Last production Year of the FJ Cruiser

[Ben]

I just read that 2014 will be the last production year for the Toyota FJ Cruiser. When they first came out I wasn't that crazy about them, but have grown to like them, despite the limited visibility out the windows.

Although my Trooper still probably has some good years left in it, at 14 years old, I've casually been looking at the possibility of replacing it. The only two vehicles that have drawn my interest as equivalent replacements have been the 4Runner and the FJ (well, the Land Cruiser too of course, but new ones cost as much as a house).

It was also interesting to read that the Toyota Highlander outsells the 4Runner 10 to 1, and there was conjecture that the 4Runner may follow the FJ into oblivion. Apparently even the 4Runner is not "road refined" enough for many people. I was actually thinking Toyota did a swell thing, changing the body design of the 4Runner back to something less "urban" than they had in the gen 4 models. No one seems to want off road capable vehicles anymore, which is another reason that I've been thinking about a new one now - gotta maybe get one while the gettin's good.

[AZRedhawk44]

No one seems to want off road capable vehicles anymore, which is another reason that I've been thinking about a new one now - gotta maybe get one while the gettin's good.

Gas is too 'spensive to actually go play in the dirt/desert/forest.  That $50 tank for the weekend to go camping or fishing could buy a lot of beer and sodapop and wings, dontchyaknow.  Burp!  When's the game on?

[Gewehr98]

New job for me here, and my 2001 S-10 is really showing its age.

I keep wanting to pull the trigger on an FJ Cruiser, maybe this year will be the year.

[Sergeant Bob]

My best friend (yes, one of them) has an FJ, and he absolutely loves it! He does some pretty serious off roading with it (as in three day off road trips) and it has held up fabulously.

[dogmush]

Apparently even the 4Runner is not "road refined" enough for many people. I was actually thinking Toyota did a swell thing, changing the body design of the 4Runner back to something less "urban" than they had in the gen 4 models. No one in the US seems to want off road capable vehicles anymore, which is another reason that I've been thinking about a new one now - gotta maybe get one while the gettin's good.

FTFY.

Some of the off road vehicles offered to the Mid east and Asia markets would make you weep.

[Regolith]

Never did like the tiny windows in the FJ. Other than that I haven't heard too much bad about them.

As far as other off-road vehicles go, my parents just bought a Nissan Xterra Pro-4x. AFAIK they haven't taken it offroad yet, but from what I've seen of it so far it's pretty impressive. Not sure if it could hang with the FJ, but I think you'd have to be doing some really serious offroading before it would start to lag behind.

[geronimotwo]

i've never riden in one, but have always liked the styling of the fj.  has the cost of gas has driven them out?

[Hawkmoon]

The Land Crusher lost all credibility a decade or so ago when they switched to an independent front suspension.

[dogmush]

The Land Crusher lost all credibility a decade or so ago when they switched to an independent front suspension.

? Why?There's plenty of capable Off road vehicles with IFS. Did Toyota muck it up somehow?  It's not exactly complicated tech.

[Gewehr98]

Curious why a solid front axle is so good if you're not doing the Rubicon every day, myself...

[mtnbkr]

Curious why a solid front axle is so good if you're not doing the Rubicon every day, myself...

It's the only suspension that can survive Montana.

Chris

[geronimotwo]

Curious why a solid front axle is so good if you're not doing the Rubicon every day, myself...

there's more strength in a solid axle.  less chance of a jack shaft/cv breaking.  less moving parts and seals.  less maintenance.  coil springs rather than struts and a-arms.

[Tallpine]

I have to admit that the IFS on my 89 Chevy seems okay.

I'm not much for recreational off roading any more, but I get it into some pretty twisty places getting firewood.

[Gewehr98]

IFS on all my Humvees didn't seem to have problems.   

[Hawkmoon]

? Why?There's plenty of capable Off road vehicles with IFS. Did Toyota muck it up somehow?  It's not exactly complicated tech.

Serious off-roaders convert IFS trucks to solid axles ...

[Hawkmoon]

IFS on all my Humvees didn't seem to have problems.   

True.

'Yotas don't have portal axles.

[Gewehr98]

I'll take my chances when I buy my FJ.  IFS is here to stay, and works just fine for my 4WD purposes here in the Snow Belt. 

My wife's Jeep Liberty has done very nicely for testing that theory out, both on and off road.

FYI, they've gone to putting air in vehicle tires now, Hawkmoon.  Advances in technology, and all that...   

[Hawkmoon]

FYI, they've gone to putting air in vehicle tires now, Hawkmoon.  Advances in technology, and all that...   

WHAAAAT?

Nobody ever tells me nuttin'!



More seriously, when I used to attend the Jeep 101 marketing shows that Chrysler-Jeep used to put on (they may still, for all I know), they had real live Chrysler-Jeep factory engineers teaching seminars about off-roading in which they went into considerable detail as to why a solid axle is preferable to independent suspension for an off-road vehicle.  Then Jeep went over to IFS, first on the Libertine, and then on the Grand Cherokee.

I still own multiple "real" Cherokees, with the antiquated solid front and rear beam axles, and a couple of Comanches to fill the pickup role. Now that you mention it, I do believe the tires have a way of putting air into them -- I'll have to investigate that more fully when it warms up a bit.

[Tallpine]

Actually, less air in the tires (down to a certain point) is better for traction and off-road.

I have no fokking idea why anyone thinks it is a good idea to put those large rim / low profile tire combinations on off road vehicles (lifted pickups, etc)   

[41magsnub]

Actually, less air in the tires (down to a certain point) is better for traction and off-road.

I have no fokking idea why anyone thinks it is a good idea to put those large rim / low profile tire combinations on off road vehicles (lifted pickups, etc)   

You know this, but it is because they think it looks good and most of those rigs never go on a gravel road - much less actual off roading.

[Ben]

You know this, but it is because they think it looks good and most of those rigs never go on a gravel road - much less actual off roading.

I was sad to see that the 4Runner Limiteds are all doing these as standard equipment now. The real tires that are on all the other models are optional equipment on the Limited. Not that I would by a Limited over the Trail or SR5 - I like my conveniences, but the Limiteds are a little too plush for me. A buddy has one because he likes plush, but he has complained to me on numerous occasions that the "urban youth" rims and tires have already given him problems a couple of times in places that he just cruised on through with his Trooper.

[Tallpine]

You know this, but it is because they think it looks good and most of those rigs never go on a gravel road - much less actual off roading.

My neighbor has one like that (a big lifted chevy).  I think a set of tires costs more than any of my vehicles 

Definitely way the heck out on gravel roads, but he also has a more sedate F-150 that he commutes to town.  The "monster" was killing even him on fuel and tires.

[Gewehr98]

It's a compromise, and always has been. 

Big balloon gumbo monster mudders have godawful sidewall flex when cornering on pavement, and you really benefit from that super high center of gravity, too (not). Talk about getting seasick just leaving one's driveway!

I doubt anybody's going to do a Rubicon Rock Crawl with low profile 22" rims and super-sticky unidirectional Pirellis, either.

The several FJ Cruisers I've test-driven to date have all been quite impressive in their cornering and handling - almost sports car in quality.

That shouldn't surprise me.  Since most 4WD vehicles in these United States see more on-road than off-road use, they're usually set up for comfort and stability when driving on pavement to the mall, etc. 

Unless of course you're Tallpine. 

Then you rip the differentials out and replace them with spools (like I did so many years ago with my pro-stock dragster), and weld the transfer case lever into 4WD LO to go get mail, groceries, and visit Hawkmoon downwind to discuss the non-merits of the latest automotive technologies over the last 50 years.   

 

[Hawkmoon]

Then you rip the differentials out and replace them with spools (like I did so many years ago with my pro-stock dragster), and weld the transfer case lever into 4WD LO to go get mail, groceries, and visit Hawkmoon downwind to discuss the non-merits of the latest automotive technologies over the last 50 years.   

Oh, you mean like electronic fuel injection? New-fangled stuff lahk thet thar'?

It has its place, and IMHO that place is the street (which would include most vehicles sold today). However, I do have to question it's wisdom on vehicles such as Jeeps and FJs and such that may actually be driven far from pavement. What happens if you lose the fuel pump?

Back in the halcyon days of my youth, I owned a 1947 Hudson pickup truck. Yes, up through 1947 Hudson made pickups as well as cars. The fuel pump died, and I was able to rig a can of gas under the hood with a gravity drip feed to the carburetor inlet, and that got me home. Can't do that with EFI -- it needs something like 39 psi to function.

[mtnbkr]

Haven't owned cars where everything is mechanical and cars where everything is electronic and computerized, I find the latter much more reliable and less likely to fail. 

Can't do that with EFI -- it needs something like 39 psi to function.

Haven't needed to either.

Chris