Photo: Toyota
To all those people who use their pickup trucks as they were initially intended, a premium version of such a vehicle must seem like a gold-plated shovel or something.
But there are those who will happily put that shovel on the wall and take it out once in a while just to show it off, never actually sticking it in the dirt. If you look at the market for pickup accessories, you’ll realize that there are more of these people than you thought.
And the manufacturers are clearly paying attention, as over time pickups have morphed from utility power horses into lifestyle vehicles. That being said, the moment when flatbed SUVs would make it into the premium segment was just a matter of time, and that time appears to be now.
Well, about three years from now, actually, as that’s when Mercedes-Benz said its GLT-Class - a “Stuttgart” pickup based on the Nissan Navara - would come out. It was understandable for Mercedes-Benz to wait that long, since it wasn’t until the deal with the Renault-Nissan alliance that such a project started to make sense, but Lexus didn’t have this problem.
Unlike Mercedes-Benz, Lexus always had a few pickup models in its extended garage in the form of all the offerings wearing the Toyota badge. And since Mercedes-Benz will be using a Nissan Navara as a platform, that means the future Lexus should be based on the latest Toyota Hilux model.
Speaking to Australian website Motoring.com, Lexus product planning project leader Makoto Tanaka has admitted the company is taking the prospect of a pickup into consideration. However, he was quick to add that it’s not a very high priority and out of the new Lexus models being considered, this one would be the least likely.
It’s clear Lexus doesn’t see a market for such vehicles yet, otherwise it could have easily been the company to launch the premium pickup truck segment years ago. But if the future Mercedes-Benz GLT-Class turns out to be a success, that could speed up the decision process at Lexus, and we could very well see a HiLux with a different name and a different badge. And most likely, a very different powertrain.
And the manufacturers are clearly paying attention, as over time pickups have morphed from utility power horses into lifestyle vehicles. That being said, the moment when flatbed SUVs would make it into the premium segment was just a matter of time, and that time appears to be now.
Well, about three years from now, actually, as that’s when Mercedes-Benz said its GLT-Class - a “Stuttgart” pickup based on the Nissan Navara - would come out. It was understandable for Mercedes-Benz to wait that long, since it wasn’t until the deal with the Renault-Nissan alliance that such a project started to make sense, but Lexus didn’t have this problem.
Unlike Mercedes-Benz, Lexus always had a few pickup models in its extended garage in the form of all the offerings wearing the Toyota badge. And since Mercedes-Benz will be using a Nissan Navara as a platform, that means the future Lexus should be based on the latest Toyota Hilux model.
Speaking to Australian website Motoring.com, Lexus product planning project leader Makoto Tanaka has admitted the company is taking the prospect of a pickup into consideration. However, he was quick to add that it’s not a very high priority and out of the new Lexus models being considered, this one would be the least likely.
It’s clear Lexus doesn’t see a market for such vehicles yet, otherwise it could have easily been the company to launch the premium pickup truck segment years ago. But if the future Mercedes-Benz GLT-Class turns out to be a success, that could speed up the decision process at Lexus, and we could very well see a HiLux with a different name and a different badge. And most likely, a very different powertrain.
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