Trends come and go, just like cars, trucks, and SUVs like the Toyota Land Cruiser. The world might be moving toward electric vehicles, but is there room for some of these discontinued SUVs in the future? Toyota thinks so, which is why the FJ Cruiser sport utility vehicle might return as an electric vehicle. What else made the list?

The Toyota Land Cruiser is a discontinued SUV that should come back

Thanks to its cult-like following, choosing the Toyota Land Cruiser as a favorite discontinued SUV is almost cheating. Toyota discontinued the Land Cruiser SUV back in 2021 thanks to low sales in the U.S. With the tagline “There’s plenty more to explore,” the curtain closed on this Toyota sport utility vehicle after 60 years.

According to Toyota Motor North America’s year-end 2021 sales numbers, the automaker sold only 3,711 Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs. Of course, these weren’t exactly easy to find and wouldn’t be sitting on any dealership lots. In 2020, the Cruiser sold 3,147 units. But distance makes the heart grow stronger. Toyota is focusing on more popular vehicles like the 2022 Tundra pickup truck and 4Runner SUV, which recently received major updates. Maybe the Land Cruiser will return with a vengeance and a significant facelift in the next few years.

The Pontiac Aztek is another discontinued SUV that might have a bigger following now

Did you know that the Pontiac Aztek started as a combination of two pretty popular Chevrolet vehicles? That’s right, the Aztek is actually a combination of the Chevy Camaro and Chevy Blazer. The idea was to take the Camaro and Blazer to create some sort of “wide, low, powerful, off-roadish thing referred to as the Bear Claw.”

Then, someone at GM stepped in and decided that the Aztek should take on more design cues from the popular minivans of the area. With 185 hp, the Pontiac Aztek was doomed from the start. But right now, nostalgia is all the rage. People would probably buy a new Aztek unironically right now if it returned good fuel economy. So yes, the Pontiac Aztek is a discontinued SUV that should come back.

What if the Toyota FJ Cruiser returned as an electric sport utility vehicle?

Was there a need for two Toyota sport utility vehicles on this list? Yes, which is why the Toyota FJ Cruiser is here. The FJ Cruiser had odd looks that didn’t exactly take the market by storm. It was supposed to be a futuristic but also retro design that was a nod to the classic FJ Land Cruisers. Instead, it was a bit funny looking and featured a lot of plastic on the inside.

However, much like the Aztek, there is probably room for the FJ Cruiser in today’s world. That could also be why Toyota featured what looked like an electric FJ Cruiser concept at the end of 2021. That means there might be hope for this Toyota discontinued SUV to return with a new drivetrain.

Is nostalgia a good enough reason to dredge up some of these discontinued SUVs? That depends on who you ask. People are pretty big fans of the Toyota Land Cruiser, which might translate to more sales after an extended vacation away from the U.S. market.