Toyota FJ Cruiser 2012 review: snapshot

The Toyota FJ Cruiser is very PC. By which we mean Personnel Carrier - not armoured perhaps, but a swivelling machinegun mount wouldn't look out of place on the roof.

There's a military flavour to the design, which Toyota says takes its cues from the original J40/FJ40 seen here first on the Snowy River Scheme in the 1960s - and in one or two war zones -- but the new one looks more like the result of a one-night stand with Hummer.

Luckily, whatever you think of the retro-brute styling, underneath it is a reasonably practical vehicle that has bypassed the techno-trizz bin but done a bit of staple shopping in Toyota's off-road parts aisle.

Explore the 2012 Toyota FJ Cruiser range

• Toyota FJ Cruiser 2012 review: snapshot
• Toyota FJ Cruiser 2012 review
• Toyota FJ Cruiser 2012 review: road test

VALUE

Available only in one spec at $44,990, the FJ Cruiser has all the usual basic electric equipment, plus a six-stacker CD player with iPod, USB and Bluetooth. connectivity, and a rear-view camera and parking sensors.

The price makes it the entry point to Toyota dual-range 4WD wagons, with the Landcruiser well above it at around $65,140 - although there's a Prado at the FJ's price with constant 4WD.

But if you're looking for a two-stage transfer case, you can get one in a Suzuki Grand Vitara V6 petrol at $40,490, or a Subaru Forester 2.0D at the same price if you'd prefer diesel - although with a manual transmission.

And starting at $43,900 there's also a few dual-range choices among the Mitsubishi Challenger turbodiesels with either a manual or a five-speed sports auto.

TECHNOLOGY

The FJ Cruiser sits on a shortened version of the Landcruiser Prado platform, and has used the same 4.0-litre V6 petrol engine five-speed automatic transmission, with real offroad potential coming from a two-speed transfer case and a lockable rear differential - which get separate switches.

The engine develops 200kW of power at 5600rpm and a pretty hefty 380Nm of torque at a pretty high 4000rpm, but with 310Nm available from 1200rpm.

The official combined fuel economy is 11.4L/100km, but we couldn't get within cooee of that except on a highway run, and ended up with just on 18L/100km in a mixture of urban, inner-city and country driving with a very brief offroad taste.

DESIGN

The FJ Cruiser draws on the original design with retro styling in the upright glass windscreen - wide and shallow enough to need three wipers -- wraparound rear windows, mesh grille with Toyota spelled out, round headlights and bluff high nose.

The interior has a similar flavour, with the squared-off lines of the centre stack, big easy-to-read gauges - with outside temperature, compass direction and pitch and yaw -- and the hose-out feel of the rubber floor.

The driver gets height adjustment and the front row has ample legroom. Suicide rear half-doors give easy enough access to the rear seat, but there's not a lot of room back there. Kids will probably love the novelty factor and the high position, but adults will feel cramped.

There's scope to head offroad in the decent ground clearance on the thick rubber and 17-in wheels, and the short front and rear overhangs will help approach and departure angles for gullies and creeks. But a 20kg load limit on the front chassis rails will stymie those who want to fit a bulbar or winch there.

SAFETY

It hasn't been crash-tested here yet, but the Prado to which it's loosely related got four stars in 2003 for the VX with six airbags, and more recently a full five stars for models with more safety equipment - and more airbags.

The FJ Cruiser is back to six bags, plus active headrests on the front seats, and has traction and stability controls, anti-lock brakes with brake assist for extra effort in emergency stops and brakeforce distribution to counter uneven vehicle loading.

Visibility is good except for towards the rear, which -- with the rear-mounted full-sized spare -- is so poor as to be almost blind. The rearview camera and rear parking sensors help in that direction, but those who still like to add a head-swivelling human check to the electronic aids will be frustrated.

DRIVING

First of all there's the attention you'll get in the FJ. People will either love it or hate it, but either way they'll all notice it - so you'll have to get comfortable with that.

Until then, you'll at least be comfortable with the drive. Whether you're on the road or off, the ride quality is brilliant. Part of the reason behind that will be the 100,000km+ of testing to tune the suspension for Australia.

The steering was done in the same program but has still ended up with less connection and communication than we'd like on the road - although it works well enough to get the vehicle around at urban speeds and for parking.

Except for those who wait in vain for a diesel to join the range, few could complain about with the V6 engine's smoothness and strength. With close to 2-tonne to push around, the FJ isn't spritely off the mark but there's plenty of effort on tap for hills and overtaking.

And in a brief paddock and gully foray, it's proved to have enough torque and decent design for fairly tough crawls, with the low range and traction control working well and the short overhangs avoiding contact through deep washouts. And after recently returning a HiLux press vehicle with an offroad audit trail on the paintwork, we were pleased to try and erase some of the blot on our reputation with this one.

VERDICT

Some people will want the diesel or manual it doesn't have, but for those who will occasionally need the low range to go offroad but won't ever need hard-core factors, the FJ Cruiser offers styling that stands out from the crowd.