Toyota’s charming brute: FJ Cruiser

ON THE road, when you floor the FJ, the engine lets out a slightly muted but aggressive growl.

ONE OF the quiet entries into the Philippine automotive market was Toyota’s FJ Cruiser, slipping without much fanfare  in dealerships in the last months of 2013 as a 2014 model.

Little did Toyota realize that the FJ would help elevate the hallowed and dependable, yet ultimately mass-marketed Toyota badge into a highly-coveted and premium brand, alongside the much-hyped Toyota 86 sports car.

Perusing through fansites and other historical blogs, the FJ Cruiser shares much with the 86 sports car: Both cars were developed under the direction of Akio Toyoda, with the FJ introduced in 2003 as a concept car.

Toyoda had yet to ascend as chair and CEO of Toyota Motors Corp., having been elected as a member of the board of directors at that time, but  he had already shown true,  simple genius: Cars should excite people. The rest, as they say, is history. The FJ Cruiser became a sales hit in the United States, and the 86 today is in such high demand that the waiting list resembles college enrollment.

Interestingly, the FJ Cruiser is being built in a Toyota subsidiary Hino truck factory in Hamura, Japan, rather than in  a true Toyota production line. Its macho exterior, even brutish retro cues, pay homage to the Land Cruiser FJ40, penned by Toyota Calty designer Jin Won Kim; overall product designer Bill Chergosky meanwhile did the interior.

THE FJ Cruiser prefers high-octane fuel to get the most power and response.

The FJ Cruiser itself is based on underpinnings of many Toyota vehicles, chiefly the Land Cruiser Prado, and is related in some ways to the IMV lineup, and the US-market Tundra and Tacoma LCVs.

It has a body-on-frame chassis, and is powered by a 4-liter V6 engine designated as the 1GR-FE, generating 260 horsepower and  367.01 Newton-meters of torque through either a six-speed manual or five-speed automatic.

Locally, though, we get only the five-speed automatic with a part-time four-wheel-drive transmission that has high- and low-gear transfer cases. The FJ has an impressive off-road ability out of the box, thanks to a 700-millimeter fording depth, Torsen differentials for the front, center and rear, with lockable features, and normally has a power split of 40:60 (front to rear) in most driving conditions.

Aside from tried-and-tested mechanical armaments to enhance offroad ability, the FJ Cruiser has ABS-EBD brakes with brake assist as well as vehicle stability control.

The crucial question is: How does it drive? The answer to this question came about in a funny, circuitous manner for me.

I wasn’t a fan of the FJ Cruiser when grey-market importers started bringing in this bad boy in the middle of 2000. Prices were anywhere in between the higher range of P2 million to the lower end of P3 million. It looked macho, but I questioned its  ability to actually do something.

THE DASHBOARD comes close to your knees, but everything below can be hosed down with water.

So when Toyota released the FJ (admittedly pared down and missing some options, as  compared to grey-market variants, but with a price of under P1.8 million), it started to look interesting because it was comparable to a top-level Fortuner V 3.0 D4-D.

I eventually got to borrow one and was immediately impressed by one thing: the ride comfort. For such a big, tall and brutish SUV, the FJ Cruiser rode very comfortably. The brakes were also surprisingly very powerful, and though there’s a tendency for almost excessive body roll and chassis pitching/squatting/nose-diving, the FJ Cruiser never felt overwhelming so long as you respected its limits.

The big 17-inch wheels shod with very tall and almost knobby, all-terrain Dunlop AT22 tires measuring 265/70R17, would make you think the FJ would lose composure on dry tarmac. But these thoughts just vanished as soon as you cornered hard, braked hard, and accelerated hard.

Coming from a background that lower is better (to a point of course), I was really impressed by the FJ’s road manners. Power is pretty good, too, and while I won’t sugarcoat the truth and say fuel economy is acceptable (it’s frankly abysmal at 3.8 to 4.2 kilometer per liter in the city, and barely 6 kpl on the highway), you forget about this, and the fact that the FJ doesn’t like high-revs too much.

It’s a slow and steady cruiser on the highway, and the brickyard aerodynamics won’t do you any favors even with a more efficient engine. The FJ is, in a word, honestly and  decently fun to drive.

A rear-facing camera helps maneuvering the FJ into tight spots, but the width is a real hurdle to get used to. On my first few drives in the FJ, I almost kissed side mirrors with other cars and  nearly nudged a few motorcyclists off the road!

But for such a big and tall car, it’s actually quite short, and has a surprisingly small turning radius of just over 6 meters. In the United States, it’s surprisingly classified as a compact SUV, albeit the largest one in this segment.

Dual airbags are standard on the FJ, plus an altimeter/inclinometer, handy for hardcore SUV enthusiasts. Interestingly as well, the FJ’s interior, particularly its lower half (everything below the dashboard), can be hosed down with water when cleaning, and the seats are covered in a special-tech fabric for easy drying. This is because in many river crossings, there’s always a chance that the FJ can, for short periods of time, reach beyond its fording depth and for water to enter the cabin.

I don’t want to try this myself, but as I perused many fansites for the FJ, I noticed that it is  apparently something common and is something the FJ can easily withstand to.

BIG 17-INCH wheels shod with all-terrain Dunlop AT22 tires

On the road, when you floor the FJ, the engine lets out a slightly muted but aggressive growl, and the low-end response is very impressive, something you really need for offroad driving—like when clearing through mud, sand and grass, or pushing tons of water out of the way during a precarious river crossing.

The FJ Cruiser is one of those rare cars that have a very real sense of occasion. It is reliable as death and taxes; it gets people rubber-necking all the time, and commands respect on the road. Your very tall ride height gives you a commanding view of the road ahead.

As a bonus for someone like me who simply has to tinker/modify/tune whatever car we own, the FJ has massive aftermarket support—from wheels/tires to lift kits, lighting to  steel offroad bumpers,  even bolt-on engine parts like cold-air intakes, long-tune headers—to really give that angry growl and exhausts that free up more ponies.

While I had not driven it in hardcore offroad conditions, the lunar surface that is Philippine roads gave me a taste of the poor terrain performance that the FJ possesses. It simply swallowed up bumps and ruts, climbed up curbs and sidewalks with impunity when you need to park in a pinch, and laughed at rumble strips and uneven concrete surfaces when running at  highway speeds.

Of course, the FJ isn’t perfect: The suicide doors and tight rear seats do not make fitting in four adults an option you want to do regularly. Entry into the back is tough if you’re anywhere over 5 feet tall, so it’s reserved for the kids.

The low dashboard comes close to your knees (I’ve banged my knees going inside the FJ a few times already), and the steering column isn’t at an optimal angle, so the steering wheel is either too low relative to your shoulders, or too upright, resulting in tired arms and shoulders after  very long stints behind the wheel.

There’s also the very abysmal fuel consumption, and the FJ does prefer high-octane fuel to get the most power and response. With crude oil prices being at their lowest in four years, which translates to dropping pump fuel prices, the FJ is suddenly an attractive buy.

Most people don’t want sports cars as  toys, they prefer SUVs. However, not everyone can afford  premium, high-end SUVs either. The FJ slots in perfectly for buyers looking for something special, yet at a price that won’t have the Bureau of Revenue chasing after you.

As an only primary car, the FJ is tough, not just because of fuel-consumption issues, but because of practicality issues as well. My wife refuses to ride in the FJ when she’s wearing a dress or high heels, and a mother or yaya carrying a baby will find it next to impossible to get in, especially at the rear seats.

But as a second or a third car,  or a car for special driving days, or for true offroad adventures, it’s tough to match the price, performance, looks and charisma of the FJ Cruiser.