A brief moment of Lexus history for anyone new to the brand: despite being a Japanese company, Lexus vehicles were badged as Toyotas in Japan until 2005. For instance, the Lexus LS was known as the Toyota Celsior, the GS was the Toyota Aristo, and the RX was called the Toyota Harrier.

When the Lexus brand finally launched in Japan in 2005, the Toyota versions were phased out one by one until none remained — so, imagine the surprise when Toyota announced plans yesterday to reintroduce the Harrier crossover in Japan