.
Whatever it is, I’m guessing compact HEV based on the Corolla/Corolla Cross.
So few actually use their trucks for anything that would break the taillights, if there is some kind of top edge that is sturdy.
We are looking at the new bB/xB Hybrid!!!
A man can dream anyways.
Another vote for a small pickup. That super-wide looking tail section is probably just the forced perspective of it being closer to the camera.
If this were some kind of 2-box vehicle like a hatch, wagon, SUV, or minivan, the whole thing would look roughly the same width because it would all end at the D-pillar together.
I’m thinking more Rivian-sized than Maverick.
The R1T is not a small pickup, it’s pretty much the same size as any BOF half ton. Unless you’re talking R2/Ridgeline/etc. size because I could definitely see that.
I see them pretty regularly and they’re definitely closer to a Tacoma or Ridgeline than any of the current 1500 trucks. Maybe I should have said “small-ish relative to an average pickup” 🙂
But Maverick is distinctly smaller than the rest, at least in overall dimensions. The interior is so well packaged, it’s pretty spacious inside.
Except those damn back seats. Car seats do not fit well in them. I’d love to get a Maverick as my dad car but installing and using car seats in them is a world of pain. I’m hoping that this will rectify that if is indeed competing in that realm.
Is the issue with rear-facing, or any carseats at all?
According to the Internet rear facing are a disaster and it’s still tight for kids in forward facing ones due to how little rear legroom there is. There also aren’t rear air vents which is a big minus. I live in an area that tends to just have two seasons (summer and winter) with plenty of the extremes from both of them, so no rear vents is kind of a dealbreaker for me with regard to my eventual dad car.
That being said there are exceptions, and you can inevitably find tons of forum posts on (insert car with poor car seat reputation here) with pictures of owners finding ways to make it work. When there’s a will there’s a way, and I respect people willing to go to extreme lengths to make the car they love work….but my Kona N is already too small to road trip in with a toddler, dog, and all their (and my wife, who does not pack lightly) stuff.
I’m going to have to go bigger next go around. I like the idea of a truck as a dad car but I don’t want to deal with a big inefficient monstrosity. Options are obviously pretty limited lol…
Thanks for the detailed response. Once our youngest moved to a front-facing seat, I forced my family of 4 into a GTI for 3 years, so I am also willing to sacrifice a bit (this car also forced me to transport my mountain bike with a suction cup system on the roof, which … never felt ok).
I have to say, I feel considerably less “cool” in a bigger, more luxurious SUV. But, damn, it’s so comfortable and convenient that I am not sure I will ever squeeze us back into something small for a daily drive.
I get it. In fact the Kona N was a compromise in the first place. I bought a GTI in 2020 that sent my car enthusiasm into overdrive. As a result I wound up driving a bunch of other stuff in short order after it, I learned to drive stick, and got introduced to a whole new world. As a result the GTI wasn’t really doing it for me anymore, and due to market conditions it basically never depreciated.
My wife was like “if you’re going to make a dumb financial choice and switch cars after two years do it now and not when we have kids” and I was like BET. I initially was on a list for a GR Corolla and wound up driving an Elantra N that was sitting at a local dealership and falling in love.
The wife does not believe sedans are viable anymore (it’s not her fault, she’s not a car person and Big SUV got to her before I could) and when she realized there was an N crossover she was like “okay you can get that one”. I jumped before she changed her mind.
ANYWAY…it’s been a fantastic car. It had an engine problem after 2 years that was part of a well documented issue with the earlier Ns (bad factory knock sensors) but it was fixed under warranty without hassle and I have had a single other issue with it. It’s fast, it’s loud, it’s fun, it’s practical enough, and I’ve even done a few track days with it.
But it’s small even with one kid and a dog, it rides like absolute shit, it chugs premium (my lifetime MPG is 19.9 which is just ghastly by modern 4 cylinder standards), and it’s just not pleasant to commute in. The DCT is jerky, the NVH is real bad, and like I said, it rides like absolute shit.
I will need something bigger and softer that preferably isn’t completely soul crushing. I don’t anticipate it being as fast or fun to drive but I want it to have a soul and not be a blobby appliance. More efficient is obviously preferable, not because I can’t afford gas but because I just feel guilty about burning excessive dino juice in this day and age.
Short of spending $60,000+ on a luxury car (which I’m not going to do because I’m cheap and don’t want to piss money away on a car that’s going to haul toddlers and 80 pounds of dog in a 30 pound body) there really isn’t anything that checks all those boxes. The closest is a Honda Passport, which I love, but that gas mileage is a joke in 2026.
It does look like a pickup with the camera sort of close so the back end looks wide. But why would a pickup have roof rails?
Those back pillars look kinda too far inward to be a crossover/SUV, unless I’m on something that I don’t know about.
I’m in the small-truck suggestion group, despite the lights being up too much for a normal/typical truck.
I agree with much of the commentariat, I’m getting mini truck vibes, especially with Toyota emphasizing the fact that their US team led the charge on it. I think going full BEV in that space is probably risky so I’d wager that this is a hybrid of some sort. Seeing as they build RAV4s and I believe Corolla Crosses here in Murica I’d imagine this will probably get the tried and true hybrid powertrain.
If they manage to give it a decently sized backseat I’d definitely be interested. I love everything about the Maverick but car seats are a snug, snug fit. That being said I really doubt that’s the priority. Also I’m getting Rivian vibes, which is a good thing.
Yeah, I’d be surprised if this was a BEV only product, unless it’s being built on the same platform as the new C-HR, which I suppose is possible.
More than likely this thing has the run of the mill RAV4 powertrain and honestly, that would probably be for the best.
That powertrain is efficient, offers adequate power, and is bomb proof. You can break 200k in one without really breaking a sweat and the battery replacement process is no where near the headache it was 10 years ago. I certainly wouldn’t trust a Ford powertrain in that way, so if this is what we think it is they’d do well with fleet sales, because at least in my area there are tons of Maverick work trucks.
This is also the sort of vehicle segment that with decent effort, I would expect Toyota to dominate. For modern times, a small unibody pickup basically could replace the success of the early Tacoma, which let’s get real, is no longer the plucky small practical thing it was and is firmly a “mainstream ‘Murica truck” now. Bringing back a utility vehicle with *modest capability, modest price, and great reliability would fill one of the few holes in their lineup.
*I know if this thing is revealed to have a 4.5’ bed, people here are going to COMPLAIN. Let’s settle down now please and understand that there’s not going to be a regular cab, or a manual, or an 8 foot bed. I’m sorry. But a Maverick competitor with a Toyota powertrain would still be a pretty big win in a world where there’s a pretty limited amount of choice.
FWIW Toyota also builds Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Grand Highlander, Sienna, Sequoia, Tundra, and the respective Lexus variants here in the US. I live next to the Camry plant, it is Toyota’s largest in the world. Up until last December they also built the ES350.
Perhaps bZ Woodland?
2026 bZ Woodland | Toyota.com
Toyota is building an Avantime.
Don’t you be getting me excited like that.
It would be so great for the dozens of us who would want one and probably 3 people that would actually buy it.
I actually think I’d pull the trigger on a modern day Toyota-built Avantime clone. Genuinely.
And let’s not sell ourselves short. I’m sure there’s at least a couple thousand people who would buy it. Lol.
I’m thinking it’s the long-rumored Stout, perhaps as a hybrid or EREV
The proportions read something with a truck bed to me, even if it’s a short one.
Agreed. A fun-sized Toyota truck would sell out in advance for several years, and take a massive amount of Maverick buyers. Yes please!
Crossing fingers and toes that it’s hydrogen powered!
Been waiting for a crossover version of the Mirai for years now!
I agree with the other posters, that looks like a unibody ute like thing.
If that taillight bar was a little lower, I would almost think it was a new truck. But I don’t think that they would put the taillights at the top of a truck bed.
Ford Lightning has a light bar pretty high up on the tailgate. Not that high, but for a concept I could see it.
Hmmmmm. I’m getting distinct Maverick vibes from that picture. If Toyota can keep it reasonably simple and inexpensive, watch out.
Yup. Electric Maverick fighter.
I hope so!
I saw this after I posted my comment. What do you think about the placement of the taillight bar? Do you think an auto manufacturer would place it at the top of the tailgate?
These days, an auto manufacturer would seemingly place the taillight bar on whatever surface they’re like. Sometimes I feel like there’s little rhyme or reason to it.
Also, wouldn’t be shocked if those are some sort of daytime running led strips where the actual brake lights are somewhere below.
Yes, I was thinking those could just be reflective strips with the taillights in the traditional truck place in the black mass.
If so, I’m calling it the RAVerick.
Good call and a number of us might have to once Toyota reveals the name to be bZ4CHxbV!, or whatever strong password suggestion of a model name they come up with.