10 Reasons I'm Not Getting a FJ Cruiser

[dsarka]

1. No sunroof option
2. Rear passenger windows do not open (or even flip out for air flow)
3. No flip down tailgate like the concept FJ
4. Bad designed roof rack makes rain water drip on driver through front window.
5. Rear seats do not recline at all.
6. Rear seats do not fold completely down flat, can't be removed
7. Bad gas mileage along with small gas tank (~250 mi range)
8. Tires do not even look like off-road tires
9. Not enough leg room for rear passengers
10. Rear windows look large from outside, but are small from the inside.


Just some input from a guy that was going to buy one before seeing it in person...

[ckit]

dsarka previously said:

1. No sunroof option
2. Rear passenger windows do not open (or even flip out for air flow)
3. No flip down tailgate like the concept FJ
4. Bad designed roof rack makes rain water drip on driver through front window.
5. Rear seats do not recline at all.
6. Rear seats do not fold completely down flat, can't be removed
7. Bad gas mileage along with small gas tank (~250 mi range)
8. Tires do not even look like off-road tires
9. Not enough leg room for rear passengers
10. Rear windows look large from outside, but are small from the inside.

I think Toyota hit their demographic very well.

Post your demographic and the other vehicles you were cross-shopping to illustrate...

Young married couple, no kids.
1. I drive a convertible on sunny days. Wife's car has sunroof.
2. Rarely have backseat passengers. Maybe 5 times total last year.
3. We were actually looking for side-opening cargo door like our dearly departed LR Disco. Hated the lift-up hatch on the Pilot (last owned SUV)... with a lift-up hatch, it's all or none... there's no cracking the hatch to toss a bag/box in....
4. Drove through rain, didn't get dripped on by roof rack. I don't open windows when it's pouring.
5. Once again, only infrequent rear seat use.
6. Owner's manual has seat removal instructions. Yes, you need a screwdriver and I'm not sure how it impacts the cargo area. I figure if I need more space, I'll rent a van or trailer for $20.
7. I just drove >330 miles and the gauge still had a 1/4 tank (so prob 1/6th left). This vehicle has better mileage and range than our Pilot did. And I won't even talk about the mileage on our Discovery....
8. Tires aren't really to my liking, but if you're serious about off-roading you would have Mud Terrains on separate steelies... that will get chewed up if you run them long distance on the asphalt. I ordered TRD wheels for $116 apiece and will put Blizzaks on them for winter... will swap out the H/Ts for BFG ATs... in 17 inch for handling bias (hey, it's a 32 in tire... that'll still have plenty of sidewall for me).
9. Once again, nobody in rear seats here.
10. My other car has worse visibility in rear. Haven't had any issues adjusting. I like the other thread idea of larger rearview mirror. I also know others who have found convex side mirrors helpful.

From the original poster's gripes:
Get a Highlander if you want "family friendly" with better gas mileage.
If you want all of that with a flip down rear and still off-road capable get a Land Rover LR3.
They get worse gas mileage and don't come stock with off-road tires, though.

My question is... what other car would the original poster buy instead?
My recommendation is small engine Highlander and buy a beater Jeep with BFG M/Ts as a spare car....

Cheers!

[moabite]

ckit previously said:

My question is... what other car would the original poster buy instead?
My recommendation is small engine Highlander and buy a beater Jeep with BFG M/Ts as a spare car....

Cheers!

Xterra....real back seat that folds flat, real rear windows, locker, standard traction control on front and rear, better tires than FJ, standard roof rack, more power than FJ........

[other1]

moabite previously said:

Xterra....real back seat that folds flat, real rear windows, locker, standard traction control on front and rear, better tires than FJ, standard roof rack, more power than FJ........

More rattles, lesser quality

[davexb]

ckit previously said:

I think Toyota hit their demographic very well.

Post your demographic and the other vehicles you were cross-shopping to illustrate...

Young married couple, no kids.
1. I drive a convertible on sunny days. Wife's car has sunroof.
2. Rarely have backseat passengers. Maybe 5 times total last year.
3. We were actually looking for side-opening cargo door like our dearly departed LR Disco. Hated the lift-up hatch on the Pilot (last owned SUV)... with a lift-up hatch, it's all or none... there's no cracking the hatch to toss a bag/box in....
4. Drove through rain, didn't get dripped on by roof rack. I don't open windows when it's pouring.
5. Once again, only infrequent rear seat use.
6. Owner's manual has seat removal instructions. Yes, you need a screwdriver and I'm not sure how it impacts the cargo area. I figure if I need more space, I'll rent a van or trailer for $20.
7. I just drove >330 miles and the gauge still had a 1/4 tank (so prob 1/6th left). This vehicle has better mileage and range than our Pilot did. And I won't even talk about the mileage on our Discovery....
8. Tires aren't really to my liking, but if you're serious about off-roading you would have Mud Terrains on separate steelies... that will get chewed up if you run them long distance on the asphalt. I ordered TRD wheels for $116 apiece and will put Blizzaks on them for winter... will swap out the H/Ts for BFG ATs... in 17 inch for handling bias (hey, it's a 32 in tire... that'll still have plenty of sidewall for me).
9. Once again, nobody in rear seats here.
10. My other car has worse visibility in rear. Haven't had any issues adjusting. I like the other thread idea of larger rearview mirror. I also know others who have found convex side mirrors helpful.

From the original poster's gripes:
Get a Highlander if you want "family friendly" with better gas mileage.
If you want all of that with a flip down rear and still off-road capable get a Land Rover LR3.
They get worse gas mileage and don't come stock with off-road tires, though.

My question is... what other car would the original poster buy instead?
My recommendation is small engine Highlander and buy a beater Jeep with BFG M/Ts as a spare car....

Cheers!

I agree with you, I am 21 and buying a fj me and my wife won't be starting a family for a few years. I think little kids will be fine in the back seat, I sat back there and I was fine. I think it a great suv . You can always find something wrong with any car, but I think they did a great job on the fjc. I just hate I that I have to wait till june

[Spike Strip]

I don't have any kids, either, so I couldn't care less about the rear seats, but I want a tail gate like the real Landcuriser or at least, a barn door style that allows one to open a smaller door when parked close to other vehicles or when pulling a trailer, like I often do. The rear door, as it is now, is just too big and cumbersome to open in tight places. Couple that with the half doors so you have to open full doors first, and man this thing becomes a nightmare in a tight parking lot... I know, I know, that's not it's function. And I could live with that if the rear door was BETTER!

[Lost Cosmonaut]

1. No sunroof option - Who cares? Not me! Don't need no sunroof for off-roading!

2. Rear passenger windows do not open (or even flip out for air flow) - This is about the only thing I would have liked to have seen different. Some pop-open passenger windows or pop-open windows for the rear corner would have been a nice touch. But it's not a problem for me.

3. No flip down tailgate like the concept FJ - About the only other thing I would care about, but it's not a make or break thing for me. I don't park in the city which is about the only place it would matter.

4. Bad designed roof rack makes rain water drip on driver through front window. - What chu talkin' 'bout, Willis? Do like a normal person does when it rains and drive with your windows up?

5. Rear seats do not recline at all. - Non-issue. Who cares if your rear seats don't recline?

6. Rear seats do not fold completely down flat, can't be removed - First of all, the rear seats can be removed. The fact that they don't fold flat is slightly an annoyance but no biggie.

7. Bad gas mileage along with small gas tank (~250 mi range) - Non-issue. No FJ competitor is any better.

8. Tires do not even look like off-road tires - Non-issue. Tires can be changed quickly and easily, and the stock tires can be traded.

9. Not enough leg room for rear passengers - Maybe if you're over 6' tall or just like to complain.

10. Rear windows look large from outside, but are small from the inside. - Welcome to car design post 2000.

- LC

[FJCrusader!]

Sooo... you did not buy the FJ Cruiser based on your personal reasons and you are expecting us to do eaxactly what? You obviously do not like the vehicle so I don't even understand why you went through the pain to register and post on an FJ enthusiast site just to slam the vehicle.

You don't like the tires? Well, unlike the rear windows that do not open you can change these (some members have done this, get over it).

No flip down taligate? Last time i checked, the Xterra and HUMMER H3 didn't have one and most other SUVs don't, the "almighty" Jeep may have one I dunno. quiet honestly this is so trivial.

Reclining rear seats? C'mon... I can count a whole bunch of other cars including luxury sedans that do not have this feature. get over it!

I won't go into the rest of the stuff becuase to me you never intended to buy the vehicle in the first place. If you had done any real research you'd have found out that the FJ did not have a flip down tailgate for example. There have been countless photos of the production FJ for almost 6 months now.

IMO, you need go on and join the edmunds.com website where it's one big HATEFEST against the FJ. Leave us alone, you are preaching to the wrong choir. The vehicle is not perfect and we know that but there are a lot of reasons why we want one. Like previously said, Toyota hit their target demographic very well. We don't want soccermoms in our midst (no offense) there are other Toyota SUVs out there for them and others who might not like the FJ.

I don't mean to be abrasive but quite frankly I have just about had it with people criticizing the FJ because

"it's not like a Jeep",

"rear seats don't fold flat..",

"it's a poseur off-road vehicle",

"massive blindspots".....

If one has such major issues then don't buy the damn thing! Just leave us be!

[B!tchMonkey]

Nice, one post and ya waste it on *whaaaaa* crying. Who the hell cares? Lemme ask ya, what's your purpose with that post? Do you hope to sway a potential FJ buyer away from the vehicle? Did your financing fall though, so you're bitter? Dude this vehicle fits a specific niche, and is a very capable 4x4, if you want a sports car get one! Ya wanna milktoast carry-all go buy a friggin minivan!

Moron.

1. So?
2. So?????
3. Whew. Get a minivan... or, any other SUV on earth.
4. Wipe it off id-git. Not the rack it's the lack of a rain gutter that also makes it sexy looking. Odd, but different. Repeat it to yourself, this vehicle is dif-fer-ent. Slowly....
5. For.... what, lounging around on a rainy day?
6. Yes they can, read the manual. Requires a tool. Like you.
7. Jeez somebody shoot this guy will ya? Try a LAND ROVER pal.
8. The big cutesy numbers stamped on the window sticker denoting Miles-es per Gallon have a big influence on stock tires. Your new minivan will have better ones trust me.
9. Get smaller friends. Start with one friend and work your way up.
10. An optical delusion buddy. Why did I just waste ten minutes of my life on this?

Make post #1 your last one please... My how everyone wants to be...

[AngryNJ]

FJCrusader! previously said:

I don't mean to be abrasive but quite frankly I have just about had it with people criticizing the FJ ...
If one has such major issues then don't buy the damn thing! Just leave us be!

Would it suprise you to know that people from automobile manufacturers actually GO to sites like this one?

Do you know why they go to sites like this? To find out what people think. To find out if there is anything that people like or *GASP* dislike about the vehicle they make.

Do you know that automobile makers have made changes based on things discussed in a *GASP* enthusiast forum??

Well it's true.

And the good people at Toyota that built this great truck would prefer honest criticism over worshipping.