I Just Drove One - It Is Pretty Nice (1 Viewer)

[daddyo]

Our friend works for Toyota and he brought one home for a few days - yellow, manual tranny, locking diff, 260x70x17 tires (a low end 4x4). They also have a blue one, loaded up with options that he will also bring home for a visit.

My impressions....

It looks great. I like the ostentatious color.

It is a blast to drive with plenty of power.

I put the t-case in low and drove it. Coupled with the engine's tractability, it has plenty of crawl for it's intended use. I was impressed. Without having driven the auto, I would still probably take an auto for offroad (nice to scooch over obstacles), but the manual was nice.

There was plenty of legroom (I am 6'-4") up front, at the expense of the back seat leg room. The back is cramped in length and width. For two adults and the kids in back, I think it is okay.

The cargo door has a window that pops open, but I am pretty sure that it will not work if you get larger tires (spare in the way). I think the rear window is hokey and should not be made to open.

I think 33" tires will be a squeeze. The constraint is not the height, but the size (front to back) of the tire. So, even if you have a lift, the tire may rub hard. My friend is going to check on this for me.

Overall, I think Toyota is going to sell a bunch of these.

Andrew

 

[Vitesse_6]

Nice, Good to hear.

 

[lowenbrau]

Nice to hear a real world report.

That 260-70/17 is 31.3"
The optional 265-70/17 is 31.8"
A 33/10.5-16 is only 32.8"

Not a huge amount of difference, those 17 wheels are deceivingly large (for a stocker)

 

[dfmorse]

It might be interesting to see if FJ80 16" wheels fit.

...

 

[daddyo]

It might be interesting to see if FJ80 16" wheels fit.

...

My thought too (17" is too large). I'll ask him when I see him.

Andrew

 

[DMX84]

FWIW, you can get it with 16 in TRD wheels.

 

[SR.GRINGO]

There was plenty of legroom (I am 6'-4") up front, at the expense of the back seat leg room. The back is cramped in length and width. For two adults and the kids in back, I think it is okay.


Andrew

Andrew,

How was the headroom? I'm 6'4" as well but only have a 32" inseam. I can't decide what sounds more appealing a new fj or a 3 year old 100 for the same price.

 

[oukami]

Andrew,

How was the headroom? I'm 6'4" as well but only have a 32" inseam. I can't decide what sounds more appealing a new fj or a 3 year old 100 for the same price.

Sitting in one at the KC Auto Show last weekend, I had plenty of headroom. About 3-4". I'm 6'4" w/34" inseam. Way more headroom than my '03 4Runner.

How well do the large sideview mirrors eliminate the massive blind spots while driving? Sitting in one at the car show, it seemed as though they would be effective, but the local dealers aren't supposed to get any in for at least 2 more weeks...

 

[daddyo]

It didn't make an impression on me either way. I think you will be okay.

Tough call on the car choice. I am in the same boat - get the FJ, or fix up my FJ62 nicely. We are lucky to be torn with such choices.

Andrew

Andrew,

How was the headroom? I'm 6'4" as well but only have a 32" inseam. I can't decide what sounds more appealing a new fj or a 3 year old 100 for the same price.

 

[helocat]

The constraint is not the height, but the size (front to back) of the tire. So, even if you have a lift, the tire may rub hard.

Andrew

P - L - A - S - M - A torch makes anything fit!

Andrew, good stuff to hear. Sure wish I knew the drivers of one of the two I hear are running around my area. I keep hearing sighting reports, "hay Mark I saw a blue one today".

Mark

 

[dieseldog]

17's too big? Bah!!! Both of my 70-series cruisers wear factory toyota alloy rims from the 03-05 Tundra/Sequoia. They are great wheels. I'm not about to put 20" or 22" bling buckets on for wheels; however, 17" is becoming VERY common size.

 

[semlin]

it would be good to know the backspacing on the new trd 16 inch rims to know what other 16s will fit.

 

[KAZOO]

Mark you just missed one here at the Bend Toyota dealership. Pretty nice of our area rep to go out of his way to come and show this one to me just because he knows I am Freaky Cruiser person..