2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser Review

Specifications

This truck is fun, from its round headlights to the tailgate spare and fromthe big treads to the roof rack that prevents it from accessing some underground parking lots. Okay, the limited parking isn’t fun in itself, but it’s like passing up a briefcase for a white-water rafting trip. We should all be so lucky. Yeah, this truck isn’t really meant for the attaché case crowd commuting down to your city’s financial district, but if one did, he might as well be carrying a sandwich board proudly declaring FREE SPIRIT, no further explanations necessary.

What surprised me most about it was its easy demeanor when it was technically out of its element, deep in the urban sprawl and out in the suburban spread. Despite looking like a lost character from the Jungle Book meets Transformers, this is an easy vehicle to drive in town, whether sporting the 5-speed manual or automatic transmission. Its overpowered 4.0L V6 feels like it could be swapped into a Tundra and still make truck lovers happy. Well, maybe it would come up a little short in the Tundra, especially compared to the 5.7L iForce V8, but it’s still got the right truck growl and 4×4 crawl.

The stick-shift controlled 4WD can shift between 2-Hi, Auto, 4-Hi and 4-Lo, meaning it can get in the mud … and get out, with only a few paint job battle scars to remind you of your troubles. Of course, you shouldn’t get too deep into the mud or rocks without some knobbier tires and a buddy truck—off-roading experts will tell you never to travel solo. Toyota’s TRD division does offer a series of off-roading gear for the FJ and even a special Baja 1000 Edition, and though mine did not include any of it, the FJ is fit for some pretty rough riding right out of the box.

But since I only took the FJ on a limited off-road excursion, andbecause my 4×4 experience is not thorough enough to warrant fair judgment on that aspect of its character (I can only tell you that it’s fun), I’ll just continue talking about what it was like to live with in town for a week. Fun. It was tons of fun going out of my way to crawl all over piles of plowed snow, just to crush them so that they’d melt quicker, or just to climb over something since I didn’t have enough time to explore anything truly adventurous like I did last summer when I took it deep into a nature reserve and then quickly back, unscathed.

But this time I spent all week commuting to and from work and shuttling people around town, and I found it performed these mundane chores without any commotion or distress. In fact, I appreciated the heavy duty suspension and firm ride quality because it seemed more appropriate to the road-that-is-barely-a-road outside my apartment. Although firm, the FJ maintains composure and grip where many complacent sedans and softer SUVs get juggled around, their suspensions seeming to slam into my teeth. While peripheral vision isn’t great, it’s enough to maintain the advantage of a high-seating position shared with most SUVs.

The powertrain is surprisingly smooth on the highway and pleasingly gruff on green-light launches, although I preferred the manual I tried last year. It also offers a nimble turning circle and its variable ratio steering makes maneuvering around tight parking lots less of a chore. Brakes too, were firm and purposeful, coming on smooth and strong as you get on the pedal, never too jerky, wooden or mushy.

With so much of its ability tuned towardsoff-roading, it’s a bit of overkill as a winter vehicle (really, any vehicle with minimal AWD and good winter tires is sufficient if the snow is constant, although not too deep). But that’s not to say it isn’t serviceable, and then some. Why not have some fun in winter, and fun in spring and summer when you can try hitting some trails—do a quick web search and you’ll quickly find any number of off-roading clubs in your area. Even if you just got hooked on the FJ because it looks like your favorite childhood sandbox toy, you might be reminded of how much fun a sandbox can still be if you find a nice abandoned quarry and someone to show you the ropes.

Of course, the FJ isn’t all fun and frolicking in the mud—at the end ofthe day you’re still going to have to park it, and if you have a big, wide turnaround driveway this won’t apply to you, but anyone who has to parallel park, back into their spot or back out into traffic would be well advised to bring your off-roading spotter along with you. Rear visibility is impaired because of the narrow window and spare tire, plus rear three-quarter visibility is severely hampered by the wide, chunky D-pillars that seem to creep right into your living space. Personally, I found that with judicious use of the tall side-view mirrors most situations are navigable, but for those instances that demand unimpaired 360-degree visibility. For those I’d suggest a Subaru Forester. Yawn. Sorry, I nearly fell asleep thinking about the Forester, quite the opposite of my reaction every time I thought about the FJ parked outside work or at home in the evening.

Whenever I wasn’t in it, I just kept imagining itsitting there in its Black Cherry glossy paint with grey fenders, not to mention the white roof topped off by the metal tubing roof rack (the FJ just doesn’t look right without the roof rack for some reason). It was a case of a puppy-love crush of the highest order. Every time I walked up to it only affirmed my crush, despite the awkward fumbling inside the rear door to get it open and the weird angle on which they opened. The interior, too, was as heavy-duty Tonka toy-inspired as the exterior, with matching paint plastics and downright silly-sized HVAC knobs, plus a stereo that names itself FJammer—for a full riff on the FJammer rating scheme, visit Alexandra’s earlier review of the FJ.

Its few faults are easily forgiven in light of its complete dedication to fun and an anti-serious attitude to life and motoring. I don’t care that its got a thirst for gas bordering on a full-size truck’s, because it delivers more than it promises at first glance. While it has the bones to match the bold styling off road, it’s a surprisingly user-friendly vehicle in and around town. I can’t say for certain that it outperforms any of its rivals on the trail, but it managed to conquer a path to my stony heart by embracing the child in me, the child who never fails to smile at life.