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Toyota’s Upcoming Compact Pickup: What We Know So Far

For decades, Toyota has built its reputation in the U.S. truck market on the back of the Tacoma’s off-road cred and the Tundra’s full-size muscle. Now, the automaker is officially preparing to shrink things down. A new compact pickup—slotted beneath the Tacoma—is in development, and Toyota has confirmed it’s not a matter of if, but when.

The news comes straight from Toyota North America’s head of planning and strategy, Cooper Ericksen, who told MotorTrend in May 2025 that the project is underway. Timing has been the biggest hurdle, with Toyota focused on pushing its hybrid and EV lineup forward, but the truck is finally on the horizon. Expect a debut closer to 2027, with a possible concept reveal in 2026.

What’s in a Name?

Toyota hasn’t revealed a name, but speculation is running high. Hilux—a legendary global nameplate—wouldn’t make much sense for the U.S. market, where it’s tied to rugged mid-size trucks. A stronger candidate is Stout, a historic light-duty Toyota truck from the ’50s. Toyota even trademarked the name in Argentina in 2022, suggesting it could be staging a comeback.

Under the Skin

Unlike the Tacoma or Tundra, Toyota’s compact pickup won’t ride on a body-on-frame chassis. Instead, it’s expected to adopt a unibody layout built on the TNGA architecture. Early rumors pointed to the Corolla’s TNGA-C platform, but that may be too tight for a truck. A more likely choice is the TNGA-K—the same bones that support the Camry, RAV4, and Highlander.

That setup would deliver a stronger foundation for towing and payload (the RAV4 already manages 3,500 pounds) while offering more cabin space than a Corolla-based build could.

Design Cues: Baby Tacoma?

Don’t expect the new truck to look like a Corolla with a bed. Toyota is reportedly borrowing styling from its bigger pickups: trapezoidal grille, squared-off headlights, chunky fenders, and pronounced wheel arches. A TRD Pro version seems inevitable, with lifted suspension and off-road goodies. A street-oriented, lower-riding variant could also be in the cards, targeting Maverick’s city-friendly appeal.

Inside the Cabin

Where the Tacoma goes rugged, this smaller truck will likely lean carlike. Expect interiors that echo the RAV4 and Camry—clean, tech-heavy, and user-friendly—rather than the chunky knobs and grab handles of Toyota’s larger trucks. Standard Toyota Safety Sense driver aids will almost certainly be part of the package.

Hybrid Power Only

Toyota’s new truck is all but certain to go hybrid-only. Ericksen has made it clear that the company sees hybrids as the sweet spot for efficiency and affordability, especially as EV costs remain high. Look for the RAV4’s 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid setup, producing between 226 and 236 hp depending on drivetrain.

There’s also the tantalizing possibility of a RAV4 Prime–sourced plug-in hybrid, cranking out 320 hp. If Toyota drops that into the compact truck, it would instantly take the crown as the most powerful in its class—leapfrogging both the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz.

Pricing and Positioning

Pricing will be key. The Maverick starts just below $30,000, the Santa Cruz just above. The new Toyota will need to thread the needle between those rivals and the larger Tacoma, which kicks off at $33,085. That suggests a base price in the $30K range, with loaded trims climbing to around $45,000.

The Road Ahead

If you’re itching to put down a deposit, you’ll have to wait. Toyota doesn’t plan to bring this truck to showrooms until at least 2027, and resources for an earlier launch just weren’t there. But if the Maverick’s popularity proves anything, it’s that buyers are hungry for practical, affordable, compact trucks.

Toyota is late to the game, but when its contender finally arrives, it could easily be the most compelling option in the segment.

Source: Toyota

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The Bentley Pickup: Absurd Fantasy or Imminent Reality?

At Bentley, the rules of conventional carmaking have never applied in quite the same way. If your imagination is vivid enough—and your wallet deep enough—almost nothing is off the table. From custom-built station wagons to ultra-luxury SUVs, the British marque has long entertained the whims of its wealthiest clientele. And now, in perhaps the boldest conceptual leap yet, Bentley is entertaining the idea of a pickup truck.

Yes, you read that correctly—a Bentley pickup.

The idea came to light in a recent interview with Australia’s CarSales.com, where Bentley’s board member for sales and marketing, Christophe Georges, hinted that the ultra-luxury brand is open to just about anything. When asked about the feasibility of building a pickup, Georges didn’t dismiss it. Instead, he offered a typically Bentley-esque response: such a vehicle could be “cool, beautiful or interesting.”

Of course, that’s not to say it’s in the pipeline. Georges was quick to clarify that no such model is under development, and crucially, no one has placed an order—yet. “There’s no real demand,” he noted. But with Bentley’s bespoke division constantly pushing the limits of automotive couture, it might only take one eccentric billionaire to change that.

Historically, the concept of a luxury pickup has been a rocky road. The early 2000s saw the Lincoln Blackwood—a Ford F-150 in formalwear—fail to capture consumer interest, and Mercedes-Benz‘s X-Class met a similar fate, surviving just three years on the market despite its premium pretensions. These efforts, though bold, revealed an uncomfortable truth: luxury and utility don’t always mix seamlessly.

But the automotive landscape has shifted. Today’s buyers, particularly at the top end, are more interested in exclusivity than practicality. As segments blur and category lines dissolve, a Bentley pickup—perhaps with rich wood paneling, diamond-stitched leather seats, and a bespoke tailgate for polo gear or vineyard tours—no longer feels like satire. It feels inevitable.

Evidence of this shift can already be found in the real world. In 2023, the one-off Bentley Decadence made headlines in the UK. Crafted by DC Customs, this wild transformation of a Flying Spur into a luxury pickup was priced at a cool £150,000. While not a factory project, it demonstrated that demand—even if niche—exists.

And that’s the key with Bentley: it doesn’t take mass-market interest to justify a build. All it takes is one buyer with a dream and a checkbook. As history has shown, “impossible” isn’t a word in the brand’s vocabulary. It’s just another design brief away.

So, will we one day see a Bentley pickup pulling up to a country estate or cruising through the Hamptons? It may sound absurd now—but in the realm of bespoke luxury, the line between absurd and aspirational is thinner than ever.

After all, at Bentley, “no” often just means, “how much are you willing to pay?”

Source: CarSales.com; Photo: DC Customs

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Toyota’s Next Truck Could Be a Game-Changer—And It’s Not a Tacoma

Toyota is no stranger to innovation, but its latest ambition might steer the company into uncharted territory—at least for North American buyers. Rumors and concepts suggest that the automaker is seriously exploring a compact pickup truck to slot beneath the midsize Tacoma, and recent digital renderings have brought that possibility into sharper focus.

Though Toyota hasn’t officially committed to building such a vehicle, company officials have confirmed internal discussions about a smaller, more affordable pickup. The most concrete teaser so far came in 2023, when Toyota unveiled the all-electric EPU concept—a sleek, futuristic model that hinted at what could be a new chapter in the automaker’s truck lineup.

But until Toyota reveals something tangible, the design space has been occupied by digital artists. Independent designers like Digimods Design and Theophilus Chin have stepped in to reimagine what a compact Toyota pickup might look like, drawing heavily from the rugged aesthetic of the 2026 RAV4 Adventure trim.

The Adventure trim serves as an ideal base for reinterpretation, with its boxy bumper, bold grille, blacked-out accents, and aggressive skid plate. It’s a look that already leans into utility, making it a compelling starting point for a compact truck.

Digimods Design opted for a conventional truck architecture, marrying the RAV4’s front fascia with the Tacoma’s ladder-frame underpinnings and a classic rear truck bed. In a playful twist, he retained the RAV4’s horizontal taillights, repositioning them on the tailgate—a move that blends the SUV’s personality with traditional pickup functionality.

Chin’s take veers into more car-like territory. His unibody concept stretches the RAV4’s form factor into a longer, sleeker silhouette, complete with vertically stacked LED taillights and a stylized plastic bumper. His rendering includes integrated steps and bold “RAV4” branding on the tailgate, lending the design a cohesive SUV-meets-truck vibe.

From a production standpoint, a unibody design might make more sense for Toyota. Rival automakers like Ford and Hyundai have found success with the Maverick and Santa Cruz, respectively—both of which use unibody construction for better on-road comfort and improved efficiency.

While unibody pickups typically can’t match the towing or payload figures of ladder-frame trucks, they appeal to a growing audience: urban dwellers, weekend adventurers, and small business owners who want truck utility without full-size truck compromises.

Toyota’s TNGA-K platform—shared by the RAV4, Highlander, and Crown Signia—would be a logical base for a unibody truck. The platform already supports hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains, including the 320-horsepower RAV4 Prime PHEV, which could provide more than enough grunt for a compact lifestyle truck.

However, Toyota hasn’t ruled out a more rugged approach either. Some reports hint that a ladder-frame compact pickup, possibly inspired by the iconic Hilux or even channeling the spirit of the FJ Cruiser, is still on the table. That route could give Toyota a legitimate off-road competitor in the compact segment—one that caters to outdoor enthusiasts who value trail performance over city comfort.

So, what will it be? A car-like truck that slots neatly into the growing urban pickup niche, or a small but mighty off-road beast that revives Toyota’s adventure heritage?

If Toyota’s track record is anything to go by, they might just find a way to do both.

Source: Toyota; Photo: Digimods Design