All terrain sport utility vehicle with performance and economy
Toyota’s new FJ Cruiser started as a 2002 Detroit Auto Show concept vehicle that made it to market. It comes with tangibles you can touch and feel, and it comes with a combination of collective cool and the off-road capabilities Toyota has proven throughout past decades. It has its own cache of sorts.
From the man on the street view, the FJ looked different and edgy. One of the principle reasons was put into the Toyota product mix is to scrub market share away from the H3's and Jeep Wrangler, and appeal to guys for road trips. After a week with the FJ it stands on its own as a capable highway and off-highway vehicle that pulls its own weight just fine.
Viper blue is this popping visual you see offset with a white top, just like the old FJ-40 and FJ-45. The grille, round headlights, and angular lines at the hood line are flashback features from the past FJ series. However, late model technology and running gear help the new FJ Cruiser reach a level of performance and comfort not available in previous generations of FJ. What is significant about the Toyota FJ is this vehicle has a long history of FJ predecessors, vehicles that are still highly valued by many serious as well as nostalgic off-road enthusiasts. It does have a pedigree: a fifty year lineage.
Power comes from a 239 horsepower 4.0L V6 bolted to an automatic five-speed transmission. The 4.0L V6 is a double-overhead cam engine with four-valves per cylinder and turns the horsepower at 5,200 rpm and a torque rating of 278 lb.-ft. at 3,700 rpm. You can feel the performance just running with 70+ MPH traffic. It takes scant effort on the engine which cruises the 70 MPH mark at about 2100 rpm. Performance stats talk about a 15-second quarter mile, but it hardly seems to matter as the FJ can spool up and get up to traffic speed and has plenty of ponies left to pass when you want to.
19-gallon fuel tank made visits to the pump less alarming because the FJ did achieve 20.999 MPG on the highway and 17 MPG in mixed city/highway travel (we topped the tank, drove 306 miles then topped the tank again; 306/gallons consumed = MPG). This relatively small gas tank makes the fuel-gauge needle show fuel consumption after 30 miles, and a range of approximately 400 miles. For this reason, it would be nice to see a larger capacity fuel-tank or optional second fuel tank to give the more highway range.
However, as frisky as this engine is, Toyota recommends premium pump gas of 91-Octane. It wasn't until after we turned the FJ back in to Toyota that we discovered a lesser octane fuel would not have killed the engine. Fortunately, Southern California was experiencing a slight reprieve from the price pirates in the supply chain of the oil companies, and fuel prices tipped in favor of 91 octane.
On-highway handling and performance is stable, swift and agile, enabling the FJ to run with the big cars on California Interstate 5 as well as the angry-snake twists and arcs of Hwy 58 across the Central Valley, and down Coast Highway 101 for a 700 mile road trip, with some light four-wheeling to see how this SUV is setup.
to run with the big cars on California Interstate 5 as well as the angry-snake twists and arcs of Hwy 58 across the Central Valley, and down Coast Highway 101 for a 700 mile road trip, with some light four-wheeling to see how this SUV is setup.
Like any manufactured vehicle with four-wheel drive, there are tradeoffs. Low-range four-wheel drive availability gave us the security to know that if we really wanted to 'wheel this horse, we could if needed. In fact, the part-time four-wheel drive transfer case comes with a low-range gear ratio any granny would love. You can choose an electronic rear-differential locker to bolster off-road prowess, yet it would be great to see all the Toyota four-wheel drive technology available, including front electronic differential lockers. The independent front suspension and rear four-link setup (working with a conventional straight axle) are managed with anti-sway bars, Panhard bar, coil springs, and conventional shocks that do a good job balancing on-highway stability with off-highway traction and articulation.
Articulation of front and rear suspension is moderate, as it should be. This vehicle will take you into and out of most four-wheel drive scenarios. However, it won't take you into and out of stupid. You play stupid, you pay stupid. It has good approach and departure angles and ground clearance of 9.6 inches, but these clearances work in most off-highway conditions. If you want extreme, there is always the aftermarket to figure out the super capabilities where you give up some reliability and center-of-gravity on-highway for more capability off-highway. Bear in mind, this vehicle is an extremely well balanced road vehicle, with off-road capabilities.
This FJ listed for $26,293.00 with black 17-inch steel Wheels and Dunlop AT20 Grandtrek Tires (P265/70R). Some folks may like the aluminum options and the aftermarket possibilities. However, 17-inch steel Wheels are ideal for off-road because they can be straightened if bent. There's enough tire sidewall is available on a 17-inch wheel to provide air-down traction performance and energy absorbing qualities on rocks and uneven terrain, yet there's good room inside the wheel for large brake rotors. On the FJ Cruiser, four-piston brake calipers manage the front rotors and two-piston calipers clamp the rear brakes.
Seating is room enough for two adults and perhaps a couple kids in the second row. Rear cargo area is more than you need for a week's worth of gear, and you can order the FJ with optional if you need more storage. Your choice of colors are Diamond Black, Sun Fusion (yellow), Black Cherry, and Viper Blue with dark and charcoal fabric interiors. All color combinations wear the signature white roofline for that retro flare. But it's that Viper Blue that drags eyeballs along the boulevard at any time of day.
Hood lines from the driver's seat are a nice drop away of the hood. Three windshield wipers line up along the vertical windscreen, giving a rain, snow, or sleet storm some heavy-duty water clearing performance. From the driver's seat, the windscreen is vertical and forward in the cabin, yet the driver and front passenger seats offers good leg/shoulder room and less than vertical seat positions.
Because of this forward windscreen and cabin engineering, you reach a little farther to position the sun visor, and the length of the sun visors on both sides could be longer as they fall a little short when positioned to the rising sun at the side window. Sun visor extensions that come on the 2007 Tundra would be perfect. These are minor observations for a unique vehicle that becomes so much fun to drive.
We did not have issues with blind spots due to the design of the primary pillars and window placement. The mirrors worked great, and it’s always advisable to know where surrounding traffic is in relation to your vehicle. Off-road, you need to get out and check where your Wheels and vehicle are before attacking an obstacle. One of the biggest nuggets of information Toyota's off-road racing ambassador and legendary Baja 1000 trophy truck pilot, Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart, had to share about driving off-road (fast or slow) is: 'always know where your Tires are.' That's the driver's responsibility.
Plastic is a fact of automotive manufacturing these days. And it's across the board. It would have been nice to see the front bumper built a little more stout as well as some of the interior components, but that's life. The interior flooring is wash and wear; as rugged as you could want. Rocker panel rock bars are available as an option as are a full compliment of skid plates to cover the front drive assembly, engine, transmission, and transfer case.
FJ Cruiser is 177 inches long and 74.6 inches wide, the FJ and it commands a well balanced stance on the road, any road. Yes, FJ looks like something from the past, and it very much is. It's a collaboration of modern technology and real-world four-wheel drive in a sculpted sheet metal shell that takes some of us back to the good ol' days and moves others forward.
 Front IFS with four-wheel drive strikes the balance of good on-highway handling and comfort characteristics with strong off-road capability. Note: the right front wheel is several inches off the ground on this enormously deep rutted trail section. |  Rear axle setup uses a four-link, coils, and Panhard bar. Note the right rear wheel is now several inches off the ground and reveals how the rear suspension responds with the anti-sway bars in place. Electronic disconnect anti-sway bars would be excellent for more articulation. |  Left rear wheel tucked up into the wheel well with no binding and enough clearance to allow the 32-inch Dunlop Grandtrek tires room to work. |
 We’ll take a spare tire mounted out back any day rather than under the rear deck. |  |  4.0-Liter V6 engine delivers good performance with 21 MPG on the highway. |
 |  Triple windscreen wipers span the width of the FG glass nicely, and they look distinct. |  Deep ruts will challenge any trail machine. Here, there was always at least one tire from each axle providing forward traction. |
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 Driver's seat offered comfort on the long run with good access to that color-matched retro mid-dash console. | | |
