End of the road for this one-of-a-kind off-roader?

The Toyota FJ Cruiser will not be with us for much longer, so what a pleasant surprise to see one arrive for an Auto Trader SA review.

Toyota FJ Cruiser – anything else like it?

Every once in a very long while a car comes along that is completely unlike any other car on the market.  Its creators thought up something entirely dissimilar to what is already out there in SUV world.  The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a one-of-a-kind SUV.

The front-end visibly takes after a history lesson of the earlier Toyota Land Cruiser, and the Cruiser name is obviously to heritage-link it to the original Cruiser.  In every other way, there is nothing quite like it… and just for that reason one can easily like it.

Is there any other SUV with its profile, its upright windscreen (in today’s age), its 2 big front doors + 2 rearward opening doors, its overall chunkiness?  No, there isn’t.

Call me Chunky

The physical structure of this Toyota FJ Cruiser SUV is all about chunky.  The tough square body results from the high bonnet, upright windscreen, rectangular passenger compartment and roof, and vertical large backside.  Those front doors are long and solid-feeling, the rear smaller doors are stubby, the tailgate is wide and heavy, all doors are thick, and its general stance is one chunky block. 

This is not limited to the outside – the inside gets a 90-degree cliff of a dashboard (book-ended by silver metal-aping cross member reinforcements which greet you as you open the door), big handful inner door handles, and big dials for the ventilation controls.

The gear lever is not the usual kind – it is a rod with stylised round grip, which looks and feels more than a manual gear lever, though is easily used to slide through the automatic gearbox gate.  The centre console between driver and front occupant is wide, adding a sense of space.

Chunky doors, captain’s chair, VIP room

The big front doors swing open wide, making it easy to get in and out the high SUV.  The driver position gives a feeling of being in a commanding captain’s chair, and as this is the FJ Cruiser it gets durable-looking coarse yet comfortable cloth upholstery rather than the now-discontinued FJ Sport Cruiser which had leather, though leather fitment on this FJ Cruiser is an option.

The rear doors swing open using a big lever inside the rear door, which you give a quarter rotate to open.  Those in the back commented on how they like the spacious yet isolated feel, shrouded by the square outer body.  The rear doors have their own storage for bottles and smaller items, and are opened easily even by teenagers.  The rear privacy glass is just about black, and, with the surrounding body and hemmed-in rear doors, give a private enclosed feeling when travelling in the back… like having their own VIP room.

All this to create a chunky look and feeling.  “Call me Chunky” is what the FJ Cruiser would have said.

Plastic not fantastic, but boot practical

What did disappoint, despite all the chunkiness, is the amount of plastic used on parts like the silver-painted bumper corners, front bumper insert, and mirror housings – these are meant to be solid tough items, but getting close to the FJ would show these items are clearly sprayed-on silver over soft plastic.  Oh dear.  The rear outboard spare wheel cover is also not a solid-feeling or looking piece.

Inside, too, those silver upright cross members and plenty of the trim pieces are outdated plastics, which do not create a quality interior feel.  It feels solid, but not premium.

Where the plastic is welcome is on the loadbay floor – fully lined in plastic flooring. Thanks to the square upright rear, the boot is very spacious.  Load your tools, wetsuit, beach-sand towels and kit, adventure gear, mountain bike, gardening equipment and fertiliser… then get home and simply hose out the dirt.  Very practical.

V6 petrol engine?

The engine “choice” is a 4.0 V6 petrol, only.  Yes, petrol.  Yes, 4.0 V6.  The FJ Cruiser was engineered with the US market in mind, for a land where even a Land Cruiser diesel is not favoured, keeping this fuel for pick-up trucks and trucks, rather than passenger cars or SUVs.  Driving this FJ Cruiser, one is sure to encounter enquirers and admirers who will ask if this is a diesel, being some sort of Land Cruiser.

It only comes with a 5-speed automatic, which operates smoothly, with none of the forever-changing gears of some newer cars to get to 8th/9th and up&down the gears.  No, in the Toyota FJ Cruiser you can simply relax and enjoy proper long-geared ratios, with 5th tall enough to keep engine revs low (seen on the small but clear rev counter to the left of the intrument binnacle).

The V6 engine makes a good proper Japanese V6 sound, is extremely smooth, and is not lazy thanks to a nice round 200kW, with 380Nm of torque (though peaking at a highish 4400).  The sound, smoothness and performance – almost unexpected, and appreciated for these characteristics, being kind of out of character with the rugged image of the FJ, though entirely appreciated.

2 fuel tanks for cruising

The claimed combined fuel consumed is 11.4 l/100km, and being a 2-ton (before loading people) 4.0 V6 petrol 4x4 auto, one could expect to get closer to the 14-16s in average use.  On the open road, where the Cruiser is in its element to cruise, consumption can drop below the 10-litre mark.

Be weary of the potentially-misleading fuel gauge, though – not that it is inaccurate, but one could drive for quite a distance, even around the suburbs, without the tank needle moving, giving a false impression of economy:  the FJ Cruiser has 2 fuel tanks, of 72 + 87 litres for a combined 159 litres!  This makes it ideal for long-distance non-stop cruising, with a range of way over 1000km.

Upgrades

When launched in SA, finally, in 2011, after it has been on the US and other markets for some time already, the Toyota FJ Cruiser was available in FJ Cruiser, FJ Desert Cruiser, FJ Trail Cruiser and FJ Sport Cruiser.  The Desert and Trail were limited-edition models, and are now hard to come by.

The popular FJ and FJ Sport Cruiser models were retained, and the FJ range has received some upgrades through the years:  in 2013 it received the 2nd fuel tank, and Crawl Control was added for serious off-roading at crawling speeds, making this Cruiser even more 4x4 serious, as befits any member of the Toyota Cruiser family.  From 2014, it also has an ambient temperature readout in the rear-view mirror.

The alloy wheels with their tiny holes as fitted to the initial spec were replaced by much more modern and, crucially, rugged + bigger-looking spoked sheen-finish wheels, which help to give the FJ Cruiser a much better look and stance, though still the same 265/70 R17 dimensions.  17-inch rims may seem small on such a large SUV, but the high profile make these wheels huge, perfectly suited to boulders met off-road, pushing through mud, climbing a pavement with no threat to the wheel rim, and of course help in giving it that smooth highway cruise.

Spec

Spec is generous without going overboard by turning it into a luxury cruiser, giving you modern-day items like Bluetooth connectivity, steering wheel switches for audio and phone, rear diff lock, crawl control off-road assistance, ABS brakes with ventilated discs front and rear, brake assist, traction control, stability control, 6 airbags including curtains for side protection, and full spare wheel on the rear door.

That spare wheel is visible in the rear-view mirror, and takes some getting used to seeing while you’re driving.  When reversing, the rear-view camera image is projected onto a small display inside the rear-view mirror.  Rear parking sensors are fitted, but none in the front, though the horizontal bonnet makes it easier to judge distance to the front.  Take care though – this SUV is quiet and big and heavy, so watch out for especially small children who may not hear you approaching.

The rear door (with spare wheel mounted) needs space and a strong arm to manage – handily, you can use the key (manually – no tailgate switch or remote, sorry) to pop open the rear glass, allowing you to add or extract (with a stretch) items to/from the generous load bay.
 
Some oddities?  The old-type non-folding small key with tiny remote control buttons dates from the 80s and looks like it should be starting an old Tazz, being out of character with the chunky FJ.  The aircon is manual – no auto setting.  The steering wheel adjusts only up and down – no reach adjustment.

Without peer?

Some say the FJ reminds them of a HUMMER H3 (the “small” ones they used to build right here in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, before the HUMMER brand plug was pulled internationally by parent company GM).  Well, the HUMMER H3 may have the same square ruggedness and wide stance with high body and smallish windows, but that was a regular 4 doors + hatch SUV, whereas the FJ Cruiser is certainly designed to be more of a 2-door.

What else could be its peer?  The Land Rover Defender 90 is also a 3-door SUV, but it is an entirely unique proposition, and production has stopped, so whatever is in the supply pipeline now is the final new stock.

Perhaps a Jeep Wrangler (the 3-door – not the Wrangler Unlimited 5-door) is closest in concept, but as one passenger observed, the Wrangler has the benefit of a removable roof and rear, for that SUV semi-convertible drive, while the FJ Cruiser has a more enclosed and more spacious feeling, though a sunroof option would have been pleasant.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser is unique, so, no – the Toyota FJ Cruiser is without peer.

One-hit wonder?

The admirers (expect them at filling stations, shops or at the car wash… even now, after FJ Cruiser has been on our market for 5 years) appreciated the design.  This is definitely one of those love/hate cars – you are either a fan or a frowner.  One admirer at the car wash in his regular compact SUV, had to take both a closer look and some photos, saying how he would like to own one of these.  Pricing is R 567 000, or about the same as a Jeep Wrangler 3.6L Rubicon at R 563 990, or Land Rover Defender 90 TD station wagon S at just over R582k, while the 90 Heritage Edition or 90 Adventure Edition (their final limited editions) are priced in the R650-700k bracket.

The sad news is, the FJ Cruiser is on run-out – production is ending, and no successor has been announced.  Those who still wish to buy a new one better hurry, or look for a pre-loved one on Auto Trader SA website.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser – is this the end of the road for this one-of-kind off-roader?  One-hit wonder, one wonders…