The upcoming mini Toyota Land Cruiser will be a Corolla Cross-sized "Land Hopper?"

The Toyota Land Cruiser made its name being a tough-as-nails, go-anywhere premium 4x4 with the looks to back it up. Hot on the heels of the new global Land Cruiser 300 and the North American Land Cruiser 250 (Prado) could be a new third, more compact variant that’s being adorably dubbed the Land Hopper.

Japanese site Best Car Web has dropped its own rendering of what the Land Hopper could be styled like and unsurprisingly, it appears to be very much like a mini Land Cruiser 250. That’s not a bad thing given that the Land Cruiser 250 is the better looking part of the duo.

Speculation about the mini Land Cruiser stems from Toyota’s presentation on the Land Cruiser 250/Land Cruiser 70 held in August 2023, particularly a slide that indicated the model’s future direction.

During the presentation by Toyota's Design Manager Simon Humphries, the current Land Cruiser 300 and Land Cruiser 250 are clear in the foreground’s left and right. However, in the background’s left was clearly the silhouette of a compact SUV.

Also Read: Toyota trademarks Land Hopper name - Will it be on the Land Cruiser EV or the mini-Fortuner?

In the background’s right was another silhouette that pointed towards a larger bZ SUV that’s going to be a battery electric model.

Back to the cute Land Hopper name, it’s not all guesswork as Toyota did register it as a trademark with the Japanese Patent Office on August 8, 2023.

Also Read: Finally, the UN can have a hybrid they can trust - 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser 250 debuts

Size-wise, the Land Hopper would be similar in footprint to the Toyota Corolla Cross, likely measuring around 4,490 mm in length, 1,825 mm in width and 1,850 mm in height. Like the rendering, it’ll sport a square body and rugged over fenders. Think of it as a boxier Toyota FJ Cruiser.

Under the hood, expect some variation of the 1.8-litre petrol NA or hybrid powertrain from the Corolla Cross or even the 2.0-litre petrol or 2.5-litre hybrid from the Toyota RAV4. Best Car Web even suggests that the 1.5-litre turbo hybrid setup could find its way into the Land Hopper.