What do people think of the FJ Cruiser?

I've been contemplating a different daily driver since I need something that I can put a bike rack on.

In any case, I wasn't very fond of them due to the color scheme and them having the white roof with odd colors.
Although in 2007, they did have a TRD edition which gave it a black roof.
For 2008, they are coming back with a new edition called Trail Teams package and I think this may suit my needs.

I am definitely digging this




Does anyone have any experience with this car?

Matt_337 said:

I've been contemplating a different daily driver since I need something that I can put a bike rack on.

In any case, I wasn't very fond of them due to the color scheme and them having the white roof with odd colors.
Although in 2007, they did have a TRD edition which gave it a black roof.
For 2008, they are coming back with a new edition called Trail Teams package and I think this may suit my needs.

I am definitely digging this

Does anyone have any experience with this car?

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My father owns one, it's the one that looks like deer corn, yellow with the white roof. You can guess where I got that from and what he uses the vehicle for most of the time.

He's probably got about 10k miles on it now. He uses it to drive to Mexico and go hunting/hiking/exploring/nature observing. The truck has very unusual visibility-the windshield for instance is nearly vertical and has three small wipers. As for utility, you can get it covered in mud and just wash it out with a hose as long as you are remotely careful-it's designed for this purpose. Gas mileage is a little over 20 on the highway, high teens around town. The V6 is plenty adaquate to me and the 4wd is nothing short of superb.

It's literally gone through lakes, rivers, and miles and miles of thick mexican mud. He has previously used 2wd trucks/suburbans [he's one of those "I don't need 4 wheel drive, and it just gets you stuck deeper anyhow] and swears by this vehicle now. Although he's a very experienced off roader, it's still quite a feat he has never gotten stuck in the FJ.

It's his favorite vehicle that he's ever owned. If you have any specifics let me know, I've driven the car a few times.

I'll give it a thumbs up because I seriously considered getting one. Looked neat, drove well on the two test drives I took. In the end I decided to stick with my Mitsubishi since it was paid off. I ended up buying my Honda FiT as a daily driver. If the Mitsubishi blew up, I'd get the FJ since I don't like the look of any of the Honda/Acura SUV's. The RDX would probably be the only thing I would consider but it's a little small.

I think it looks cool as hell but is under powered and rides like a lumber truck.

I used to have a 1970 FJ 40 (totally different than the current one), but if I had a choice, I would rather have a 1990's Land Rover Defender than the FJ Cruiser.

steveny said:

I think it looks cool as hell but is under powered and rides like a lumber truck.

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I wouldn't pick it for a towing vehicle or trade a lexus in for it either, but I didn't notice the ride quality as an issue vs any other offroad capable truck. Might just be me though, I don't think I'm too sensitive to it.

Matt_337 said:

I've been contemplating a different daily driver since I need something that I can put a bike rack on.
In any case, I wasn't very fond of them due to the color scheme and them having the white roof with odd colors.
Although in 2007, they did have a TRD edition which gave it a black roof.
For 2008, they are coming back with a new edition called Trail Teams package and I think this may suit my needs.
I am definitely digging this

Click to expand...

Not familiar with the specs, but ..That's a good-looking car, imo (and I'm quite picky)...

Hideously Ugly.

I want smooth lines on anything I drive.

Even a Scion xB shoe box is smoother.

Miner

We had a few when they first came out and sold them at auctions. The beauty of supply and demand:biggrin: Anyways, I drove a few home and they were a terrible driving truck. Awful blind spots that made me scared to drive the thing. Looks nice with shitty gas mileage and not an exciting ride, IMO of course:wink:

I was considering trading in my S4 on the very same truck. We'll see...it looks like it would be fun to get dirty.

The Kid said:

We had a few when they first came out and sold them at auctions. The beauty of supply and demand:biggrin: Anyways, I drove a few home and they were a terrible driving truck. Awful blind spots that made me scared to drive the thing. Looks nice with shitty gas mileage and not an exciting ride, IMO of course:wink:

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If you aren't planning to off road this truck, your opinion is probably going to be similar to above. This is definitely not a truck for the masses.

It is extremely popular here in S. Cal, and remarkably, it is going for more than sticker price. For some thing like to happen here, it has to be a good car.:smile:

Vancehu said:

It is extremely popular here in S. Cal, and remarkably, it is going for more than sticker price. For some thing like to happen here, it has to be a good car.:smile:

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or just in high demand. It is the same deal in north florida more than sticker.

steveny said:

or just in high demand. It is the same deal in north florida more than sticker.

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Usually high demand means the product is good and highly desirable. California usually gets the most allocation of new model cars.

Whenever I see an FJ I start thinking of German Paratroopers. Weird, I know.

Everytime my girlfriend and I see them we comment on how ugly they are.

I prefer my version of the FJ cruiser

damn jerry, that thing looks like new

nice job!!

I test drove a regular FJ yesterday and I thought the drive wasn't too bad. These trail team package ones are going to be maxed out at 3400 of them. The dealer I went to happened to have 2 (1 manual and 1 automatic) of which the manual was sold. The automatic was in the process of being sold with the buyer getting his financing application started. I could've bought it still since I was ready to go but I decided to let him have it.

I really do like the look of this but as someone mentioned, the gas mileage isn't that great and I am not planning to go off roading too often.


For someone who mentioned the Land Rover Defender. I hear about that car non stop from my brother who wants one real bad. The prices on those are pretty high for such an old car.

I'm going to go test drive a Mini Cooper S on Monday to see if that will interest me. I know it's kind of opposite ends of the spectrum but my only criteria is I need to be able to put a bike rack on the car and it can't be too boring to drive.

I like the FJ a lot, almost bought one. I like the minicoop S even more. That car is a BLAST to drive. You will like it Matt. I am still debating buying one. Just not sure i need yet another car.

The Land Rover Defender sucks! Unless you are prepared to ride your bike home from the dealer a lot while it is in for repairs, don't do it.
I have a trailer hitch mounted bike rack. It goes on and off in a minute and keeps the bikes away from my paint.

I would like it a lot more if they put the V8 in it. I give 2 years and it will happen.

davidf said:

I would like it a lot more if they put the V8 in it. I give 2 years and it will happen.

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Out of curiosity, why do you think it needs a V8? I think I'd actually prefer the truck with the V6. The aero's are already fairly poor and fuel mileage is right about "reasonable" as is, much lower and you'd need a bigger gas tank for a good range and you'd be getting sub 20 on the highway for sure.

For using the truck for what it's designed for, the V6 provides more than adaquate power and keeps the truck a little lighter as well. For serious off roading and not trips to the grocery store [this truck is a specialty vehicle] you don't necessarily want a V8 with 350 lbs of tq. JMO. I'd be surprised if they go with a V8.

I've driven both. I really enjoyed the power and torque of the Tundra V8. It really a personal choice I guess. Here at work we have so many SUV's I'm used to the grunt of the V8. Like all SUV type vehicles, eventually there will be a V8 "option" for it.

Well, 3 years after I started this thread, I came back to this car and purchased a 2008 trails team FJ (same one pictured in the first post).

I know gas mileage isn't that great but the lack of power in the Honda Fit was bugging me. Also, whenever the wind blew, I could feel the Fit moving side to side with the wind.

Anyway, we'll see how long this car lasts. I'm on a bad streak here where I can't keep a car for even a year (except for the NSX)