Toyota Corolla-based pickup truck reportedly into consideration

Consumers available in the market for a small, city-friendly pickup may need an sudden choice later within the 2020s: the Toyota Corolla. Whereas nothing is official, the Japanese model is reportedly contemplating releasing a Corolla with a cargo field that may be positioned under the Tacoma.

With out citing sources, business commerce journal Automotive Information wrote that the mannequin “stays below dialogue.” If it receives the proverbial inexperienced gentle for manufacturing, it might land as a unibody pickup developed for light-duty hauling and towing, that means it might compete in the identical phase because the Ford Maverick. Our crystal ball tells us it might have 4 doorways, a rugged-looking design, and first rate floor clearance.

It is too early to supply specs, largely as a result of we do not know what “Corolla-based” means. The present Corolla made its debut as a hatchback for the 2019 mannequin yr and as a sedan for 2020, so it’ll seemingly get a makeover within the coming years. Nonetheless, the newer Corolla Cross (pictured) illustrates a method Toyota can steer the nameplate into a brand new territory whereas retaining the values it represents.

There is no phrase but on when Toyota will resolve whether or not to show the Corolla right into a truck. If the mannequin is accredited, manufacturing might happen in the identical Blue Springs, Mississippi, manufacturing facility that at present builds the Corolla. The catch is that it will not arrive till 2027 on the earliest.

Whereas we affiliate Toyota vehicles with rugged, body-on-frame fashions just like the Tacoma and the Tundra, the concept of a small, car-based pickup is not unprecedented. The second and third generations of the Corona (a mannequin positioned above the Corolla) spawned pickups aimed largely at business consumers. In a method, they had been Japan’s equal to the Chevrolet El Camino and the Ford Ranchero. Proven above, the third-generation automobile was supplied with two or 4 seats, powered by a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, and will carry as much as 1,100 kilos.