Consumer Reports FJ Cruiser report

[regfootball]

funny stuff, i was reading it at the Target stores tonight.

basically, in spite of the 'it will be reliable because its a toyota' kool aid lines, they basically hated it and won't recommend it.

i was so ROTFLMAO

they had issues with a lot of the non-performance stuff. they liked the powertrain and off road prowess, but it wasn't soft and cuddly enough for them. noisy, rides hard, blind spots, interior quality issues, etc.

I guess toyota makes a non-pansy vehicle and gets on CR's bad side! Read it if you get a chance.

has toyota gone to the bad side? LOL, so desperate top plug all segments that now they have p1ssed off CR?

Consumer Reports is more hilarious than just about anything.

Edited December 19, 2006 by regfootball

[RJB]

On looks alone I wouldn't recommend it.

[Z-06]

I guess it took them a lot of effort to realize that. I am so proud of their meticulousness

[regfootball]

i guess its a toyota you can't be seen in at an anti-NRA rally.......or a natural foods store.......or a symposium on global warming....or a cheesy contemporary jazz club

[Snate]

I'm not really surprised. CR is a import hugging magazine but even they have to have their limits. The vehicle reeks of cheap the moment you sit in it. The door was so flimsy I though it would break off and the interior is garbage. It's very...90's cavalier-esque.

Thats not even taking into consideration the awful styling.

[CARBIZ]

I like the looks of the FJ from outside. It seems to be a hit with the gay set in downtown Toronto - don't know if that is good or bad, but they (we?) tend to like "cool" vehicles and, of course, anything imported is great.

I wish GM had something with the "rugged" off-road looks, like the Xterra, YJ, FJ, etc.

[PurdueGuy]

I like the looks of the FJ from outside.  It seems to be a hit with the gay set in downtown Toronto - don't know if that is good or bad, but they (we?) tend to like "cool" vehicles and, of course, anything imported is great.

  I wish GM had something with the "rugged" off-road looks, like the Xterra, YJ, FJ, etc.

229854[/snapback]

H3

[CARBIZ]

H3 is not in the same price class, that is for sure. The FJ can be had for $29,900 to $40k, fully loaded, but the H3 STARTS $42k and goes up to $60k. Of course, those are Canadian rip off prices, but even the Xterra maxes out at $38k.

[the_yellow_dart]

Sorry, did I get carried away?

This is my most hated vehicle from my most hated manufacturer.

(edit: "You have posted a message with more emoticons that this board allows. Please reduce the number of emoticons you've added to the message" lol! I guess so!)

[Satty]

I love the FJ and guess what, CR's opinion doesn't effect mine.

[rosserman]

H3 is not in the same price class, that is for sure.  The FJ can be had for $29,900 to $40k, fully loaded, but the H3 STARTS $42k and goes up to $60k.  Of course, those are Canadian rip off prices, but even the Xterra maxes out at $38k.

229939[/snapback]

NOT TRUE

The H3 starts at $29,000 and works its way up to about $50k for a H3X

Edited December 19, 2006 by rosserman

[FAPTurbo]

Meh. This review sure hasn't stopped people from buying them. I saw three: 2 blue, one yellow... within a half hour's drive today.

[VenSeattle]

NOT TRUE

The H3 starts at $29,000 and works its way up to about $50k for a H3X

230082[/snapback]

I think CARBIZ is talking Canadian Dollars...

[grandmarquis]

i just need to know from those of you that like the fj... why??? that thing gives the aztek a run for the money as the ugliest vehicle ever. it's ungainly, chunky, oddly porportioned, and is about as sexy as a drunken rosie o'donnell. as much as i hate toyota it has nothing on the legendary original fj.

[79VetteZ06]

i just need to know from those of you that like the fj... why??? that thing gives the aztek a run for the money as the ugliest vehicle ever. it's ungainly, chunky, oddly porportioned, and is about as sexy as a drunken rosie o'donnell. as much as i hate toyota it has nothing on the legendary original fj.

230365[/snapback]

At least Kelli Carpenter finds her sexy when she is drunk.

[sciguy_0504]

I love the FJ and guess what, CR's opinion doesn't effect mine.

229993[/snapback]

Never has, never will.

[the_yellow_dart]

Never has, never will.

230504[/snapback]

I'm sure most people don't care. I just hope some do, in this case.

[grandmarquis]

I'm sure most people don't care. I just hope some do, in this case.

230519[/snapback]

there are a lot of sheeple that DO care what CR says. thats pretty scary IMHO.

[MyerShift]

Good! At least they don't like it, and I hate what this thing looks like.

[Flybrian]

Blind spots? No $h!?

Thank God Consumer Reports is here to make me desperately aware of things I'm already aware of. Time to renew my subscription!

Honestly, I'm a bit surprised they didn't find some 30 year-old FJ being used by the People's Army of the Congo and used it to qualify recommending it "based on reliability of the previous model."

[regfootball]

I think most folks would be much happier in an X terra.

The H3 might fit the bill for some, if it had a real engine in it.

[AxelTheRed]

I think the funniest thing about the FJ Cruiser is that Toyota seems to have jumped on the retro-styling bandwagon with it without realizing that the only retro-styling people in America actually give a crap about comes from Detroit.

[Satty]

I think the funniest thing about the FJ Cruiser is that Toyota seems to have jumped on the retro-styling bandwagon with it without realizing that the only retro-styling people in America actually give a crap about comes from Detroit.

Which is why the FJ is selling so poorly, right?

[AxelTheRed]

Which is why the FJ is selling so poorly, right?

Not what I meant. Americans like the Detroit retro because its recognizable. Toyota coming out with retro styled vehicles isn't and won't draw the attention like, say, the Challenger concept did.

[Satty]

The FJ isn't an exact clone like the Challenger, but it is recognizable if you've ever seen an original Land Cruiser.

[AxelTheRed]

The FJ isn't an exact clone like the Challenger, but it is recognizable if you've ever seen an original Land Cruiser.

Never argued that they're not recognizable to people who remember the original, but MORE people recognize the styling cues from the Challenger, or better yet, the Camaro concept or the PT cruiser...and even more so in the VW Beetle...hence why those cars have been in the limelight and the FJ Cruiser really hasn't been. Its just that more people don't recognize it...it doesn't hold nearly the same symbolic value as the others.

That's all I really tried to get across.

Edited December 24, 2006 by AxelTheRed

[C.H.U.D.]

The FJ sells really well in my town. Toyotas do alright around here, but these things are really flying out the door.

[Satty]

The FJ sells really well in my town. Toyotas do alright around here, but these things are really flying out the door.

Same case evrywhere. Pre-owned FJs with a handful of miles are selling for a couple hundred bucks beloow the sticker price of a brand new one. Mini-like dpreciation.

[Sixty8panther]

Yeah... well in terms of blind spots and looks

it's worse than a fisher price earth mover.

[Ravenfreak13]

never like the FJ....blech

[Polish_Kris]

Yeah... well in terms of blind spots and looks

it's worse than a fisher price earth mover.

Come on man, it looks more like a Tonka Truck. Didn't you always wanna Tonka truck when you were a kid?

[I hope GMRULES again]

FJ makes my list of the ugliest vehicles currently on sale.

[regfootball]

this is a much nicer looking 'FJ Cruiser'

[SoCalCTS]

Why was there so much fanfare about the fact that Toyota FJ cruiser was rated most reliable by Consumer Reports and this is the first that I have heard of it not being recommended????

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15638076/

These 2007 models earned the highest and lowest predicted reliability ratings based on a survey covering earlier model years.

CATEGORY MOST RELIABLE LEAST RELIABLE

Small SUVs Toyota FJ Cruiser Kia Sportage

Source:Consumer Reports

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2007&make=Toyota&model=FJ%20Cruiser&trimid=-1FJ scores too low in our testing to be recommended.

[regfootball]

Why was there so much fanfare about the fact that Toyota FJ cruiser was rated most reliable by Consumer Reports and this is the first that I have heard of it not being recommended????

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15638076/

These 2007 models earned the highest and lowest predicted reliability ratings based on a survey covering earlier model years.

CATEGORY MOST RELIABLE LEAST RELIABLE

Small SUVs Toyota FJ Cruiser Kia Sportage

Source:Consumer Reports

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2007&make=Toyota&model=FJ%20Cruiser&trimid=-1FJ scores too low in our testing to be recommended.

i think the irony is that for this rig, CR can only PREDICT that the FJ is reliable due to the Toyota tag on the vehicle...but they were NOT happy with the fact that a toyota is not a wussified urbo-lib-greenie cruiser. They complained about its hard ride and noise and such, well DUH its a truck. CR wants to pigeonhole Toyota into only making Camry's and Corollas. That's why I think this is so significant. Toyota is branching out and CR does NOT like that.

[Intrepidation]

I'll never forget the first time my friend saw one of these while we were riding around...

"WHAT THE f@#k IS THAT! IT'S SO UGLY!"

I don't see very many of them around here...thankfully.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

There are loads of these ugly bastards running amok in Lexington. Went there today. I had to look at four of them.

Disgusting.

[DetroitNut90]

There was a point where they were like the 17-year cicadas--swarms everywhere. They (thankfully) aren't as numerous as they once were, although there is the occasional straggler (usually in that nasty red-brown color).

I applaud Toyota for designing a stand-out vehicle...it's just unbearably hideous.

[balthazar]

Fascinating: here in Jersey (and there's a toyota dealer a mile from me) I have only seen about 3 on the road, and I am fairly certain 1 was on a demo drive from the dealer, as it was getting on the highway right downroad from the place. Thankfully, they've not taken off here (yet)- they are not at all pleasant to look at.

[AxelTheRed]

Fascinating: here in Jersey (and there's a toyota dealer a mile from me) I have only seen about 3 on the road, and I am fairly certain 1 was on a demo drive from the dealer, as it was getting on the highway right downroad from the place. Thankfully, they've not taken off here (yet)- they are not at all pleasant to look at.

Yeah, I've only seen one. I was on the expressway, saw it and did a double take to make sure I wasn't imagining it.

[76ChevyTrucker]

I'm sorry, but that THING is ugly! I looks nothing like the original FJ which I liked, that's just some bastardized satire shot of one....kinda like how Saint Nicolas evolved into Santa Claus.... I didn't like it when I first saw it, I don't like it now, and that's that.

[Houze968]

On looks alone I wouldn't recommend it.

Agreed, sat in one at the last auto show to roll through ATL last year and hated it..."Toyota's answer to the H3"

Course, i'm not a huge (excuse the pun) SUV fan...i could not drive a Jeep with the exception of the Grand Cherokee, even then SUVs don't get my blood flowing so to speak....

I leased a 2001 GMC Jimmy "Sun n Sound" 2dr and by the end of the lease i was DONE with my then SUV fetish, plus the buy out on the end of the lease was about $4k more than what it appraised for