To be clear, these are just rumors, and, however much hope I may hold out, I do not lay claim to their truth. We'll see what Toyota does. I'm actually quite skeptical.
That said, I agree with your sentiments.
Toyota made Land Cruiser largely irrelevant to consumers through a combination of gentrification, high price, and functional duplication (with 4runner for off road touring and Sequoia for four-wheel family hauling). The dismal sales numbers speak for themselves. For most consumers, Land Cruiser's more robust mechanicals simply aren't worth the extra $20K in luxury bits. Your post provides a nice overview of how Toyota can think about remedying this.
I should have said that Toyota needs to fix (rather than further botch) Land Cruiser's payload and cargo capacity: That is, Land Cruiser's touring capabilities have eroded with its gentrification, at least in the U.S. market. It's current payload of ~1600 lbs (by my notes) is no different than 4Runner's. Its cargo capacity of 83 cubic feet is less than 4Runner's. By contrast, my old 80 series' payload is 1930 lbs alongside 97 cubic feet; I've waited years for a similarly reliable, mid-sized, off-road capable wagon with robust payload and respectable cargo capacity. A new Land Cruiser should match those old capabilities while improving range, fuel efficiency, and carbon emissions. I have no doubt that the originators of Prius can deploy similarly excellent and reliable hybrid technology in Land Cruiser.
With Grenadier and Defender it will be fantastic to have two mid-sized, one-tonish touring wagons available in the U.S. market. Hopefully Land Cruiser makes a third. It's been decades since we've had even one.
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