Photo: KDesign AG / Behance
This year, Toyota took out the small and big guns to fight General Motors for sales supremacy in the US automotive market. It did not take the lead at halftime, so they are probably mounting yet another assault.
The flurry of novelties from the Japanese automaker has been pretty overwhelming, frankly. The sedan-CUV Crown, the addition of the Corolla Cross Hybrid to replace the departing C-HR subcompact, the entire Corolla Nightshade family, the 2024 Grand Highlander, the trio of GR special editions, plus the ultimate superheroes – the N400 Tacoma and the 2024 Land Cruiser. And I am not even sure I mentioned all the noteworthy novelties!
Anyway, the company is not stopping there, as there are more heroes to take out – the next 4Runner, the latest Camry, and so on. But, as it turns out, the rumor mill is repackaging an old whisper into new wrappings. Not long ago, once it became clear the Hyundai Santa Cruz was no match for the electrified Ford Maverick in the fight for unibody compact pickup truck supremacy, a lot of rumors swirled around a potential revival of the iconic 'Stout' nameplate for a compact pickup truck designed for America.
Now, after the 2024 Land Cruiser hype wound down a little bit, the rumor mill caught a new whisper that Toyota is now thinking about an easier move – a pickup truck derivative of the Corolla Cross. That's a couple of levels below a potential vintage-oriented revival of the Stout moniker, frankly, but it's also cheaper and easier to facilitate from the technological standpoint.
As for the design ethos, do not ask me because I really think the Corolla Cross looks great as a traditional crossover SUV but was never intended by its designers to serve as a potential base for a compact pickup truck. As such, it has nothing to do with the practical style these models need to attract their clients. Just look at the Santa Cruz and Maverick case – which one is rugged, and which is stylish, and where do the deliveries stand between them?
Precisely, the tougher-looking Maverick is selling way better – also because it's electrified and slightly more affordable, of course. Anyway, it was only logical that the rumor of a Corolla Cross pickup truck would travel even across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. More precisely, Kleber Silva, a Brazil-based virtual artist known as KDesign AG on social media, jumped at it and has decided to have a CGI go at imagining the upcoming Corolla Cross pickup truck with a bit of added flair.
So, while the front is plain and simple - directly lifted from the regular Corolla Cross crossover SUV, the four-door pickup truck allure was borrowed from the current Fiat Toro compact model to compose the look. However, the pixel master didn't stop there, as he also took a swing at the cool styling of the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser and stole the idea for upright LED taillights from there. So, do you like it or not?
I feel that it would only be feasible if Toyota managed to mix and match this hypothetical Corolla Cross with the powerful 196-hp hybrid powertrain. But then it would have to squeeze the MSRP down to Ford Maverick XL Hybrid levels (2024 model year starts at $24,900), which is probably almost impossible given how the 2023 Corolla Cross Hybrid crossover SUV already begins at a much higher threshold of nearly $28k!
Anyway, the company is not stopping there, as there are more heroes to take out – the next 4Runner, the latest Camry, and so on. But, as it turns out, the rumor mill is repackaging an old whisper into new wrappings. Not long ago, once it became clear the Hyundai Santa Cruz was no match for the electrified Ford Maverick in the fight for unibody compact pickup truck supremacy, a lot of rumors swirled around a potential revival of the iconic 'Stout' nameplate for a compact pickup truck designed for America.
Now, after the 2024 Land Cruiser hype wound down a little bit, the rumor mill caught a new whisper that Toyota is now thinking about an easier move – a pickup truck derivative of the Corolla Cross. That's a couple of levels below a potential vintage-oriented revival of the Stout moniker, frankly, but it's also cheaper and easier to facilitate from the technological standpoint.
As for the design ethos, do not ask me because I really think the Corolla Cross looks great as a traditional crossover SUV but was never intended by its designers to serve as a potential base for a compact pickup truck. As such, it has nothing to do with the practical style these models need to attract their clients. Just look at the Santa Cruz and Maverick case – which one is rugged, and which is stylish, and where do the deliveries stand between them?
Precisely, the tougher-looking Maverick is selling way better – also because it's electrified and slightly more affordable, of course. Anyway, it was only logical that the rumor of a Corolla Cross pickup truck would travel even across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. More precisely, Kleber Silva, a Brazil-based virtual artist known as KDesign AG on social media, jumped at it and has decided to have a CGI go at imagining the upcoming Corolla Cross pickup truck with a bit of added flair.
So, while the front is plain and simple - directly lifted from the regular Corolla Cross crossover SUV, the four-door pickup truck allure was borrowed from the current Fiat Toro compact model to compose the look. However, the pixel master didn't stop there, as he also took a swing at the cool styling of the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser and stole the idea for upright LED taillights from there. So, do you like it or not?
I feel that it would only be feasible if Toyota managed to mix and match this hypothetical Corolla Cross with the powerful 196-hp hybrid powertrain. But then it would have to squeeze the MSRP down to Ford Maverick XL Hybrid levels (2024 model year starts at $24,900), which is probably almost impossible given how the 2023 Corolla Cross Hybrid crossover SUV already begins at a much higher threshold of nearly $28k!
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