Quote:
Originally Posted by catus
Respectfully disagree. When I first drove my 5th Gen off the lot on a test drive, I thought "This is so much like my FJ-60!" With a lot more power, torque, and nice stuff, of course. But the interior dimensions, controls, etc. are very 60'ish to me. Which is good, because that's the FJ* I most regret selling.
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I agree wholeheartedly. My '83 FJ60 was my first Toyota, and it's what sparked the Toyota fire in me. I bought it in 2000, with 185k miles, brakes that had to be pumped a few times to work, and a slipping clutch. Being the young idiot that I was, instead of fixing the issues, I put some questionable lift springs and a set of 33s under it. Then, I proceeded to beat it up on the rocks. I did really love that truck though. In retrospect, I should have kept it stock and just sorted out the issues from years of neglect. Both it and I would have been much better off.
Anyway, I sold it after owning it for two years because it wasn't my daily driver and I didn't really have space in my life (literally or figuratively) for a second vehicle. I've always missed it though, and I have a seriously soft spot in my heart for 60s.
After the FJ60, I had a '99 XJ Cherokee (daily driver), and then a '94 Range Rover Classic (second car to my WRX, I finally had room for multiple cars). The Rover was a bunch of fun, but it wasn't a Cruiser. So, I sold the Rover traded the WRX in on a new '09 Tacoma DCSB TRDOR. I had the Taco for a little over 10 years and put >150k miles on it. It never broke down in all of that time, and it was a great truck. While I had the Tacoma, at one point my wife drove a 4th Gen 4R and then a 5th Gen 4R. We got the 5th Gen about a year before our divorce, so I didn't spend a lot of time in it, but I did like it when we took it on family trips.
Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I decided it was time to put the Taco out to pasture and let someone enjoy it during the second half of its life, and I bought a '19 SR5 4R. On my drive home, and everyday since then, I really get the vibes of my old 60. As you said, it's a similar size, similar cabin layout, etc. It's like a less heavy duty, modernized version of an FJ60.
TL/DR: The 5G4R is not a "spiritual successor" of a LR Disco. It's a lighter duty modern day reincarnation of the venerable FJ60, perhaps leaning a bit more toward the 62 (due to the automatic transmission, PW/PL, and more updated electronics).