Toyota's Brand New Scion Is Nothing Like The One You Remember

Some of the engineers and designers at Toyota's CALTY studios must be envious of Honda's powersports division. We can't think of many other reasons for Toyota diving into this market, which is completely unlike anything it has ever done before. Not that Toyota doesn't have off-road experience, because its long line of race trucks and rally winners shows it knows its way around the countryside, but this is something very different.

At least Toyota isn't messing around. The Scion 01 UTV gets the 2.4-liter turbo-four and i-Force Max system pulled straight from the latest Tacoma. For this UTV, Toyota says it delivers "over 300 horsepower." The Tacoma's system makes 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, and we have no reason to think the output would be any different in this concept.

Those figures are mind-bending in the UTV world. Most side-by-side drivers are used to 1000cc engines and an industry where 200 horsepower is enough to raise eyebrows. The most powerful models on the market today are a pair of Kawasaki UTVs with 250 horsepower.

Toyota's concept has all that power when you want it. It will also let you use just the electric motor for short periods, which it calls Silent Mode.

Scion 01 Comes With Race-Ready Safety Gear
The company isn't talking dimensions, but with a truck engine and hybrid system in the back, this is probably massive by UTV standards. Toyota built a chassis specifically for the off-roader, which includes an FIA-compliant roll cage. Toyota built it to meet SCORE and FIA off-road racing rules, which puts it beyond the strength of other off-the-shelf UTVs. This is Toyota, after all, so we're surprised it doesn't have some version of Toyota Safety Sense with adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist.

Toyota describes it as having "exceptional suspension articulation, balanced track width, and a nimble footprint for tight trails." It says that the "Scion 01 Concept aims to surpass current SXS products in power, capability, and range." It certainly has managed to surpass them in power, but without more specs, it's tough to comment on capability and range. Though anything this tall and long is going to have a tough time on tight trails.

We're not sure what suspension and brake components Toyota could bring from its parts department to this one. The Maxxis tires on 15-inch wheels are too small for most of Toyota's current brakes. A typical UTV delivers far more suspension travel than any production Toyota vehicle as well.

But it's interesting to see Toyota trying out a different market. Whether the Japanese automaker joins its countrymates from Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha, it's tough to say. Whatever the result, we do know one thing: We'd love to get some seat time in this beast and head for the most wide-open desert we can find.