Toyota shakes up its staid line-up with the funky and functional FJ Cruiser
TOYOTAS ARE BORING. It’s a sad truth but with a sterile model line-up and a drought of performance offerings (bring on the GT86-Ed.) South African Toyota aficionados haven’t had much to enjoy in the last decades. Models like the tepid Auris TRD have done nothing but damage the illustrious performance badge, but it is Toyota’s burly behemoth, the EJ Cruiser, that’s proving hugely popular among buyers. Compared with its rivals, the Land Rover Defender and the ]e ep Wrangler, the EJ is outselling its nearest competitor by more than 110 units every month (Dec 2011 new car sales). The logic behind its success is quite simple: People want vehicles that stand out from the crowd and make a statement. Something the PJ Cruiser exudes is charisma, but ust how good is it on and off the black stuff?
Exterior
Although not to everyone’s traditional taste, the EJ Cruiser’s malevolent demeanour is hard to deny. Other road users quickly move out of the way when the FJ’s imposing figure fills their rear-view mirror. Its retro design language pays tribute to the original EJ4o Land Cruiser from the ’6os but with a modern twist. The front end is bookended by circular headlights and a mesh grill complete with Toyota word nomenclature, while the signature white roof and wraparound rear glass round off the tail. The vertical nature ofthe windscreen acts mostly as a giant bug swatter, pulverising anything brave enough to fly in its path. Thankfully, the heavy-duty tri-wiper arrangement is on hand to restore vision and keep things nice and clean. The limited edition, Trail Cruiser model, boasts several aggressive styling tweaks that differentiate it from other derivatives in the range. Equipped with a metallic grey paintjob and heavy duty roof scaffolding with integrated driving lamps, it certainly looks bling.
Interior
Taking a utilitarian approach, the cabin is dressed with rubber mats, water repellent cloth seats and hard-wearing plastic parts. These surfaces mean that the interior is easy to maintain and clean after a dirty day on the bike or beach. Step inside and you’re greeted by chunky block—like knobs, oversized buttons and levers, designed no doubt, for Schalk Burger Snr's massive mitts. Even the door handles are colossal. They’re large so that most operations can be undertaken in workman gloves in a snowy climate, unlike our own. That aside, the interior is an antithesis of retro com- prising modern garnishes such as an integrated audio/CD sound system with six speakers and an iPod, external audio and USB connectors,
aircon, an extra power socket and cruise control. The seats are surprisingly comfy and offer fairly substantial support. While the outlandish suicide door configuration is quirky, keep in mind that it does make rear seat access more of a chore. The massive C-pillar and rear-mounted spare wheel also hinders visibility to the point where one often has to triple check blind spots when changing lanes. The wheel’s location does prove more accessible (than those under a rear loadbay) however, should you ever be stuck in thick sand.
Performance
The FJ Cruiser’s performance abilities belie its plus-size physique. Bludgeon the throttle and the high-compression 4.0-litre V6 petrol engine assaults the speed limit with alacrity— think hot hatch 15 years ago. Yip, the FJ sprints to 100kph in just 8.6 seconds, which is impressive for a two-tonne-plus vehicle.Armed with 200kW and 3,80Nm of rotational force, the FJ produces almost double the power of the original six-cylinder FJ40. All this power, however, does come at a premium horrendous fuel com sumption allied to the absence of an on-board computer.
Nursing the throttle, and by nursing I mean driving like Miss Daisy, we returned a combined fuel consumption figure of 12.1L/ 100km. Drive it with one’s usual gusto and the figure will spike upwards of 14L/100km. The FJ’s unfortunately only available with a five-speed automatic transmission at present. But the drive is made bearable by a technology Toyota calls AI Shift control. Essentially, this program varies the shifting algorithms based on vehicle speed, road conditions and throttle position -this fosters optimal shifting and nullifies gear hunting. Although the gearbox is more fluent and smoother than a regular automatic, it still isn’t as intuitive as a manual application. What the FJ range really lacks, however, is the choice of a frugal tiubodiesel option. If the 3.0-litre D-4D unit from the Hilux/Fortuner were an option, it would likely be the pick of the FJrange.
Handling
To be fair, the top-heavy FJ never professes to be the best handling SUV on-road and as expected, suffers from prodigious body roll. You’ll need to scrub off a lot of speed before entering a tight, sweeping turn. Naturally, the FJ’s massive wheel travel and 245mm ground clearance sees it best at home on the dirt. The suspension features double wishbones up front and four-link suspension with lateral rods at the back, mitigating undulations and corrugations of rutted and rocky trails with aplomb. Allied to the cushioned ride is a comfortable cruising demeanour. Although much ofthe FJ’s ladder frame chassis is derived from the the current Prado, it measures in zomm wider, 50mm lower and 260mm shorter in length. The FJ’s shorter wheelbase offers an impressive: 34 deg approach angle (Prado is gzdeg) and 31deg departure angle (Prado is 24deg) plus a 27deg breach angle, for cresting sharp inclines or dunes. Parking isn’t as bad as one would expect either, as reversing is aided by a handy- albeit tiny- camera integrated into the rear-view mirror.
Verdict
Overall, the FJ Cruiser is a fitting homage to the original FJ40. Not only is it de rigueur, it drives well and is just as compliant on asphalt as it is capable on gravel. Admittedly, many admirers will buy it purely for the bling factor alone, but they’ll be happy knowing they’re getting a practical SUV that’s able to cope with the school run and tow the boat to the lake come holiday time-oh, did I mention it’s a proper off-roader too?
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