Toyota Lifts 5 Family Cars for SEMA; Hamilton Takes Pole

Toyota Woodland Concepts

Five family Toyotas get hiking boots

Most SEMA builds start with a sports car or a pickup. Toyota went the other way. Its CALTY Design Research studio took five of the most ordinary cars in its range and gave every one the same rugged treatment, calling the family “Woodland”.

The line-up: the RAV4 plug-in hybrid, the three-row Grand Highlander, the Sienna minivan, the electric bZ and the Crown Signia wagon. All five share a lift kit, all-terrain tyres, satin-black wheels, oversized fender flares and roof racks or crossbars. Two-tone paint with a Horizon Blue finish ties the set together, so they look like a matched expedition team rather than five separate projects.

Then there is the rebel. Toyota Motorsports Garage built a sixth car, the Crown Signia GT-S Concept, and went down instead of up. It sits nearly five inches lower, wears bulging flares and 21-inch HRE wheels, and borrows brake calipers from the Lexus RX 500h F Sport. Toyota has not touched the hybrid powertrain, so this one is about stance, not speed.

Why it matters to you: don’t head to a dealer for these. Toyota calls them special project prototypes built with parts it doesn’t sell, and Motor1 notes some changes could void a warranty or make a car illegal on the street. But concepts like this are how carmakers test the waters. The “lifted crossover” look is already selling, from Subaru’s Wilderness trims to Honda’s TrailSport badges. If buyers at SEMA swarm the Woodland Sienna, a factory version with a mild lift and tougher tyres becomes much easier to justify.

Think of it as a minivan in hiking boots: same comfy seats and sliding doors, but ready for a gravel road to the campsite.

The East Africa angle: the RAV4 is one of the most familiar Toyotas on Kenyan roads, often bought as a used import. A factory-backed Woodland look would be a natural fit for rough upcountry roads, though nothing here is confirmed for any market yet.

Waymo x Toyota

Waymo’s next robotaxi is a Toyota bZ4X

Waymo has picked a custom Toyota bZ4X as its next robotaxi. Toyota will fit the Waymo Driver hardware on the production line at its Takaoka plant in Aichi, rather than bolting it on later. A test fleet starts in Japan in 2027 ahead of a Tokyo launch, with the UK and other markets to follow. Riders get extra rear legroom, automatic doors and a power tailgate. For scale, Waymo already does more than 500,000 paid rides a week across 15 US cities.

BYD Yangwang Altior

BYD’s luxury flagship gets suicide doors

BYD’s luxury brand Yangwang confirmed its coming Altior sedan will have rear-hinged “suicide” doors that swing open nearly 90 degrees, a first for any BYD. The car is expected to be about 5.5 metres long. Reports point to a global debut in the UAE, possibly in Dubai around November 5, and a rumoured price near 2 million yuan (about $300,000). A teaser hints at BYD’s 5-minute Flash Charging, but the specs are still unofficial.

Honda Recall

Honda recalls its tyre-repair kits, again

Honda is recalling 4,804 CR-V Hybrids and Accord Hybrids from the 2023 to 2026 model years, plus one CR-V fuel-cell car, because the sealant bottle in the emergency tyre kit can build pressure and its cap can fly off. It is a second round: a supplier mixed faulty parts in with the fixes from June’s recall of about 1.05 million cars. Dealers will fit a redesigned nozzle for free. Until then, Honda says don’t use the kit.