Larger Than Life: Hummer-Esque Toyota Mega Cruiser

ToyotaMC_03Who doesn’t love Hummer H1s? These machines have battled it out at home and abroad for the better part of 30 years and come out fighting still. You can thank good ole Arnold Schwarzenegger for getting the brutes approved for civilian use here in the states, but what neither he nor any 4×4 fanatic could overcome was the trade embargo on this: the Toyota Mega Cruiser.

ToyotaMC_09In practically every way but the badging and placement of the steering wheel, the Mega Cruiser is the Japanese clone of the H1. Long, wide, spacious, and seriously capable, the SUV followed in the footsteps of its American cousin by first seeing use a military application before being marketed to the average Haruko-san in the mid-90s.

Toyota made the Mega Cruiser from 1995 to 2002, but exact production numbers have never been released, which may explain why the price tag on this big red 4×4 comes in at a whopping $90,720. Because nobody knows how common or rare they are, they’re free to charge as much as they want, regardless of the vehicle’s true worth.

But we digress. This Mega Cruiser definitely isn’t here to apologize for its size or price, it’s here to take you where you want to go. It does that with a 4.1-liter inline-four turbodiesel motor making 153 hp and 282 lb-ft of torque, and all that heave-ho makes its way via center, front, and rear diffs with lockers to boot (except for the center diff).

Seating for six, power windows, and air conditioning round out the creature comforts, and a lack of ABS and ESC probably won’t leave off-roaders sobbing and crying. But maybe the price will?ToyotaMC_01

About the author

David Chick

David Chick comes to us ready for adventure. With passions that span clean and fast Corvettes all the way to down and dirty off-road vehicles (just ask him about his dream Jurassic Park Explorer), David's eclectic tastes lend well to his multiple automotive writing passions.
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