The is a large, heavy-duty

four-wheel-drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is 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 provi ...

SUV introduced by

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

in 1995. As the largest 4WD vehicle ever built by Toyota, its design resembles that of the

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of Military light utility vehicle, light, four-wheel drive Military vehicle#Military trucks, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It ...

and

Hummer H1 The Hummer H1 is a full-size four-wheel-drive utility vehicle based on the M998 Humvee, which was developed by AM General when it was a subsidiary of American Motors Corporation (AMC). Originally designed strictly for military use, the off-r ...

. 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 are the Military, military forces of Japan. Established in 1954, the JSDF comprises the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. They are controlled by the Ministry of D ...

(see :ja:高機動車). 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 Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered sk ...

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 the United Kingdom, this class is referred to as ...

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 definition ...

and features a 4.1 L

turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...

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 engine ...

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

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 the control of the direction of motion or the components that enable its control. Steering is achieved through various arrangements, among them ailerons for airplanes, rudders for boats, cylic tilting of rotors for helicopters, an ...

. 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 four 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. In JSDF service it was called High Mobility Vehicle, or HMV.

Missile launcher (BXD10)

A modified BXD10 mounting the

Type 93 Surface-to-air missile The or Kin-SAM is a surface-to-air missile used by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. It is the vehicle-borne version of the Type 91 surface-to-air missile, Type 91 missile. It is known in JSDF ranks as the Closed Arrow. Description It was fi ...

, 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 military vehicles while others were used by prefectural police/fire departments and the Japanese Armed Forces.

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 Cars introduced in 1995