Toyota is looking to bring a new small SUV to market and off-roaders rejoice, it will be body-on-frame. 

“There is room on the lower end, in terms of price or authenticity, for an off-road, frame-based SUV,” Toyota Motor North America CEO Jim Lentz told Motor Trend. “This would be for people going outdoors, but truly going offroad. This would not be all-wheel-drive for safety, this would be four-wheel-drive with ground clearance.”

Rumors of an FJ Cruiser successor are nothing new, but based on the last SUV concept we saw from Toyota, it appeared that the brand was preparing to go soft with its venerable off-roader. The small Toyota FT-4X Concept was based on Toyota’s New Global Architecture, the same unibody structure that supports much of the brand’s current lineup.

Lentz says that the FT-4X and the previous FT-AC Concept, are “along the lines” of what a new FJ Cruiser would look like. And while those concept vehicles weren’t exactly off-road monsters, they did have a number of interesting sounding features that could end up on this new off-road machine, like embedded infrared cameras in the side mirrors which can record your drive and removable fog lights that can be attached to other vehicles, like a mountain bike.

READ MORE: Toyota Unveils FT-4X Concept Crossover Adventure Vehicle

Although unibody vehicles are constantly becoming more off-road capable, Lentz recognizes that body-on-frame is still the way to go. “The difference is in wheel travel, and you can only do that with frame-based,” Lentz said. “This could be FJ sized, but for an enthusiast, it’s gotta be something with a small wheelbase to be more maneuverable when in the rocks.”

Keeping the new off-road vehicle small will also help Toyota meet exceedingly strict fuel economy targets.

“There’s market demand for frame-based SUVs, but we have to crunch all the CAFE numbers to see if there’s room for them,” finished Lentz. “4Runner continues to do well, but the softest segment is for big SUVs.”

If this does come to fruition, Toyota will finally be back in its rightful place as the company to offer the best Jeep Wrangler competitor on the market.

[Source: Motor Trend]