ren495

I'm trying to do a favor for a close friend. She needs a new car. She totaled her current SUV and she doesn't know much about cars. She's still in school so a nice used affordable car would be perfect. And she needs an SUV 'cause she loves going off roading, camping, driving to the mountains and stuff like that.

So I thought of the FJ Cruiser. It's not pretty, but it's a great off roader aint it? And since it's a Toyota I expect it is very reliable? Plus I looked around and you can get a low mileage one for a good price. A 2007 with 30,000 miles would be nice. Not sure if she would like the design, but I think it would be a great car for her.

Anyone have any experience with the FJ Cruiser?

vcheng

It is a great SUV. However, please have your friend drive it in traffic and see how comfortable she is with visibility issues. Other than that, good vehicle, on and off road. About 16 mpg overall so not stellar in that department.

On used FJs, you must look in the engine bay for any deformation of the front structural beams especially if there is a history of heavy off roading and the model year is 2007. 2008 and later years have a revised beam stamping.

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

4Runners are great off road as well. That would be my pick over an FJ.

Lil4X

The FJ seems to be a great SUV that is capable of REAL off-roading. Look at KBB and Edmunds for prices of used vehicles in your area. You may find, as I did, that even a 2 year old FJ hasn't depreciated much, and the purchase of a new one might be justified, given the possibility that any used vehicle on the market may have been pretty badly abused. If you compare the FJ to say a Jeep Unlimited similarly equipped, the Toyota is much less expensive, holds value better and tests far better on the street, where realistically, most of us drive.

The G Man

I would consider the 4runner as well, its a better city truck than the FJ and just as capable off road.

IS-SV

I agree, I know several people that own various 4runners, all are happy with the vehicles.

Sandi_k

I own an FJ (bought in 2006, one of the first) and have loved it. Visibility can be greatly improved with the simple addition of a 3" convex mirror on the stock side mirrors.

It does have a hard suspension, since it's ladder-frame construction. In fact, that's why I'll be selling mine. I had spinal surgery in December, and I find that the FJC seems to transmit every bump in the road staight to my back. I'm getting old.

It's a very capable truck, and it's still compact enough for city driving and parking. I found its tranny to be much more fun and responsive than the 4Runner - not to mention that you CAN still get a manual tranny on the FJ.

There is a very active FJC forum - fjcruiserforums.com - if she has particular questions or concerns.

Sandi

kit cat

iTrader: (6)

does she NEED a FJ? Aren't those pretty hardcore off road capable vehicles?

If it's just offroading to camp and grass/mud, I would recommend a Subaru Outback. Those are awesome cars to go to camping and comfortable for daily driving and gets decent gas mileage.