Nightmare for the Maverick
We were just introduced to the electric Toyota Land Cruiser Se and now we shed some light on the Toyota EPU. It is also completely electric and ready for adventures that also unfold off the asphalt. Unlike the Land Cruiser Se, the EPU is not an electric SUV, but an electric pick-up!
Meet the Toyota EPU, an apparently concrete precursor to an electric pick-up. With its length of 5.07 meters and wheelbase of no less than 3.35 meters, the EPU is certainly no small boy. But there is something striking going on. Toyota itself describes the electric pick-up as a “mid size pickup of the next generation.” Medium-sized. In Toyota land, that is not the Tundra, but the Hilux or Tacoma positioned below it. The Hilux and Tacoma – with a double cabin like the EPU – are also quickly almost 5. 3 meters long. So considerably bigger. What’s going on here?
The EPU seems more of a Maverick competitor and less of an EV alternative to the Tacoma.
It appears that the Toyota EPU is a preview of a more passenger car-like pickup in the style of models like the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. The popular but not available in the Netherlands Ford Maverick is, like the Toyota EPU, 5.07 meters long, the Santa Cruz is just under 10 centimeters shorter. Just like with the Santa Cruz and the Maverick, the cargo box forms one whole with the rest of the body. In cars such as the Hilux and Tacoma, the cargo box is mounted separately from the cabin on the ladder frame.
Toyota EPU
The Toyota EPU does not have a ladder chassis, but a self-supporting body. The car seats five passengers and has a robust-looking interior with a steering wheel cut open at the top, plenty of storage space and a striking display. The screen that functions as instruments and infotainment screen is divided by an element with which you choose the direction of travel and where you will find the start button and the auto-hold button.
Toyota makes a huge splash during the Japan Mobility Show. In addition to the electric Land Cruiser Se and this EPU Concept, it also includes this IMV 0, this Kayoibako, an electric crossover and a new electric sports coupe.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl