Of course asking on an FJ forum your going to get biased answers but I believe as many here do that;

THE FJ BEATS THE RUBICON HANDS DOWN. (at least as an all-around vehicle)

The reasons I believe this are due to;
-Better road manners
-Higher quality construction
-More reliability
-and has 3 wiper blades
-ect.

 

^^ This!!

I've never been inside a JK.
However, I drove a 2006 TJ (3" lift, 33x12.50 KM2s) before this, and a '92 F150 before that....
I'll tell you for sure. The FJ is better on the road, by a magnitude of NIGHT AND DAY.

Bear in mind my jeep was 1 year older than my FJ, so that puts it (right now) at the same age, and similar miles..

TJ got the death wobbles...
FJ doesn't.

F150 died like 3 times a week
FJ doesn't

TJ killed 2 batteries,
FJ hasn't

TJ wandered around the interstate like a drunk hobo
FJ will drive a mile with no hands (No sh!t, I did it!)

TJ turned into an oven in the summer
FJ stays nice and cool

TJ Froze my balls off in the winter
FJ heats up nicely

TJ Was loud as f*** on the interstate
FJ isn't

TJ had 4 sh!tty speakers
FJ had like 25 great ones.

Now, like I said...... I've never set foot in a JK, maybe these things are all different now that they're solid plastic... or.....

 

ALSO, forgot to mention....
The TJ flipped. Like, on the highway. I was just driving, on my wheels, then I was just sliding down the hill on my side loosing arm skin.

That's another item to look at, whether you want to or not. The FJ runs circles around the jeep from a safety stand point.

AAAnd, 3 windshield wipers.

 

I can't really compare to the newer Wranglers since I only test drove one for about 20 mins, but I replaced a 2001 TJ with my FJ and I'm really pleased with the FJ. The TJ was fun, but also loud and handled like crap on the freeway. The steering felt disconnected, it wandered all over the road, and had the infamous "death wobble". By comparison, the FJ feels really planted on the road, doesn't wobble and is nice and quiet inside. The TJ had a 3" lift with Bilsteins and Duratracs, the FJ has a 3" Toytec lift with Duratracs, so it's a pretty fair comparison.

I'd guess 95% of my driving is on the road (lots of snow storms to deal with in winter though), so I wanted a vehicle that would eat snow for breakfast just like my TJ did, but have manners for highway driving and be able to handle offroad treks to trail heads. The FJ does all of this and more

 

I test drove a 2009 Rubicon Unlimited with a 2" lift and BFG mud tire (unsure of the size), this was the best of several I test drove, and I have to say the heater came on quick in the winter, the ride was alot quiter than I thought it would be, it was smooth for the test drive, other than the Sub woofer it had very little accesories or options, but it was the pretty burnt orange.
I recently (as in about 2 weeks ago) purchased a used 2012 Fj Cruiser TRD, I love it.
My fj came with 4-6" lift, snorkle all from factory, black rhino 17" wheels and GY dueller at 285/70r17 tires, it is smooth, quiet, no wobble, it is the blue,not the bright blue, does great in the sand at the river and my friends say lets take your Fj this time....every time.
My daughter named it the Blue TuRD....it says it on the side.
Oh and did I mention 3 windshield wipers!

 

Oh PLEASE post a picture of your Blue TuRD!!!
Seriously, I would love to see it.
Thanks.

 

a good friend of mine just flipped his jeep yesterday. it threw the passenger in the back, out of the jeep,(he had his seat belt on) the one in the passenger side hit his head on the dash and still cant understand whats going on, and my friend (the driver) had the roll bar roll onto his leg and the road rash wore off all his muscle ,ligaments,tendons all the way to his bone.....your best bet is to get the fj,i mean no bias here but they are built like a freaking tank,if he was driving an fj his leg would not have to be amputated

 

If you're looking for a truck, the FJ doesn't fit the bill. You can have a small rack on the trailer hitch to haul trash, or a small utility trailer, but anything requiring a bed is very difficult to manage, especially if you are anal about how your FJ looks. Yes you can get a different roof rack and carry sheet rock or plywood, but it's not practical.

If you feel you need a bed, plus ability to seat 4-5, look for a double cab Tacoma TRD Off Road. This particular build only comes with a 5 foot bed I believe, but still beats what the FJ can provide.

If you're comparing SUV to SUV, it seems as though the FJ is better than the Jeep in terms of reliability, build quality and even resale value. Many extreme off-roaders would argue that the Rubicon is a better equipped vehicle base to start from with the solid axles, electric sway bar disconnects and front/rear lockers.

I went from an Tacoma access cab TRD Sport to the FJ and have never regretted it. I feel the back seat will work well with children, the floors are washable, the dog-dog can be secured in the cargo area with a Springtail barrier, and the off-road capabilities are amazing for what I need.

To me, the FJ was a compromise. I think it does extremely well as a daily driver (the blind spots don't bother me), can handle anything off-road I can throw at it and can work for the occasional trips to the dump. I have also put 8' steel sections on the roof rack (2x1, 1x1, 1" angle, 3" flat stock ect) without much issue, just a PITA to get up there and back down.

Greg

Oh.. and the FJ has 3 wiper blades.

 

I'm still waiting on the disappointment to set in. I questioned myself hard on this one because it was such a break from what I've driven for 30 years. I feared buyers remorse would set in hard soon after the swap. So far I'm still just giggling every time I get into and out of it. Runs great, handles great, super comfortable, kids are fine in the back, tows the boat no problem, really fun to drive and I have yet to figure out how a vehicle in this class can ride so good and have such good manners on the road.

It's really sort of a mystery to me how this thing can really be this good.

 

Although it's fun to talk smack about the competition, the Jeep Rubicon is a formidable off road vehicle out of blocks. A 4 door truck would be more versatile for hauling, seating and potentially towing. But the FJ, as had already been said, is more than adequate at all of the above. I don't regret buying it for a second. I have a utility rack and I've used ratchet straps to cinch down sizable loads on it with no problem. It's a compromise, but what isn't?

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

I seriously miss not having a solid axle up front with what mine has morphed into. That being said, I still remember hearing about Army FJ having tons of issues with his Orange Rubi with axles breaking and other mishaps that his old FJ had no issues with.

I believe that with enough work, an IFS can overcome many of the obstacles that a SA can. I proved that this last weekend on a rock garden course thats wrecked its fair share of solid axles and made it through the whole thing.

I also believe that in order to make a Jeep Rubi as equally strong, one must replace about 20K worth of components to make it more dependable on road and off.

 

Just a quick story about a quick test drive of a 4 door yeep I test drove for my Bro......This thing was nice, to say the least....lifted (3"-4"), about 33" tires (AT's), stick shift, was a 2010 non-rubi. I really liked it and told my Bro how nice it was (he lives 3 hrs away) and he should come take a look at it. He said go ahead and test drive it and let me know.

So, me and this little old German lady (accent and all, she was nice) get in this lifted beast. I start down the road, no problem. I accelerate to speed on the freeway, no problem. I approach the off-ramp, wholly molly, BIG PROBLEM!!!!! DEATH WOBBLE!!!!!! Scared the bejeezus out of both of us!!!! I'm sphincter clinched as I'm sure she was too!!! She's grabbing the dash, the door, the "oh shiznit" bar and her chest!!!! It only wobbled for about 5 seconds max but it was the longest 5 seconds of both our lives!!!

I tell the nice little German sales lady "If it does this again, we are pulling over and the dealership (Honda Dealer) can come pick this "heep" up!"
She agreed and said we are only about a mile from the dealership let's just take it easy and get it back there. I agree and continue driving, but something inside me wants to know if it's the tires, the hubs, the drive-line, or what the heck it was even though I knew it was something I had heard of from a Dodge owner buddy of mine.....The DEATH WOBBLE!!!!!

So anyway, we continued and of course low and behold it happens again at about 40 mph. I let it happen and slow down and continue down the road doing only 25-30mph all the way to the dealer. I get there and the little lady jumps out and says wait here let me get the sales manager. I wait patiently and call by Bro and tell him what happened. He passes on the deal of course. The lady returns with sales manager in tow. He says how can I get you to buy this today? I tell him in return " there is no f'n way I would buy this particular jeep. You need to take this to the Dodge/Jeep dealer across the way and let them fix this so no one gets hurt or worse after they buy this thing!"

I left the dealership and have not drove another jeep since. My Bro did buy a bone stock 4 door 4 wheel jeep anyway, brand new with all the warranties and such. Ehh, whatever!! LOL

I did ask my friends who are jeep owners why this happened and they all stated the same thing about solid axle and lifts without upgrading the suspensions from stock and a bunch of other explanations that I didn't really get into cause that test drive made up my mind.

Look up the "death wobble" thing and watch the you tube vids. That sh!t sucks!!

 

Just to try to stay as unbiased as possible about the whole thing.....I really like the new jeeps and thought about purchasing one when I was looking at getting a 4x4 suv type vehicle. It was one of the last 4 vehicles I had it narrowed down to. But the whole "death wobble" thing really killed it for me!

The only reason I stayed away from purchasing the jeep was because I WANTED to lift my off road 4x4 suv. I WANTED to put larger tires on said suv. I WANTED my off road capable 4x4 suv to be nice on the highway. So, I guess what I'm gonna end up saying is this......I guess I REALLY WANTED an FJC and I didn't even know it until all the others let me down through test drives and weeks and weeks of research prior to my purchase of my used certified FJ.

Just to put down the list (which maybe another topic all together) of which vehicles I had narrowed my purchase to:

No particular order 1)Jeep 4 door 4x4 2)FJ Cruiser 4x4 auto 3)4Runner 4x4 4)Hummer H3 4x4

 

Death wobble is caused by defective ball joints that Jeep and Chrysler know about and have continued to sell inferior parts with their solid axle trucks and Jeeps. It has nothing to do with a lift or tires but those do accelerate the issue. Bottom line- they finally fixed it with the Jeeps for 2016. They have decided to go IFS…:lol:

 

I would've never thought I'd see the day!! Sell your Jeep stock cause it's gonna get ugly!! LOL