Dependability. Consistency. Punctuality. All of these are great attributes to have, but sadly they aren’t as cool as not responding to texts, showing up late or spending all of your cash on frivolous things.
There are few car brands that represent reliability and quality like Toyota. It’s the first car you recommend to non-car friends, and I’ve had a Toyota product as one of my two vehicles for the last quarter century. Still, we need to face a simple fact: generally speaking, most Toyotas aren’t cool. Oh sure, there are Supras, 2000GTs, AE86s and the like but most of their products are bought with the head and not the heart. Do you think that I purchased a certified used 2000 RX300 because I had a poster of it on the wall growing up?
Oddly enough, one of the coolest Toyotas was also one of the company’s boxiest and stodgiest looking products: the Land Cruiser (which is not the crossover mentioned in the headline; that’s coming in a bit). Since 1951, this Jeep rival has stayed true to its functional style-be-damned roots to remain arguably the most durable and bulletproof SUV ever.
There’s another Toyota from years past that’s also cool despite (or perhaps because of) its somewhat dorky looks. This funky product was almost impossible to categorize, but it was able to do so many things with a mere 63 horsepower. In many ways, it was ahead of its time, and that time has now arrived a mere forty years later. Let’s bring back the Toyota Tercel 4WD wagon!
Cruise(r) Control
They might not be bought by a cult that covers their dash tops with toy ducks, but Toyota continues to make legitimate, semi-indestructible off-roaders like the striking new Land Cruiser and the also-rugged 4Runner and pickup truck-based Sequioa (technically, they’re all on the same platform).
If you look in the background of those Toyota television commercials behind red-clad ever-present Jan (how can a person be so perpetually chipper in a fucking car dealership?) you’ll also see a whole bunch of crossover type vehicles. On the website I count at least six; all of them excellent, rational machines and I’d love to own precisely none of them. That’s a shame, since the first Toyota to arguably called a “crossover” was bizarre-looking and remarkably capable ‘lil chunk-‘o-fun.
Not An ATM, But It Was Money
Toyota was a good decade late to the party that the Europeans had started when Toyota released its first front wheel drive compact, the Tercel for 1979. This rather dumpy sedan was replaced with equally lackluster looking hatchbacks for 1983, keeping the rather odd-for-a-new-FWD-compact longitudinal engine (also that penguin at 0:14 in the ad below looks like a robot).
Ah, but as that weird ad pointed out, this was the tip of the iceberg because someone must have looked at this drivetrain setup and realized how easily they could hook up a driveshaft to the back of the transaxle and get a four-wheel drive model.
This option that was made available exclusively on a special bodystyle of the Tercel. If you don’t remember the 1983-87 Tercel wagon, you wouldn’t be alone. Just calling it a “wagon” was a bit of a misnomer since in many ways it really defied that description. Honestly, the name that most people referred to it might jog your memory: “the Money Exchange Car”.
Now you recall it, right? This disproportionately tall box sitting up on its tiny little wheels looked almost like your typical AI mashup of today with proportions seemingly at odds with each other. The asymmetric, squared off grille in front looked like something off of a piece of construction equipment. Massive rear quarter windows didn’t line up with the other side glass, the roof bumped out above the door tops.
The crowning glory and source of the Tercel wagon’s nickname was on the tailgate: an off-center box that looked remarkably like a 1980s “Money Exchange” or ATM machine. The license plate was placed in a sunken area where the screen would be on a cash machine, while the door handle for the hatch seemed to be where dollar bills would be dispensed once you typed your commands into the touchpad that happened to really be the backup light.
Inside, the funkiness continued with oddly-shaped seats featuring upholstery that looks a bit like the lumberjacks that Notorious BIG would wear. The top of the dash received an inclinometer that was similar to what “real” offroaders such as the Land Cruiser might get.
Ah, but the Tercel 4WD could actually be considered a real off roader, despite its size and notably low-powered 57 horsepower engine. The 1.6 liter four was hooked up to a six-speed manual that included five forward cogs as well as a “granny” ultra-low first gear, so Toyota expected you to take them up on at least part of the promise the Tercel wagon’s looks made.
Combined with its tremendous-for-the-outside-dimensions cargo capacity, the Tercel 4WD wagon was an immensely fun and useful little car. Look at this little sumbitch go in the ad below:
The Tercel helped pave the way for the “crossovers” that exist today, yet few (least of all Toyota products) offer such a tough little-car-that-could persona. The Tercel Wagon really deserves a revisit, and Toyota is supposedly working on something now that could create a perfect path to this end.
More Of A Good Thing
As elated as most of us are with Toyota actually producing the latest heritage-focused US-model Land Cruiser, there’s possibly more good news. In 2022, Toyota showed us the Compact Cruiser, supposedly an EV and a scaled-down interpretation of the latest Cruiser.
The Compact Cruiser is actually a unique design with bold, chamfered edges and modern interpretations of the typical ladders-and-skid-plates accoutrements of the off roading lifestyle. It’s all very industrial design looking; rather cartoonish and exaggerated. I obviously love it dearly, and if a guy that digs Lamborghini Espadas and Citroen SMs is into something that means it’s probably too over-the-top to sell in huge numbers.
To complement the Compact Cruiser, I think Toyota might need to do a version that’s toned down a bit, but just stripping off the roof racks and stripes and calling it a day won’t do it. No, they need to find something that balances ruggedness and suburban sensibility in equal measure. Cue the Oh What A Feeling trumpets- I have just the thing!
New Power, Same Dorkiness
Starting with the Compact Cruiser concept, the stubby proportions make it relatively easy to create a variation that pays tribute to the old Tercel Wagon. I’ve kept the flared fenders, but made them body-colored sheet metal to keep an aggressive look that’s still more toned down. The faceted edges used on the Compact Cruiser’s surfaces remain, and the giant rear quarter windows make the new Tercel wagon look a lot more airy in back than the blocked-0ff C pillars of the Cruiser Concept.
Are we putting an ATM on the rear hatch? Damn right, we are. A funky detail is the seam line on the top of the ATM “box”: that’s the rear wiper, and as it pivots around to wipe the rear window and then back to its resting place it would look like a filmmaker’s slate constantly doing “Tercel Wagon, Take One!”
The “lighting signature” matches the original car with the inset parking light, and it flanks a blocky grille taken verbatim from the old Tercel. The skid plate bumper off of the Compact Cruiser could work here as well.
Inside, we’ll have some chamfered-edge details to match the outside with grab handles befitting an off-roader. You can reconfigure the screen any way you’d want, but I would hope the default could be the inclinometer to pay tribute to the original Tercel wagon. Turn the car on, and a video of the Tercels driving into their places on the inclinometer plays.
The charger platform for your phones is a block that can be removed from the car. Of course, like on all of my sketches there will be a “gear” lever. Maybe I’m the only person on earth that doesn’t like touch buttons or knobs for gear selection but I’d be willing to bet money that there are other PRNDLheads out there, yes? Overall, I’m giving it a “tough” look that’s functional and rugged to fit the whole feel of the exterior design and will manage suburban abuse.
Funniest Looking Car You’ll Ever Love
Let’s face it: the Tercel wagon was made for these times. Many people want an a tough-looking vehicle but not something that makes you appear to be a fan of survivalist podcasts. These buyers don’t need Moab-level capability but at the same time aren’t interested in a pure poser. No, the world is finally ready for the little-wagon-that-could, and now it would have the kind of power the old one only dreamed of.
Look out, Stellantis: Jeep might still have more of a hip factor, but Toyota’s dependable-dull off roaders are getting cooler every day.
Let’s Raid The BMW Parts Bin To Make A Real Toyota Supra GT – The Autopian
Jeep Needs To Build An Off-Road Van And Here’s How They Should Do It – The Autopian
My first car was an ’87 three door Tercel. FWD, manual transmission, didn’t even have a factory stereo. Not nearly as cool as the 4WD version but I remember it fondly.
I dig the concept, and would love there to be another mid-sized crossover that doesn’t look like a tank. I’m a big fan of toyota trucks and the reliability of 4Runner, but the angular/boxy styling and tiny windows make it look like a military vehicle. I’ve been kinda lusting after second gen RAV4s lately, so this would be in the right direction.
I liked the Jeep Renegade because of its quirky friendliness, but the windows were still small and the engine/transmission was very meh. Big windows, low beltlines and plaid seats please!
Did you just make a Tercel-themed Bronco Sport?
/ducks & runs
My first car was a hand-me-down ‘83 5-door Tercel that lasted from high school to well past college and I loved that shitbox. Seeing the wagon version made me mildly jealous of the lucky people that owned it.
I love the idea of this as Toyota’s retro-modern, affordable, but playful EUV that conceptually, is similar to Rivian’s R3X. Those rear windows, the ATM, and the real shifter are perfect.
Man, that looks really good. While the crossover craze is at least partly to blame for the resurgence in off-road SUVs, I can’t help but mourn the fact that spaces in Toyota’s lineup for the Compact Cruiser and your modernized Tercel 4WD are taken up by the milquetoast Corolla Cross and RAV4.
You know, I was just thinking that what the automotive world needed was another SUV.
Love it! Might actually get me to look at a new Toyota. The blockiness is a little neo-Bronco (aka neo-4Runner), but the windows really help Tercel-ify it.
Bishop, this might be your best work yet. Compare this to the new Defender, which looks like a modern car cosplaying as an old one: this one looks way, way better.
Give it enough headroom and I would seriously consider one of these. If it had enough power (but not too much), I would SERIOUSLYER consider one of these.
Fantastic idea Bishop. I had one of those Tercels briefly in the late 90s. My neighbor had two and he gave me one for $1 if I could “get it the hell off my driveway.” I did and drove it around for a few months and eventually gave it to my cousin. He had it for a few years after that. That little thing kicked serious ass.
You got PAID to take it!? Damn, that’s amazing.
Haha. Nevermind, I read that wrong. I thought he gave you a buck to take it. Lol
The value of the dollar was higher back then, but still a good deal lol.
Keep the tall glass, AND the plaid seats !
All this needs is an ad campaign in which Jan introduces us to her father … Squire Fridell. IYKYK.
Bravo.
I like it. Looks way more useful than the Compact Cruiser- better visibility for sure.
I agree with you on shifters. I’ve got a rotary knob in my GC, and had push button in my TLX before that. I hate it. Nowhere near as intuitive. And it drives me crazy that nearly every car I’d want to replace mine with doesn’t have a good old fashioned handle (or column shift).
the Oregon license plate in the rendering is *chef’s kiss* perfect
It was either that or a New Mexico plate to be like Jesse Pinkman’s
I prefer column-mounted shifters but your idea to keep the center console shifter out of the way of storage is a very practical approach. Fantastic concept overall, Bishop.
Who could ask for anything more? I love it.
Yeah if Toyota gave its crossovers an image closer to Subaru’s or Jeep’s, or even their own SUV’s, they’d be even more unstoppable sales wise than they already are.
Making it look like a mini-FJ is the wrong vibe. Make it look like the old Tercel wagon again.
I think Toyota could totally lean into it’s 80’s vibe right now and do well. One problem, they would never. Toyota has a “never look backwards” policy. They don’t do retro vibes. They will take elements from the past, but never wholesale retro. The FJ Cruiser is the last attempt and it was as far as they will ever go.
I’d tone down the flared arches a bit more, but other than that, mmm. Yes please.
This is what the world needs instead of the current mass of SUVs that all look the same. I love this!
Wow… I love your modern re-imagining with the exception of the large shifter/airp;an thingy in the center console. Get this to Toyota STAT!
10/10, no notes. That’s rad AF!
My uncle had one of these as a beater for a couple of years. At one point someone smashed the rear glass to steal something from the back and rather than shell out the big bucks for a replacement he bought the biggest rubbermaid tote he could find and cut the lid to fit. Popped it in with the rubber gasket and drove it for another year or so.
Why yes, befitting the stereotype he and my dad did immigrate from Scotland as children.
Thank you for this Bishop! My father “the world’s most particular man” had a gold one that he loved. I called it the Grocery Grabber. He also loved intercepting me asking to drive my mother’s much nicer and cooler car to offer his “lame” car with a grin. Learned to drive a stick in it. I had to be able keep it still at an uphill light using just the clutch and gas before the old man would let me get my license. That thing had a hairline clutch that I popped many a time before mastering. We took it everywhere, including many a ski trip. I’m surprised nobody has mentioned the cool little 4WD lever mounted behind the stick, IN A CAR.
Your new design is great and you nailed it! I don’t recall seeing across the board 100% positive responses like I’m seeing here. The white alloys would be a nice touch! I just wish Pop was still here to get fired up about your design and the hope that they would bring back his beloved Grocery Grabber. Thank you for posting this!
It’s supposed to say “world’s most practical man”, not particular. Of course, it won’t let me change it.
Thank you for that story- that’s really why I do these types of things. I figured there would be people out there with fond memories of this almost forgotten car.
Loved the original, and this is a great re-imagining! I would love it even more if it were more wagon and less SUV…. but, of course, that wouldn’t sell nowadays because dumb people gonna dumb.
When my grandparents retired to Arkansas in the early 80s, they bought a Tercel to handle the low water-crossing accessing their new property. After they passed, my bil got it, fettled it for DD use, and nicknamed it The Turtle as it was functional but damn slow. Sold it to his sister who killed cars with slow neglect. I rescued it out of their field, got it running, but it was trashed by then. It was too gutless to use as a boonie-basher(I already had 4wd Subarus that were far more entertaining), so I stored it at a buddy’s farm.
It could fit a bale of hay in the back, so was going to serve as a mini farm truck, but the car had had enough: it wanted to return to the soil. While moving it to mow, the shift fork gave up (known issue in these—and why many got crushed), and it was done. Replacement transmissions cost much more than its utility was worth.
RIP, Turtle. I miss the concept of having you—just not actually driving you. You served well, and did actually go to a farm when the time came.