Here me out. I know that North America doesn't get medium sized, pickup-based, tough and cheap SUVs like the rest of the world because:

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1. They would steal sales from higher margin, Starbucks-mobile SUVs.
2. Existing models don't pass our crash standards (Toyota Fortuner, Ford Everest, Chevy Trailblazer etc.)

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The latter can be easily fixed. And I now think that the former is no longer applicable.

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SUVs have become such a cash cow for companies that the larger ones have built entire portfolios of them. Companies that have gone all-in on them have basically replaced sedan models with SUV equivalents in every possible price bracket. But before this happened, the cheap and rugged SUV slot would absolutely steal sales from the Explorer, RAV4 and Tahoe, among others. The hierarchies are now so built out and targeted to specific audiences that the opening has remerged.

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For clarification, picture the original 4Runner, Nissan Pathfinder and Blazer (not the bloated current versions). Decent sized, great off-road, mendable with a hammer and spacious. And best of all, reasonably priced. Beat them to hell, bend the body panels back into shape and keep truckin'.

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Look at Ford. For SUVs you have the Escape, Edge (soon to RIP), Bronco and Explorer. The first two are not rugged or tough, the Bronco isn't particularly spacious and can be pricey, and the Explorer has moved fully up the luxury ladder. Let's not pretend that the Timberline is a true off-road truck with that price and interior.

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There's a gaping space in the cheap, off-road ready and large size segment that isn't served by any current model. Slotting the Everest into that space makes tons of sense, especially given that it can be based on Ranger underpinnings that are crash-certified for the US. It's tough, the underpinnings are cheap, it can seat seven people and it's tough as hell with its pickup-based design.

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In this quadrant, the Bronco Sport fills the nice niche of cheapish, with solid off-road chops. But it's a pretty small and likely pricey to fix with its car-based unibody. The Bronco is a competitor for off-road chops, but it can also get pricey with options and is next to impossible to buy without waiting for 9+ months. And it also looks to be an expensive piece to fix.

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Of course it will cannibalize some sales to all of those models. But the economics of bringing in a proven design into an SUV-insatiable market have to be too much to ignore. WIth the Edge and Ecosport being punted after this generation of each, it opens up an even larger hole where the current models only somewhat satisfy the need.

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Looking to Toyota, there's a similar hole there. The RAV4 is the definitive suburban special, the 4Runner is mighty capable but supremely expensive (and hard to find like the Bronco), the Sequoia is enormous and the Highlander is a better UberXL than anything else.

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Solution? Move the next 4Runner downmarket, keep its toughness and off-road chops, add a third row and offer a wild variety of retro racing stripe packages. Then replace the current, expensive 4Runner with either a high-end trim level or a bespoke model in the spirit of the FJ Cruiser - but more useable.

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AKA the Toyota Fortuner.

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Cheap, rugged and based on the indestructible Hilux. Obviously this needs to be upgraded to our crash standards, but the economies of scale have to be there. Plus the margins have to be even better than the RAV4 given its unibody construction and increasingly luxury features.

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Toyota needs a model like this far more than Ford does, at the very least, as the hole between RAV4 and Sequoia for a true SUV is enormous. Rumors say that Toyota is working on a new FJ-style, off-road tumbler SUV, but given their penchant for updating trucks every three presidencies or so (looking at you, Sequoia), I don't expect to see it for several years yet.

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I firmly believe that even more outdoorsy folks could be persuaded into a storied nameplate like the 4Runner if a new one were cheaper, and possible to find one on the lot. Let's be honest, rock climbers and adventurers don't rock down trails in jacked up RAV4s. They use mid-2000s 4Runners and Pathfinders.

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And while we're at it, bring back this beauty. Sales would undoubtedly crush the Murano Cross Cabriolet:

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Let's get them into a new one, shall we?

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