Toyota Land Cruiser Rendering Shows A Minor Facelift For The Big SUV

The current-generation Toyota Land Cruiser has been around for quite a while. The J200 first appeared for the 2008 model year, which in the highly competitive SUV market may as well be the Stone Age. It's been refreshed through the years, and Kolesa.ru has created a couple of renderings depicting another possible update to the venerable people mover.

The renderings are based on purported spy images recently snapped that could indicate another J200 update is in the works. The facelift would be on the modest side, with the primary changes coming to the front fascia. The changes depicted on these renderings give the Land Cruiser a squared-off chin, and the grille has thinner crossbars as well. Small faux side vents adorn the fenders, and at the rear, the Land Cruiser receives a different lower fascia that incorporates trapezoid exhaust outlets.

It's possible this Land Cruiser update – if it happens – will be relegated to Far East markets. Otherwise, an all-new version of the SUV is expected to debut for the 2021 model year. It should retain the Land Cruiser's traditional body-on-frame construction, but rumors suggest it will ditch V8 power in favor of a twin-turbo V6. A hybrid model should also appear, though even the rumors on powertrain options at this point are extremely vague.

As for exactly when that new Land Cruiser will debut, nothing is set in stone. We've heard that a Land Cruiser concept could be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in October, giving us a hint of what the next-generation SUV will look like. A production model could follow a year later, debuting sometime in the fall of 2020. That would give Toyota a little bit of time to offer one more special edition model based on the current J200 platform, but not much.