Toyota FJ Cruiser

While the Toyota FJ Cruiser still manages to look funky and extrovert from the outside even after all these years, the interior cabin definitely has started to show its age. It lacks a number of modern features and the layout too is very old school on the inside.

A very basic three spoke steering wheel sans any controls on it and a simple looking analog instrument console make up for a bare bones driver’s cockpit, which is a far cry from those in the modern SUVs. The centre console of the dashboard looks dated, however, it tries to look interesting with a number of round-themed elements like protruding AC vents and three off road focused dials placed up above it on the top of the dashboard.

Below the AC vents, the vertically placed colour coded panels house a dated 2-DIN audio system and three round switches for conventional manual AC. The serious lack of many new age comfort and convenience features make it look outdated. However, it packs in enough space for five people.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser is undoubtedly the oldest SUV among the current breed of modern and contemporary SUVs. However, despite its age, the concept car like design of the FJ Cruiser still manages to make it look out of the box and youthful, which makes it look very interesting.

The front fascia of the Toyota FJ Cruiser has a retro touch to it, which resembles that of vintage Land Cruisers, and that is pretty evident from the grille and headlamps setup. The rectangular grille with old school Toyota logo gets round headlamps on both of its sides, and this entire setup is enclosed in a rounded rectangular panel, which is finished in silver colour.

Adjacent to this silver panel on both the sides are turn indicators, which are laid horizontally and are rounded from outer edges. The large front bumper is finished in all black and gets a thick silver skid plate at the centre and unique looking protruding fog lamp housings on outer sides.

From the sides too, the Toyota FJ Cruiser looks off beat. The SUV gets vertical A-pillars and silver finished old school door mounted large rear view mirrors. The doors on the sides too are very unique and open out in the same way as what we have seen in the suicide doors of the Rolls Royce cars. The much smaller size of the rear door in comparison to the front one makes the SUV look even more unique. The wide C-pillar design, dual-tone roof treatment, squared fenders above the rear wheels, and thick wheel arches are some other interesting design elements of this SUV.

At the rear, the Toyota FJ Cruiser gets a large tailgate-mounted spare wheel with a silver unibody cover. The curved tail lamps place on outer edges of the tailgate and silver-finished panels on either edge of the rear body cladding complete the concept car-like design.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser has a sturdy off road suspension setup of double wishbone setup at the front and coil springs at the rear, with anti roll bars at both the ends. The overall ride quality is not as refined and smooth as modern day SUVs, with significant body roll, but the suspension feels rock solid for off road driving conditions.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser sources its power from a 4.0-litre V6 petrol engine under its hood, which is offered with a 5-speed automatic gearbox as standard and pumps out a maximum power output of 268 PS and a peak torque output of 380 Nm.

The dated Toyota FJ Cruiser only gets common safety features like front, side and curtain airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control and tire pressure monitoring system, with no high end safety features on offer.

The interiors of the Toyota FJ Cruiser might not be a luxurious place to be in, and the ride quality too isn’t that impressive on soft tarmac. But despite its old school roots, the Toyota FJ Cruiser looks outlandish and funky even today, and the SUV is a capable machine off the road as well.