FJ Cruiser for Australia

[FJ-Lover Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close FJ-Lover]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum and I discovered it while looking for roof racks to suit my FJ.
I know this is a forum for the Prado admirers (great car) but I hope you won't mind if I don't have one!
I took possession of my beauty on April Fools' Day (after almost 2 months of waiting) and I absolutely love it!
We took it for a drive in the outback (mudgee, whitecliffs, tilpa, silverton, broken hill, mungo national parks etc etc) during Easter holidays and I have to say I never had so much pleasure driving a 4WD. Its very smooth on unsealed roads (110-120 avg speed) and drives like a car on sealed ones!
After all the rain, yesterday I took the car to the Vineyards (http://www.4x4earth.com.au/tracks.ht...147_Vineyards-), a lot of mud and various challenging spots - the car went through everything!

Anyone knows of a good 4WD club in the Sydney area which is going to be fun to join and be with?

Also, anyone interested in all 5 of the original alloy wheels (they fit 265-70/17)? As you can see I've changed them to steel as I think they more suit the car (there was too much silver before....)

Thank you
Andrea

[don1 Member Find all posts View Profile Close don1]

Hi andrea and welcome to the forum. Post your location and maybe try to join the local PP trip. Keep an eye on the trip planning section in this forum.

Cheers
Lyndon

[outdoorgaz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close outdoorgaz]

It would be good to have an FJ Cruiser section on Pradopoint seeing the FJ has much of the same parts as the Prado.

In the meantime the USA FJ forum has added an Australian page so good info can be found there:

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/australia/

How did you like the stock roof rack?

[FJ-Lover Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close FJ-Lover]

The original roof rack is ok... I mean it fits the body of the car perfectly but there are some limitations with it:

- The bars which run from side to side are made of aluminum and are attached to the outside bars only by a plastic "clamp" and when you travel for a long period of time on unsealed roads with cargo on it they tend to get a bit loose (just a bit, nothing to worry about but they shouldn't)
- The kit comes with 3 bar and this make the loading space a bit limited because of all the empty spaces left on the roof. (I think Toyota really didn't think of a heavy usage of it). I was not able to load the Weber bbq on it because the bars were to wide (I needed them wide because of the petrol tanks and the gas bottle)

- The best solutions at this point comes from Darren @ Auto-Craft. As shown by the pictures in the early pages of this thread he has adapted a basket (imported from US) inside the original Toyota roof rack. I might do the same.

Thanks for the USA FJ forum!

[sydneysally99 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close sydneysally99]

Anyone knows of a good 4WD club in the Sydney area which is going to be fun to join and be with?

Also, anyone interested in all 5 of the original alloy wheels (they fit 265-70/17)? As you can see I've changed them to steel as I think they more suit the car (there was too much silver before....)

Thank you
Andrea

Hi Andrea,

Ive ordered mine - but gotta wait till July before I see it in the flesh. Jungle green - so its gonna be called 'George'.

I like the steel rims - are they 6-stud landcruiser? Any idea of the offset? Im like you - wayyyy too much bling with the alloy rims - tho I'll keep them on for its Mon-Fri commuting and ditch them for the weekend play!

4WD Club - there's plenty around. Check out the 4WD Association of NSW/ACT - you're sure to find one your way that would suit you.

[FJ-Lover Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close FJ-Lover]

Hi Sydneysally99

wow, the Jungle green was my first option back in February, then was the Sand one and when I was told Toyota was going to release only blue and yellow (no mention of black and titanium) I opted for blue (Smurf Blue!) and its called 'Jackson'!
I didn't want to wait till July....

The black rims are 6-stud and they come from King Wheels, no idea of the offset but as per wikipedia and visual recognition "Negative Offset - The plane of the hub mounting surface is toward the back or brake side of the wheel's centerline." !

I'm now looking around to find some well priced BF A/T... any idea on shops that can posts the tyres via international freight?

Thanks a lot!

[Guest Close Guest]

I'm now looking around to find some well priced BF A/T... any idea on shops that can posts the tyres via international freight?

Tirerack.com

[Cypress Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Cypress]

Funny that rec retail when they first came out was $44990 +orc. Now the dearest on Carsales is $54990 with 1237 kms.

Damn good investment these FJ Cruisers

[Richoson Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Richoson]

That price puts them very close to 150 GXL, it will be interesting to see down the track a few years what the resale is like and how hard or easy they will be to sell. They may be like other Retro and special interest cars, Jeeps, PT Cruisers, 300c's etc massive drops in resale.

[outdoorgaz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close outdoorgaz]

That price puts them very close to 150 GXL, it will be interesting to see down the track a few years what the resale is like and how hard or easy they will be to sell. They may be like other Retro and special interest cars, Jeeps, PT Cruisers, 300c's etc massive drops in resale.

Take it your not getting one

[FJ-Lover Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close FJ-Lover]

well...Toyota sells the Prado GX for 61K (the basic and manual) and you can get a cruiser (full optional) for 49k...

You are correct but I think we are talking of two different vehicles for two different demographics. I mean the Prado is a beautiful car, when is a bit customized gets even better but personally (at the age of 32) I think the Prado is too big if you don't have a family. I think Toyota wants to target younger audience 25-35 and give them a car that theoretically can go anywhere and in regards of the re-sale value we need also to consider what the fuel price will be like in 2 years time, how the car is going to behave down the track (it doesn't have a reputation yet!) and being a 4WD I think its important.
I wouldn't compare the Cruiser with the Jeeps because on the Jeeps the ride is still stiff, and on the road the Wrangler's modest handling and acceleration abilities can actually be tested by most minivans. I think the Wrangler may be too rough for many consumers and also being an American car it doesn't help on the reliability factor... :-)
As far as I'm concerned, during the Easter trip I only met people very enthusiastic to ask about the car, look at the inside and take pictures. I think 'Jackson' will do well.

Andrea

[wooley Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close wooley]

you get a lot more car with a prado though, it's twice the size, it's a diesel, it's comfortable, and it has more standard features?

I personally found the cruiser very cheap inside - rugged perhaps, but an ugly car with a great interior is much easier to deal with than a great looking car and ugly interior.

The lack of diesel and painted centre console were the real killers though... It almost seems a bit of an insult to the 40/45 series.

[timmay5.7 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close timmay5.7]

The lack of diesel and painted centre console were the real killers though... It almost seems a bit of an insult to the 40/45 series.

Why would the lack of diesel be an insult? The FJ 40-45 series was petrol only also...
Not that petrol is a bad thing.

[outdoorgaz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close outdoorgaz]

you get a lot more car with a prado though, it's twice the size, it's a diesel, it's comfortable, and it has more standard features?

I personally found the cruiser very cheap inside - rugged perhaps, but an ugly car with a great interior is much easier to deal with than a great looking car and ugly interior.

The lack of diesel and painted centre console were the real killers though... It almost seems a bit of an insult to the 40/45 series.

30cm longer does not double the size

You don't have to get one, and if you wanted one there is a good six month wait already .... so there are plenty of people who want/like them.
I think you get a lot more car in the FJ ... I don't want carpets and cloth seats.

[Offroader Member Find all posts View Profile Close Offroader]

The overall design philosophy for the new Toyota FJ was to blend the rugged tradition of the original model with a modern design influence. I personally think the interior is terrific on the new FJ.