Just to be clear, a friend of mine originally wrote this review for his magazine - it’s good reading if you want to learn about the real-world on & off-road capabilities packed into the FJ Cruiser.

Sure, some things are hokey - WTF is with that gauge pod on the dash? How do you say, “Put down the bong” in Japanese? I mean, I know why I put one in my old Cherokee (lifted 4″, MTRs, armoured, etc.) and it was useful - but let’s be real - it looks like an after-thought in the FJ and an attempt to “grab some trail-cred”.

Haven’t seen that level of obvious “trying” since GM let loose the H3 and said IT was almost as capable off-road as the original H1 - still laughing at that.

That said, other than some styling WTFs, it appears this is another in the long line of very capable off-roaders from Toyota.

Legendary is a word that aptly describes the Toyota Land Cruiser. While not the oldest of the down-sized 4×4 brands, it is probably the most recognized worldwide. The Land Cruiser started life in 1951 as the BJ, though mass production of this model didn�t start until 1953. The BJ enjoyed a solid five-year run through the �50s. Its replacement in 1958 is the vehicle we�re all familiar with � the FJ Series, starting with the FJ 25. The venerable FJ40 is certainly one of the most long-lived designs of the Toyota 4×4 brand in its history, running for over 25 years. It is interesting to see the historical demand for the Land Cruiser brand. It took from 1958 to 1980 to sell the first 1 million Land Cruisers (22 years). In the span of the next 10 years they sold another 1 million Land Cruisers. Then from 1990 to 2003, a span of only 13 years, Toyota sold 2 million additional Land Cruisers! This matches the previous 32 years of production.

It�s no wonder then that Toyota would like to parlay its experience and tradition to come up with a truly modern, capable and affordable four-wheeler.

Read the full review at can4×4.com.

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