Jammy_Dodgers

I have been looking at motors these last few weeks and im quite taken by them.

Lots of reviews rate them as the best off roader to date, beating the jeep wrangler, Nissans, Hummers, Landcruisers etc.

Yes it looks like a Tonka toy, but i kinda like it. Has anyone seen any around Dubai??








http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PipHkt37DFg

novita77

what the price like JD? seen only 1 so far everymorning around school. A local guy driving it. I thought it is weird looking car.

Jammy_Dodgers

Only available as imports at the moment.
I think they are around $35,000 USD depending on model

MataHari

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=424318

were just talking about this car earlier....

Jammy_Dodgers

I Spoke to the Toyota dealer here and they are not due to be released until Q3 2007

The FJ Cruiser TRD is the best one for off road..properly sorted to handle the dunes and rocks

Guess i will have to be patient!

MataHari

so how come others are driving it already...cant you do the same?

Jammy_Dodgers

I could import one yes, there are a few new ones on Ebay direct from Toyota dealers in the States...

However, as a grey import you will not be entitled to dealer support, the garages here may not be geared up for spares or servicing consumables.
and it may well invalidate any warranty.

Also im not sure if there is any import tax, registration costs etc etc etc..

Madam Medusa

I've seen a couple recently around Dubai - it's a Hummer H3 wannabe, no? quite cute though

MM, xx

Jammy_Dodgers

Im guessing they must have been imported.
Im sure the highly skilled and competent salesman would not have made a mistake

The H3 is a pile of poo.
The chassis is from GM's pick-up trucks, and it is underpowered for it's weight :P

Autonomy

I've seen 5 or so of these around DXB. They look great. Polarises opinion which is usually good!

What is the off road write ups like?

I really like the look... It could be time move on from the wrangler.... never thought I'd say that for a while... although - the 4 door wranglers look very nice too...

Any idea on the AED prices for any of these?

W10

They are expensive at the moment because of the import thing - more than Dh140,000 I was told.

MJC

Why would you want a TURD!

You know what they say about not being able to polish one....

Autonomy

maybe they are harder to barrel roll or have a softer roof...

shiva

I know a couple of people who have FJ's and the consensus seems to be that the are great cars. Very capable offroad and handle well on the road with a good degree of comfort and saftey.

At the moment the are import only which isnt that much of an issue as they are renowned as the worlds most reliable manufacturer but they obviously wont have full dealer support on warranty etc. It has the Prado engine in it and its built extremely well so mechanically it should be good for well over 100,000 k before anything needs replaced or fixed.

Costs vary but you will get one from about 125k-130k if you shop around, try Abu Dhabi, Al Awir etc
Al Futtaim will service it at 450-650 aed if you haggle
Take care when shopping as some imports are 2x4 and NOT 4x4 though

Official release date is October in the UAE still no word of cost though through the dealer network

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1jK6b9Gy74

http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/minis...ME_FJ_BULLETIN

see review below.

"Well, my personal review of the likes and dislikes of the FJ cruiser now that Ive officially put on just under 1k mules in one week of ownership.

Handling: The FJ has a surprisingly great feel to it. It almost has this car like feel for tight cornering and parking. Although with the blind spots, I found that the back up warming alarm worked extremely well. I live on Long beach, so parking isn't easy but Its been 10 times easier to get into tight spots than my old 1998 GT.

Engine: Can you say torque? Coming from a mustang v8, I didn't expect much power band out of it but I was wrong. This SUV has impressive amount of power for a 4.0 V6. A lot has changed since I was younger and V8's then were the only real option for the feel you get. I'm not saying its NASCAR or anything like that, but its damn peppy.

Throttle/Brake control: I was far impressed by the the sensitivity of the throttle. It really responds to your feet pressure well. If your going up on a slippery trail and don't want to spin the tires, the electronic throttle really listens to your feedback, where as other cars, v8s and such don't have that middle ground option. At least not the ones ive driven. This feature only adds to its off roading ability if you ask me and makes you feel like your in control at all times.. As for the breaks, hands down I've never owned a car that stopped like this one. It took me a couple hours to really get the feel for the peddle because if you hit them to hard they will send you through the windshield. The irony is I had full vented race routers with high end racing break pads, and this the FJ's stock stopping power far shadows over that expensive upgrade on my old mustang.

Comfort: Without a doubt, hands down, this car is extremely comfortable. I love the water resistant seats, and would take them over leather any day. Mainly because I cant stand how cold leather seats are in the morning, where as these seats don't take more than a second to warm up when sitting on them. As for space. some people that are as tall as 6'4 complain about being cramped in the drivers seat, however my 6'1 frame fits into the car well. The back seats, although limited get the job done pretty well. I wouldn't have minded if they were a good 6 inches back, but when we took our friends out they seemed to fit into it no problems and told me that it felt very comfortable.

Transmission: Yes.. yes... I went the wussy route and got an automatic. And I'm glad I do. I drive two hours to school mon-Thursday, on two of Californians worst freeways. Although I like the manual when I'm driving out doors, or in open areas, here in the city it would just not be very fun to me. Slamming gears in 3-30mph bumper to bumper isn't my idea of fun. Although, its an automatic I find that shifting the car really feels good. It reminds me of the shifter found on the Nissan 350z. When shifting the auto manually it's very fast on the shift and smooth as silk.

Outdoor appearance: I went with the voodoo blue. Here in southern California it seems the two most popular colors are black and silver. Ive seen dozens of those two, but only seen one or two blues so I went with it. I'm glad I did. It gets an incredible amount of attention.

Interior appearance: I love the inside of this SUV. IN fact it sold me on the want for the car before I actually grew to like the body style. I love its retro flare while being modern. The size of the dials feel really cool. The guage cluster, although lame, I actually like it to. It adds to its charm and personality. Very nice indeed. I just wish the compass didn't suck, cause its always sticking on south for me, or picking the wrong direction. I'm going to get the dealer to take care of that next time I stop in.

Creature comforts: The air conditioning works great. IF you leave it on high for a while you start freezing your # off. As for the heater, I know there are many complaints, but I'm going to disagree with them. It gets hot, and it gets hot fast. Although I might change my tune when I travel somewhere in it when its 20 below outside, but right now its been around the 35-40s, and I have found the heater to be more than sufficient.

The Fjammer radio system is not that good. It's a little soft, and doesn't give out much bass. The Sub that comes with the upgraded package isn't buying if you don't have to. But as far as the stereo goes I get perfect reception from all my favorite stations, and I had no problems whatsoever getting my Sirius starbase unit hooked up to it.

So all in all my pros:
Great handling
Great responsive engine.
Comfortible.
Looks great inside and out.
Driver/Passenger/side Airbags are ALWAYS nice.


Cons:
Nothing really bothers me about this car. The blind spots are there, but honestly not as bad as some people tried to make them out to be in my opinion. Took me all but 20 minutes of driving to adjust to using the mirrors in some aspects to ensure no one was in the lane to the left of me.

I can honestly say that if Toyota keeps making SUV's like this, I'll never buy another brand car again. Without a doubt its the most enjoyable car ive driven in and worth every penny. I can't wait to get small lift, and some A/T tires. Then I'm going to go out and do some real off roading."

MJC

As Im sure you're aware auto, all swb's are easy to barrel roll. That's why i bought a discovery!

Apart from the fact it moans and groans, creaks and rattles.

Or is that just the driver....