By their diminutive size and I thought something I may have heard at one time, that they were unibody.
My bad... But agree, they still look great today!
I too had looked at VX's. They are just awesome looking!
But for me the down side was:
Too small for overlanding with all the gear I'd like to haul.
Not enough aftermarket support.
Not body on frame.
And most of all, being discontinued. And not that just the VX was discontinued, but Isuzu also...
That is a great and functional looking FJ! I was looking at those before my GX but some friends of mine have told me how poor the outward visibility is on them when wheeling.
It's not only possible, but very do-able. I don't think I could have built a more capable AND comfortable vehicle on ANY other vehicle. My wife and I absolutely LOVE our GX and they way we've built it. FYI, previous overland builds have been an F350 crewcab: waaaayyy toooo big and not as...
Absolutely agree with comments above!
The ONLY thing you'll be gaining with a FJ is:
Manual trans (albeit a pain in the arse in gridlock traffic)
Personal preference of body style.
The GX will hands down out pace the FJ in everything from power, comfort, and with some minor mod's wheeling.
Now...