No doubt influenced by its forebears, the 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser nods to the old school, with its boxy shape and narrow-set headlights inspired by the design cues of the original, iconic FJ40 that came to America in the 1960s. And just like the old FJ, it is as tough and agile as a mountain goat thanks to a robust engine, a rugged chassis and a nimble off-road nature.
The FJ Cruiser hasn't changed much since its introduction four years ago. Of course, this means that its strengths and weaknesses haven't changed, either. While it offers reasonable maneuverability and comfort on either blacktop or dirt, the FJ's thick roof pillars and high hood line compromise visibility. Rear-seat ingress and egress is also awkward. Despite the increased folding angle for the front passenger seat in this year's model, climbing (key word) into the back is still hampered by small rear-access doors and a high step-in height. Well, this is a vehicle for sport, not limousine duty.
As midsize SUVs go, the 2011 FJ Cruiser has formidable competition. The Nissan Xterra has four conventional doors, so it's a better choice for those who want a capable off-roader with maximum daily versatility. And there's always the venerable Jeep Wrangler. Although not as refined or powerful as the FJ, it has four real doors (in the Unlimited model) and about the best off-road ability of anything with four wheels. That said, the 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser is still a serious piece of off-road kit and should satisfy anyone who wants a rugged rig with the boulder-crawling spirit.
Like the exterior, the interior of the Toyota FJ Cruiser reflects the character of the early FJ 40s, especially when equipped with the optional body-colored door panel inserts. The standard dashboard looks like an extruded aluminum beam, with audio and climate controls set into a body-colored panel in the center.
If you want leather seats, you don't want an FJ Cruiser, which comes only with water-resistant cloth upholstery and rubberized floor and cargo mats. The expectation is that people who drive FJ Cruisers will get them dirty, and want the easy cleanup provided by such materials.
The seats have active headrests. In certain rear collisions, a cable-actuated mechanism in the headrest moves it upward and forward to help limit the movement of the occupant's head, potentially reducing whiplash injuries.
Switches for various mechanical systems are set in a panel just ahead of the shift lever. Not only are they conveniently placed, but there are dummy switches to ease installation of aftermarket equipment such as auxiliary lighting or locking axles for extreme off-road use.
The driver faces white-faced gauges (speedometer, tachometer, engine temperature, voltage and fuel level) that are easy to read. In addition to the regular glove box ahead of the front passenger seat, there's a smaller covered storage box on top of the instrument panel in front of the driver. This area can be fitted with an accessory Garmin Quest 2 navigation unit that can be removed from the vehicle for hiking or other activities.
Both Upgrade Packages and the All-Terrain Package add a trio of gauges (outside thermometer, compass and inclinometer) that sit on top of the center of the dash.
Cup holders are provided in the center console and all four doors. A 12-volt outlet is mounted on the switch panel ahead of the shifter; and a three-prong, grounded 115-volt power outlet in the cargo area with a switch for either 100 or 400 watts of output (the higher figure available when the vehicle is at idle).
The rear seatback splits 60/40 to optimize cargo carrying options. The rear-seat cushion tips forward and can be removed to provide a few more inches of cargo area behind the front seats.
The standard audio system includes a CD player and iPod and MP3 capability as well as two ceiling-mounted speakers designed to enhance the sound experience within the FJ Cruiser. The Upgrade Packages include an FJammer audio system with pair of 2.6-inch speakers mounted on the rear pillars; Upgrade Two adds a subwoofer as well.
Because the FJ Cruiser has wide C-pillars that may interfere with the driver's rearward vision, a rear sonar system and a rearview camera are included in the Convenience Package, to warn the driver of the proximity of objects when the transmission is in Reverse. We had no trouble parking the FJ in urban settings on our test drive, nor did we have to move into strange positions to see stoplights through the upright windshield.
The Toyota FJ Cruiser is the rebirth of the original Toyota FJ 40, known in North America as the original Land Cruiser. It was a rugged, go-anywhere vehicle, a sport utility vehicle decades before the genre had a name.
The FJ Cruiser was designed in Southern California. The design evokes the heritage of the FJ40 and other early Land Cruisers without being retro. This is no simple cloning of a nearly half-century old design. Instead, what Toyota wanted to do was to project how the original Jeep-like FJ would have evolved had it remained in production all these years. The engineering and manufacturing of the Toyota FJ Cruiser are done in Japan.
Early FJs and Land Cruisers were patterned on the World War II Jeep. Rugged and reliable, Toyota FJs and Land Cruisers became the vehicle of choice for explorers, ranchers, missionaries, United Nations peacekeepers, merchants or anyone else who needed to drive through places such as Australia's Outback, Africa's plains, across Asian steppes, through South American jungles or anywhere else where roads were virtually nonexistent, with trails as harsh and challenging as the natural environment.
Exterior styling cues from the original FJ brought forward on the FJ Cruiser include a narrow slot of a second grille built into the front lip of the hood, the trio of windshield wipers at the base of an upright windshield, the round headlights and the metallic-colored enclosure that frames them and the main grille (with Toyota in simple gothic letters, instead of the interlocking oval emblem that adorns the face of other modern Toyotas), the white roof, the wraparound rear windows and the spare tire mounted on the back of the vehicle.
The FJ Cruiser shares much of its under structure with the Toyota 4Runner four-door SUV and Tacoma pickup truck, but you'd never guess that to look at the FJ with its wide, turtle-shell body design.
Short front and rear overhangs allow serious off-road maneuvering. The 4x4 versions offer 9.6 inches of ground clearance, with optional underbody armor to provide extra protection against rocks and other obstacles met on unpaved trails.
Viewed in profile, the most noticeable aspects of the FJ Cruiser are its upright windshield, tall and protective body sides, short windows and very wide C-pillar on either side of the cargo area.
Though it may look like a two-door, the FJ Cruiser actually has four doors, with the rear side doors opening rearward to create a good-sized opening for access to the back seat and cargo area. The rear door also opens wide, and features a backlight glass that can be flipped up when the door itself is closed.
The FJ Cruiser features an interesting color palate, including Army Green, a bright yellow (Sun Fusion), a silver (Titanium Metallic), the difficult-to-describe Black Diamond, the very literal Brick, plain Black, Silver Fresco Metallic, and Iceberg White. The paint color covers only the hood, fenders, body sides, C-pillars and rear door. In homage to the old FJ40s, all FJ Cruisers have white roofs.
ENGINE
FJ Cruisers are available in rear- and four-wheel-drive configurations. They all use the same 4.0-liter V-6 engine. Mechanical features include:
260-hp V-6 with 271pounds-feet of torque
Two-wheel-drive FJ Cruiser gets five-speed automatic transmission
Four-wheel-drive models get either the automatic or a six-speed manual
4WD includes a two-speed transfer case with a 2.57:1 low-range ratio
Skid plates, mud guards and tow hooks
Standard locking rear differential
Off-road package adds Bilstein shock absorbers and a special locking rear differential that communicates and cooperates with the brake-based traction control
5,000-pound towing capacity
Standard safety features include stability control, traction control, antilock disc brakes, front-seat side airbags and rollover-sensing side curtain airbags. In Edmunds testing, the Toyota FJ Cruiser came to a stop from 60 mph in 123 feet -- very good performance for an off-road SUV.
The Toyota FJ Cruiser has not been rated using the government's new, more strenuous 2011 crash-testing procedures. Its 2010 ratings, however, (which aren't comparable to the new methodology) were a top five-star rating for driver safety in head-on collisions, while front passenger protection rated four stars. In side-impact testing, front and rear passenger protection received five stars.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the FJ its top score of "Good" for the vehicle's protection of occupants in frontal-offset and side-impact collisions. The roof strength test resulted in a second-best score of "Average."
reference:www.cars.com,autos.aol.com,www.edmunds.com
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