School me on the FJ cruiser

[dbn23quattro]

So I'm in the market for something that I can use to take hunting as well as spliting DD duties with my TT. To this point I had been mainly looking at trucks, but I happened to come across an FJ at the dealership while I was looking at a Tacoma. It rode fairly well on the street and has plenty of room for my hunting stuff so now I'm considering going this route. Any reason why I should or shouldn't? Any other comments or suggestions?

[ohsnappe2]

inside is so small

[brettnyt]

^^ Not true. I have NEVER had anyone get into my FJ and say "It's small in here" its always a comment about how big it really is inside as compared to the outside.

I love the FJ. It is very quirky, but works great for what I use it for.

It has a couple of blind spots, but nothing that cant be fixed with some convex stick-on mirrors.

The rear doors are a bit awkward.

If you are sitting at a traffic light, the roof line can make it hard to see the light without ducking.

It takes premium.

Very comfortable and capable vehicle though.

Here are 2 pics of mine

[dbn23quattro]

Love the bumper and the light bar

[JN3n]

I went offroading with a friend who had an FJ with a light lift (leveling kit) and was very impressed . The climbing and choppy dirt road ride was as good as my last 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee at 10k less.

[ohsnappe2]

theres much more room in the back of my legacy sedan than in a 2010 FJ. maybe you have some magical one or youve never been in the back seat or something

[brettnyt]

Correct, I rarely have anyone sit in the backseat. The backseat is not the entire inside. The front is quite spacious, as is the cargo area.

[Code-7]

There's plenty of room in the FJ. Accessing the rear seats can be awkward but they're roomy once you're in them.

Lots of accessories. :

www.springtailsolutions.com

[dbn23quattro]

I like the way you think

[dwince]

The back seat is the same space as the back seat of a Tacoma IMO. I love my FJ, lots of cargo space and its very comfortable to drive. In the 2010+ FJ's they revised the motor and have about 20 more hp and torque than the 07-09's. But the 07-09's dont need a new washer fluid bottle when you get a front bumper. No matter which one you get you'll love it.

here's mine.

FJ by Dustin Wince, on Flickr

[AnAgentOrange]

Were I in the market for a new truck, the FJ is what I would be looking at a lot, besides the Taco...

[kweetech]

go look at an 06-08 4runner if you're looking for a DD with offroad capabilites

[dwince]

FJ and 4 Runner are pretty much the same truck and the 4Runners are more expensive.

[Sporin]

Funny this should pop up, I've been quietly lusting after one of these for a while.

Hello, my name is Sporin, and I want a porta-potty blue FJ Cruiser.

After being heavily involved in the local Land Cruiser club the last 7 years—and owning a steady stream of old Cruisers and other 4x4's—I am completely truckless and "taking a break" from the offroading hobby mostly due to a shortage of time and money as I build my business.... but I miss having a truck (currently have a Prius and an old Accord).

Was looking at used Tacoma's for a long-shot possibility of replacing the Accord next year but those things don't appear to depreciate and I'm not paying 23 grand for a base model Tacoma with 60k miles on it. I'd need a cap to make it ok for the dogs.

Then I remembered that the back of the FJ Cruiser is all hard plastic, perfect for dog crates and hauling trash and landscaping stuff and BOOM a voodoo blue '07 shows up on my local lot that I pass trice a week.... as if to taunt me.

I'm not sure I get the "too small" complaints. I spent quite a lot of time in one with the Trail Team one year, on and offroad, front seat and backseat and my fat-self had no space complaints at all. {shrug}

If I were going for a primary vehicle, I'd go 4runner for the 4 doors. But as a secondary vehicle, I'd go FJ Cruiser. The ingress/egress for the back seats is no big deal for my son and the utilitarian cargo area is perfect for being the "enclosed truck bed" that I really need. Plus, I like they way they look.

Aftermarket is huge but I rarely offroad anymore so maybe a leveling kit if any lift at all, and a set of chunky AT tires and I'd have all I need for the light trails I hit occasionally.

[robhurlburt]

the only thing i know about them is you have to drop close to $20K for one with 100K on it

around here at least

[dwince]

the only thing i know about them is you have to drop close to $20K for one with 100K on it

around here at least

They're more expensive than people think. A new one will cost you close to $30k. KBB says they have the best resale value of any mid-size SUV and second of any car overall.

http://www.kbb.com/new-cars/best-res...-mid-size-suv/

[Xetabur]

the only thing i know about them is you have to drop close to $20K for one with 100K on it

around here at least

You think that's bad? My Tacoma is worth more than what I paid for it. Welcome to Toyota.