TAS 2025: Year of the J250 Prado and LBX Morizo RR

If you visit Tokyo Auto Salon annually, you’ll notice it’s more or less a repetition of the same cars each year. There might be one or two new additions to the shop’s display, but the rest of the vehicles are typically ones you’ve seen before. The 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon was no exception.

Cars we saw from 2024 and even 2023 shows were on display, making it easier to go through the booths if you’ve been to the show the previous years. At this year’s show though, there were two vehicles that you would always see no matter which hall you were in – the J250 Toyota Prado and the Lexus LBX Morizo RR.

With the J250 Prado only launching in Japan last year, tuners have set to work prepping their own versions of Toyota’s latest cruiser.

Its retro boxy design lends itself well to being modified, so it’s no wonder these were everywhere in Tokyo Auto Salon. And if you own one in Manila, now is the perfect time to go shopping. Your first likely stop? JAOS

With its reputation for building rugged SUVs and pickup trucks, it’s no surprise the J250 was included in the JAOS lineup. In fact, they had two different variants – one with circular headlights and one with rectangular headlights (similar to the one sold in the Philippines).

In typical JAOS builds, their J250s feature minor additions like over fenders, side steps, new front and rear bumper garnishes, mudflaps, and the signature JAOS wheels. Although not as obvious, the Prados also had new Battle-Z springs and a new exhaust to match.

JAOS is just one of the many big-name shops that give you an idea of what you can do with the J250 Prado. But if the rugged look isn’t for you, then maybe Mudron, AIMGAIN’s SUV sub-brand, might pique your interest.

Similar to JAOS, Mudron also had two different J250 Prados on display, but what we’re interested in is this white one. It features a full widebody kit, and thanks to air suspension, it now sits a lot lower to the ground.

I’m not sure about the combo of 22-inch wheels with thin mud-terrain tires, but hey it’s certainly unique. The widebody kit also gives the Prado a lot more presence, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing these on the roads of Manila in the near future.

Even tuning houses like Blitz had the J250 Prado on display. They’re currently working on a supercharger for the big SUV since these don’t really make a lot of power from the factory as we saw on a few cars that made local dyno numbers.

But if we’re talking about unique (or just plain crazy), then the 326Power Prado is definitely the one that takes the cake. 326Power has a penchant for slamming everything it gets its hands on, and the Prado is no exception.

This is arguably the wildest Prado at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon, and it didn’t even need any body kit to do so. Just slammed to the ground with 326Power wheels and stretched Toyo Open Country tires.

Would you do this to your Prado? You will have to toss out practicality, but you will win points for having one of the lowest J250 Prados in the country (and possibly the world).

The success of the Prado at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon is not surprising. The model does have a long lineage and history. Undoubtedly, it looks cool too, making it a great platform to modify.

Unlike the J250 Prado though, the Lexus LBX Morizo RR is a limited-run model; effectively a Lexus-badged GR Yaris on stilts. Yet at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon, a good number of them were on display.

One of the first ones that caught my attention was the LBX Morizo RR built by Artisan Spirits. It was displayed alongside a regular LBX, but the Morizo RR stood out by a long shot.

Maybe it’s the wider fender flares, the carbon lip kit, or the set of RAYS TE37s and its perfect fitment; either way, the Artisan Spirits LBX Morizo RR was a looker, as expected from them considering their history of making kits for a variety of Lexus models.

Blitz also showcased what the LBX Morizo RR could look like right beside their J250 Prado. The kit wasn’t as aggressive as the one by Artisan Spirits, only featuring a simple front and rear lip, carbon wing, and a ducktail.

It is also rocking a set of Enkei RS05RR wheels, which is a wheel that somewhat stood the test of time since it made its debut circa 2012.

Seeing as Blitz is known for high performance parts, their demo car obviously features their own exhaust and carbon intake, which looks very similar to what they offer on the GR Yaris.

Meanwhile, Cusco did a unique take on the LBX Morizo RR leaning more towards its crossover nature. It’s fitted with the new Work VS-KF# (Sharp) wheels, but features a custom camping set in the rear complete with a table, teapot, burner, and sink.

I’m not entirely sure owners would take their vehicles offroad with that fitment, but at least Cusco shows us that you can if you really wanted to.

Although it has a more simple setup, Fujitsubo also had an LBX Morizo RR on show featuring their signature exhaust system. I quite like the pink wrap they had on, but what do you think?

These two cars dominated the show floor at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon, and we’re very happy for J250 Prado owners in the country. You definitely have a lot of variety to choose from in modifying your SUV aside from slapping on a set of TE37s and Brembo big brake kits.

As for the Lexus LBX Morizo RR, we can only hope that Lexus Philippines brings it into the country; A small crossover with the heart of the GR Yaris - that definitely ticks a lot of boxes for your average car guy! But since there’s no left-hand drive model yet, it seems we can only dream for now.

Stay tuned as we’ll be talking about some of our favorite builds at the 2025 Tokyo Salon next, and there’s still a lot more to come.

Words and Images by Jose Altoveros