CONTEST: First photo of production FJ

[Cothran]

The spare tire doesn't bother me as much as that rack. I mean, WTF, did they take one off an xterra and put it up there right before the show?

 

[Jman]

Sorry, the thing is ugly, like a 40 with a weight problem, or maybe a swoll-up tick. Is it a 40? A 45? A troopy? A 60? An 80? And can you see out of that thing? The hood is so high, the doors are high shouldered--for no reason! It's all show! That's all done to make the thing look imposing and make the passengers "feel" more comfortable and safe (they're not, they're less safe).

Maybe I'd scale back my criticisms if I could see a picture next to an average human being, but to me it seems like the H2--stuffed with empty crap for no reason.

 

[TX_TLC]

I think the first prototype was a flip up glass and little tail gate....so the spare would have to swing out of the way...to clear the glass.

 

[frismanis]

Is it a 3 door (Passenger side opens up wide?) Looks like it from that side pic.

 

[firetruck41]

How's the rear door open? sideways, or full mini-van hatch?

Also, where's the fuel door?

The picture on the autoblog site shows it opening sideways with the hinges on the left side of the door, but it doesn't look like it could open with out smashing some plastic trim.

 

[FirstToy]

I like it better w/o the Xterra deflector- but that is way too unrefined for a production rack (its probably just plastic tubes up there anyway). Both sides have the mini-door like a king cab pickup.

I can tell from the front end hardpoints, this is based on the 4R/taco. I'm excited if production meets this, it will be cool!

 

[firetruck41]

Is it a 3 door (Passenger side opens up wide?) Looks like it from that side pic.

I saw 4 doors while looking at the pics The doors are very similar to the doors on my wifes element, or on the extracab pickups. They are good and bad, the bad: you want to make sure you have room on either side to open them fully whenever you park and are planning to use the back doors; the good: huge opening, making access to anything very easy, easy entry/exit to the rear, the rear seats can be a little further back since they're not "tied" to the rear doors, giving tons of leg room, for instance I have never been in a consumer car/truck that has more rear seat legroom than my wifes Element.

 

[tclndcrz]

kinda fuggly but i wouldnt mind having one.

 

[FirstToy]

my g/f likes it. She says it looks "old-fashioned".

 

[frismanis]

Anyone else notice the 3 windshield wipers?

 

[FirstToy]

Anyone else notice the 3 windshield wipers?

proven technology from the Camry station wagon

 

[swank60]

proven technology from the Camry station wagon

And the chrome bumper MGBs...

 

[FirstToy]

photos suggest a side swing rear door, not a hatch. There is a exposed hinge on the drivers side

TOYOTA FJ CRUISER VEHICLE PRELIMINARY SPECIFICATIONS


POWERTRAIN
4.0 Liter V6 – 245 hp /282 torque

5-speed automatic

Available 6-speed manual in 4x4

DIMENSIONS (inches)

Overall Length: 177.6

Overall Width: 74.6

Overall Height: 70.9

Wheelbase: 105.9

Ground Clearance: 9.6

Wheels: 17 inches black steel wheels w/full size spare
Available alloy wheels (5)

Tire Size: 265/70R17

Towing Capacity: 5,000 lbs.

Seating Capacity: 5

 

[TX_TLC]

Anyone else notice the 3 windshield wipers?

I had remembered seeing what looked like 3 on the first protoype...just look back...sure enough that is what it was...they are hard to see but there are sure 3 of them.

 

[Owyhee Jackass]

Any one else see the similarity?

 

[firetruck41]

Any one else see the similarity?

It's striking, I knew I had seen that color before, other than 4 wheels and a two box design, I don't see much similarity.

 

[semlin]

Both bumpers look like they can come off and be replaced with ARBs without losing the shape. the bodywork still needs some rationalizing but overall it looks pretty decent to me. This is not a Forester.

 

[ridgerunner]

I think we should petition Toyota to call it something else. It has no F series engine, it's not made in Japan (speculate what the J really stands for in FJ40) and it's not a Cruiser.

So it should be named:

GA-Tacoma

G for the 1GR-FE petrol V6
A for America
Tacoma because it's a fricken Tacoma.

 

[too tall]

I have seen some pretty cool tacos with solid axle swaps and a little bit of armour . i wonder who might be the first to re-engineer what they've given us?

 

[mabrodis]

Biggest thing I'm looking at is wheel-well room, infront of and behind the tires. Ofcourse this still isn't production so any real ideas here are mostly meaningless. If it's based on the 4Runner, which they said it would be (and why not, do you know how many of them things they sell?? Tons!!), that means a 4" lift is not hard to come by, but to get bigger tires you need some room front to back in the wheel well. A Tacoma can easily fit 35's with a 4" lift, so getting even a 34" tire on this badboy shouldn't be all that hard.

I have no problem with the IFS, there are alot of advantages to IFS over live axle, and more than just the handling. While driving normal (not coming off a jump or where the suspension is pushed down alot) you have far more ground clearance than a solid axle has. It just has to be strong enough, and after seeing several Tacomas with 35" boggers on them giving it hell and not breaking anything I'm pretty impressed.

So where do I send my money to buy one??