Photo of Chris Thompson
Chris Thompson

Senior Journalist

2 min read

The Toyota Tarago, axed half a decade ago, could make a return according to reports out of Japan.

Renderings of a next-gen version of the once-popular people mover by Japanese magazine Best Car suggest we may see a 2027 Toyota Tarago revealed before the end of this year.

The outlet, which has insider sources at Toyota and is regularly close to the mark on matters of the brand, says the design will be inspired by the original but its platform and running gear will be much more contemporary.

Read More About Toyota Tarago

With development already underway according to Best Car, reports say the next-gen Tarago — called Estima in its home market — will come with a full battery electric power or a plug-in hybrid option.

Chances are, it’ll ride on the GA-K platform, which is a version of the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) now almost ubiquitous in the brand’s line-up.

There’s not too much more information on the incoming Tarago, aside from Toyota plans to try and keep costs low by using as much of its existing production line resources as possible to produce the new people mover.

The plug-in hybrid version of the Tarago will likely use the same 1.5-litre petrol engine and battery as existing PHEV models, and like its BEV version will likely be available as all-wheel drive.

Best Car has previously guessed the new Tarago will come in at 4900mm long, 1850mm wide, 1750mm tall and with a 3000mm wheelbase.

There’s no guess as to what it’ll look like inside, but most of the details in the outlet’s rendering line up with Toyota’s current design language with nods to the original — save for perhaps the missing ‘c-shaped’ headlights we would estimate the brand would implement.

Photo of Chris Thompson
Chris Thompson

Senior Journalist

Racing video games, car-spotting on road trips, and helping wash the family VL Calais Turbo as a kid were all early indicators that an interest in cars would stay present in Chris’ life, but loading up his 1990 VW Golf GTI Mk2 and moving from hometown Brisbane to work in automotive publishing in Melbourne ensured cars would be a constant. With a few years as MOTOR Magazine’s first digital journalist under his belt, followed by a stint as a staff journalist for Wheels Magazine, Chris’ career already speaks to a passion for anything with four wheels, especially the 1989 Mazda MX-5 he currently owns. From spending entire weeks dissecting the dynamic abilities of sports cars to weighing up the practical options for car buyers from all walks of life, Chris’ love for writing and talking about cars means if you’ve got a motoring question, he can give you an answer.
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