Toyota FJ Cruiser review

[Ben Poche]

i am off road alot and unless you are in serious rock trails or a tight atv type trail the ST will hang in and as for jeeps in stock form they can't go far and, alot comes down to the driver and balls. most places i have been are mud with different steps made out of land not rock.

all i have done to my ST is a TT/SL with 265 75 16 tires(31x10.50)

 

[Deleted deleted]

Gosh, I would have been shocked if Caymen had anything good to say about a Toyota product



We ALL know that if it doesn't have a blue oval on the grill it's junk in Caymenland.



The point of this post was to provide a link to a different type of vehicle for folks to look at. I really doubt the demographic that Toyota is looking to sell to is present on this website.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Darin,



Sorry. I just don't see "quality" in any Toyota. I have tried I have driven them, ho hum. I tried feeling the plastic and it feels "industrial grade". I do not like the looks of the FJ. Looks are subjective, but thats about it. Toyota has nothing that sits them outside the pack. Nothing innovative.



Honda has the S2000. Mitsubishi has the Eclipse. Nissan has the 350Z. Toyota has the Celica, Ha Ha Ha. If it was the Supra with 400 HP, cool. Toyota sucks!!! My niece and brothers buddy have Toyota's. Both are less then comperable to Ford and GM.



Toyota is facing some change very son. Give it 5 more years and Toyota will start to have plants represented by the UAW and I am willing to bet Georgetown, KY will be the first.





Tom

 

[Deleted deleted]

Tom: would that be before or after Toyota bypasses GM and becomes the world's largest automaker?



I have driven most of the Toyota line that my employer has in their fleet, including Corollas, Camrys, Matrix. Did you know the Toyota Corolla has surpassed even the original VW Bug as the largest in number production vehicle? Sales number speak volumes - look at the king of the truck world the F150. They don't sell if they're 'ho-hum'.



If you only grading point is interior plastics, then you are missing much more below the surface.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Tom, the only way that Georgetown plant will become unionized is if you put a gun to the employees' heads. That area of Kentucky is very ANTI-Union, and Toyota has treated their employees better than any union plant can. My cousin has worked there since the plant opened, and she and her co-workers are very happy with the current non-union management.



JD Powers, Consumer Reports and almost every industry watchdog rates Toyota products the best in the industry, so I don't understand how any un-biased person can make a statement that they can't see any quality in Toyota products.



The writing is on the wall for the US Unions. GM and Ford are closing plants left and right in the US and building new plants overseas and in Mexico. The Big Three (sort of a misnomer now, since Toyota is now #2) can't compete against the Japanese and Koreans without "bold moves". The bold moves are that production will be moved overseas, out of union plants and into foreign lands where labor costs allow profitable production of vehicles.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Caymen said:

Toyota has nothing that sits them outside the pack. Nothing innovative.

Corolla, Land Cruiser, Prius, Yaris...'nuf said!



Yeah, a bunch of "followers" there.



C'mon Caymen. To say they "suck" gives you really no credibility.



Sure, you can "prefer" Fords, and sure, you can "dislike" Toyotas...but to totally dismiss the entire brand as inferior, sucky crap, frankly, makes you sound like a zealot.



Less is more when it comes to brand loyalty. Maybe you need a Calvin sticker pissing on a Toyota to complete the picture.



TJR

 

[Tom Schindler]

Tom, the only way that Georgetown plant will become unionized is if you put a gun to the employees' heads. That area of Kentucky is very ANTI-Union, and Toyota has treated their employees better than any union plant can. My cousin has worked there since the plant opened, and she and her co-workers are very happy with the current non-union management.

Nelson, Nelson, Nelson. With employees working for Toyota for the past 8 years ans "temporary help" there will be a union coming soon. Trust me. I read that article in the Solidarity magazine. There is a big movement towards organizing that plant with others to follow.



Things aren't as rosey as you think.





Tom

 

[Jim Thompson]

Remember what John Wayne said in McClintock, just before he poled that guy over the waterhole????? He said: "I'm not gonna' hit ya',,,I'm not gonna hit ya......The Hell I'm Not!!!!

That guy is a lot like you Caymen (I just realized Tom, why are you Caymen...rather than CayMAN!!?) Anyhow, back on track....I can go away from here for a month, and when I get back I can always depend on Caymen to fill my hours with bull! Nothing personal Tom, you are just so good at it. Of course now you will ask....Oh why do you hate me so, man? Just how many Toyotas have you owned personally? How can you condemn the entire industry...and Toyota is certainly a phenomenal giant of the automotive world!....and What if they do unionize at the KY plant....will you still have terrible things to say about them...because they manufacture Toyota vehicles, or will your hate be tempered by their unionization. By the way, I have owned two F-150s, one Sport Trac, one Mercury Mountaineer, one Bronco II....and way back in 1966-67, I even owned a Comet, and in 1970...a Cortina!!!.....so I can report on Ford products with some authority. I have also owned and driven three Toyota pickups (2 were 4WD), a Toyota Van, and my wife now owns a Highlander after driving two Camrys over several years. Frankly....I don't find the Fords any better!!! Sorry Man!

 

[Tom Schindler]

I just realized Tom, why are you Caymen...rather than CayMAN!!?

I originally was Cayman. Within a few days, I got messages over ICQ of people thinking it was Gayman, so I changed it to Caymen. Go ahead, think what you want to think. It doesn't matter to me.



On with the show...

Just how many Toyotas have you owned personally?

Zero, but I know enough people with them to know I want nothing to do with them.

How can you condemn the entire industry...and Toyota is certainly a phenomenal giant of the automotive world!....

Budweiser is the number one beer, but that doesn't mean it is the best tasting beer. What does that prove?

...and What if they do unionize at the KY plant....will you still have terrible things to say about them...because they manufacture Toyota vehicles, or will your hate be tempered by their unionization.

Toyota already has plants that are union. I still hate Toyota.

By the way, I have owned two F-150s, one Sport Trac, one Mercury Mountaineer, one Bronco II....and way back in 1966-67, I even owned a Comet, and in 1970...a Cortina!!!.....so I can report on Ford products with some authority. I have also owned and driven three Toyota pickups (2 were 4WD), a Toyota Van, and my wife now owns a Highlander after driving two Camrys over several years. Frankly....I don't find the Fords any better!!! Sorry Man!

Provided that I come from an all Ford family, except for a few "black Sheep" I can also report about Fords with some athority also. I have seen many Fords in the family with well over 200,000 miles without a problem what-so-ever.



You said the Fords were no beter then the Toyota's..what does that prove? Were the Toyota's that much better then the Fords?





Tom

 

[Deleted deleted]

Caymen, let us know when you have practical daily ownership of a Toyota before anyone here will believe your anti-foreign prejudice. At that point, you'll have the right to condemn them. As is stands, you have nothing to back your opinions. But please keep it up, you really do liven this place up.



Before you think I have something against only Fords, I'll tell you about some of the other POS I've owned. One of the worst was a '94 Isuzu Rodeo. That turd burned a qt of oil every 1K miles from the day I bought it brand new! Dealer tried to tell me that oil consumption was 'normal'. The front bearings leaked constantly - after repacking them several times, I just gave up and figured as long as they were slinging grease they still had grease!



'95 Geo (Suzuki) Tracker - Bought it new, and it spent the entire first month in the shop trying to diagnose why the engine started running rough and dying every stoplight. They had to replace the entire intake system, including the manifold. The car ran like a overfed sow and was a danger on the road.



'97 Ford Mustang V6 - That car squeaked and rattled, sounded like they forgot to torque every nut and bolt on the car.



'85 Nissan 4x4 pickup. Nissans back then had a lot of electrical problems, and this one was no exception. During the 4 years I owned it, I crossed my fingers each time I turned the key hoping it would start.



All of these vehicles were purchased new, and I religiously maintained them.



I think in the 30 years of owning and driving a dozen different makes, I've learned to keep my mind open on makes and as long as one provides me with reliable service, I use that experience as a baseline to continue purchasing vehicles from that company.



I've visited dozens of my company's field locations, and spoken to hundreds of shop mechanics and managers. I see what cars have more problems than others, and which ones take a lot of abuse without complaint. Which one is the most reliable? A Toyota Camry. I know they're boring style-wise. But for whatever staidness they seem to promote, they do run quite reliably.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Toyota has nothing that sits them outside the pack. Nothing innovative.

- Caymen

What about the hybrid technology in the Ford Escape Hybrid?? Where did Ford get that technology from? Toyota, right? Ford is a follower, not a leader. That is why they are being outsold by Toyota worldwide.

 

[Josh Langel]

Caymen---



So if your friends don't like the beer you drink, would you change your mind about that beer? What does that prove?



Your philosophy that "my friend had a .... and it was a pos." Then Ford should be even further in trouble, judging of course by all those people who have friends that hate ford... I know I do.. but it DIDN'T stop me from buying TWO!!! And yes, I had major problems with my last ST, so I can say that it was J U N K!



That's why I drive a Toyota now... why do I need to worry about a company that can't even get what they build working right(Ford, GM). That why I don't care when I hear about the company on the verge of bankruptcy.. send them a message: BUILD A BETTER VEHICLE, Mr. "Bold Moves!!"