The , Toyota Megakurūzā is a large, heavy-duty

four wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

SUV introduced by

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

in 1995. The largest 4WD ever built by Toyota, it resembles the

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...

in terms of design. Like the Humvee, the Mega Cruiser was originally designed primarily for military use with the vehicle seeing duty as a transport vehicle in the

Japan Self Defense Forces The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, t ...

. Sold exclusively in Japan via ''

Toyota Store Toyota vehicles in Japan are distributed to numerous dealership chains throughout the country. Up to May 2020, each dealership chain had a different product offering, with some models restricted to one chain to maintain exclusivity. Since May 2020, ...

'' locations, the Mega Cruiser was also used by prefectural police, the Japan Auto Federation and fire/rescue departments. As of 2020, it was reported that Toyota had produced 3,000 units before production was halted. A total of 133 Mega Cruisers were sold to civilians.

History

A prototype of the Toyota Mega Cruiser was first presented to the public at the 30th Tokyo Motor Show in October 1993. Production began in late 1995 at Toyota's Gifu Auto Body subsidiary before sales began in 1996. All Mega Cruiser production was reported to have been halted in 2001 while sales officially ended in 2002. The reason being slow sales due to strict vehicle taxes and Japan having a lot of narrow streets. Some Mega Cruisers were sold overseas from Japan as

grey import A parallel import is a non-counterfeit product imported from another country without the permission of the intellectual property owner. Parallel imports are often referred to as grey product and are implicated in issues of international trade, a ...

Development

The Mega Cruiser was designed as a 4-door

full-size Full-size car—also known as large car—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than mid-size cars, it is the largest size class for cars. In Europe, it is known as E-segment or F-segment. Af ...

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...

and features a 4.1 L

turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

inline-4 A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...

engine. The engine was rated at and of torque at 1,800 rpm while also being very robust. A 4-speed Aisin-Warner automatic transmission with a two-speed transfer case transfers power to all four wheels. Its wheelbase is and it is in length. The vehicle is high and wide. It has a load capacity of 600 kg and has a curb weight of . The SUV featured front, center, and rear differential locks, as well as

four wheel steering Steering is a system of components, linkages, and other parts that allows a driver to control the direction of the vehicle. Introduction The most conventional steering arrangement allows a driver to turn the front wheels of a vehicle using ...

. It has a central tire pressure system installed as an optional feature and has a hardtop roof. The Mega Cruiser has seats for two people in front and fourteen people at the back. The vehicle was intended to test designs that would eventually make their way into mass-produced Toyota SUVs, such as the Land Cruiser, but was financially unsuccessful for Toyota. While the Mega Cruiser was produced by Toyota in RHD configuration, a few were reported to be made in LHD configuration. As of 2020, around 12 were known to have been produced in LHD.

Variants

Mega Cruiser (BXD10)

The BXD10 version was made for military purposes such as personnel and military equipment transportation.

Missile launcher (BXD10)

A modified BXD10 mounting the Type 93 Surface-to-air missile, produced by Toshiba Heavy Industries.

Mega Cruiser (BXD20)

The BXD20 version was made for civilian sales and was available with two roof types, the standard low roof and the optional high roof. Some BXD20 versions also saw service as a military vehicle while others were used by prefectural police/fire departments and the JAF.

References

External links

* * * {{Toyota road light truck/SUV/crossover timeline, 1985–date Mega Cruiser Full-size sport utility vehicles All-wheel-drive vehicles 1990s cars 2000s cars Military light utility vehicles Post–Cold War military equipment of Japan Military vehicles of Japan Expanded length sport utility vehicles