FJC vs T4R

[kai920]

So I take my wife's camry to the stealership to get serviced and while I'm waiting I figure I might as well test drive something. I've always thought the FJC is sweet and at times wanted one. Well, I drove one and to be quite honest, it was cool. I'd love to take one to Moab or have for a weekend ride to play in but I don't have that kind of money laying around. It feels like it would be excellent at exactly what it was made for-offroading!

Verdict: no way would I trade my T4R as a daily driver for the FJC, but I'd definitely choose one as a weekend cruiser. And I mean no disrespect to FJC owners, I still think they are bad!

I should have also test drove the supercharged 3rd gen. :ybrick:

 

[Acidmeld]

Couldnt agree with you more. Id love on for a short time but i need the space inside. Especially as mine is the vehicle of choice for people hauling, and soon enough for baby hauling...

 

[4-Ripcord]

I have never driven an FJC or a 4th gen, but I would prefer the 4th gen 4runner. Seems to be a better DD.

Which dealer in NM has a supercharged 3rd? I want to see it, see if I can convince them to let me take her for a spin.

 

[kai920]

I have never driven an FJC or a 4th gen, but I would prefer the 4th gen 4runner. Seems to be a better DD.

Which dealer in NM has a supercharged 3rd? I want to see it, see if I can convince them to let me take her for a spin.

American Toyota at Alameda and I-25.

 

[StevieT4R]

Sold my 3rd gen in Dec as it had 230K+ miles after over 13 years of great use! I wanted a 4th gen (?) Highlander (because if you know how a 3rd gen rides i.e. like a truck as my DD; I'm not getting any younger and my back can only take it so long) as I needed a more "car-like" ride. We'll the Highlander's are way too much $$$; I started looking at FJ's. I (too) always wanted one every since they came out. I talked myself out of it twice (2007 - didn't want car payments & 2009 - "heard it had rear visibility issues"). I ended up getting a 4th gen instead - good middle ground as the 4th's ride very comfortable and have good off-road capabilities. I still want a FJ from time-to-time and may eventually get one. But, I'm happy with my T4R (except for the gas mileage).

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I spent a week in an FJ and while they are cool a newer 4Runner is a better choice for a DD and has much better interior and more room but the FJ would be a nice weekend warrior.

 

[4-Ripcord]

American Toyota at Alameda and I-25.

I stopped by this afternoon to pick up a parts order. I asked one of the salesmen to see it, just to take a look. Well, I asked to see the 'supercharged 3rd gen 4runner'. He started down the row of new 5ths looking for one with a supercharger..:redbrick:
I spotted a 3rd gen and told him to follow me. Had a 2nd gen S/C, TRD boost gauge, TRD tranny cooler. The guy offered to let me take a drive, but it was rush hour on the freeways and its crazy windy right now. I said maybe next time.

They want nearly $20k for it! 86k mi.
Used 2002 Toyota 4Runner Limited V6 For Sale - 80956A | Albuquerque NM | serving Santa Fe, Los Lunas, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho

Anyways, fftopic:

Main bad thing I hear about the FJ's is the horrific blind spots and tiny back seat windows. Still turn my head every time I see a nice one though.

 

[truckmike26]

The FJ's a great truck but the visibility is terrible. Not just the blind spots but out front as well -- seeing some traffic lights requires leaning forward. It's also bad for back-seat passengers and the roof rack makes it just a tick too tall for my garage and a few underground garages around here. I couldn't find one without one. It's removable but then I'd need to store it somewhere.

Love the manual transfer case lever and dash board as well as the rear diff-lock. Solid build quality too.

The 4th-gen SR5 has lots of what makes the FJ great (same drivetrain and running gear) but without the day-to-day compromises.

 

[M1911]

Solid build quality too.

Well, there's the whole inner fender tearing issue with the FJ...

 

[Chris Sandstorm]

I had an 08 FJC and pretty much learned to wheel with it. Been to Moab a ton...

It was a lot of fun...But yes the vision was the killer..wheeling them is challenging with the vision out the front and the kids hated the back seat...

So 2 weeks ago I traded it in for a 4th gen, almost all the mods transferred over. I gave up the locker and the highly tuned A-trac button, but I gained vision all around and leather seats, longer wheel base, bigger gas tank, better mileage...

This is my daily driver, as was the FJC...You can install a locker for 2k...

Get a 4th gen 4runner...

 

[Casper421]

Main bad thing I hear about the FJ's is the horrific blind spots and tiny back seat windows. Still turn my head every time I see a nice one though.

X2 :iagree: I actually test drove a TRD edition when my parents were looking at getting one. Horrible blind spots and i found it underpowered and uncomfortable. It did appear very off road capable though, with 32" BFG AT's and beefy sliders. I believe Bilstein shocks too. A great trail rig off the showroom.

I love my V8 too much with 4 real doors and more interior space. :bigok:

 

[Eastcoastrunner]

I had an 08 FJC and pretty much learned to wheel with it. Been to Moab a ton...

It was a lot of fun...But yes the vision was the killer..wheeling them is challenging with the vision out the front and the kids hated the back seat...

So 2 weeks ago I traded it in for a 4th gen, almost all the mods transferred over. I gave up the locker and the highly tuned A-trac button, but I gained vision all around and leather seats, longer wheel base, bigger gas tank, better mileage...

This is my daily driver, as was the FJC...You can install a locker for 2k...

Get a 4th gen 4runner...

better mileage? jesus, how bad WAS the fjc??

 

[galactic_04]

my friend sees about 3mpg less with the FJ than my v6 4runner. One thing I noticed is when we took it camping it seemed to downshift way too fast. Just didn't have power for the hills.

I really like the truck... as long as you're in the front. The back is just hard to get into... especially in a parking lot with cars next to you.

 

[JohnsD90]

If you want a weekend warrior, whats wrong with the original FJ-40, FJ-45 troop carrier? or heck A 15 year old Land Rover Defender?

Like if its not a DD they are great vehicles for trails or just buzzing around town.

 

[RanchoRunner]

I agree with everything said.

I have a '72 FJ40 with ~300k miles on it -- was my DD for years -- EXTREMELY bad window fogging when it rained!! '70 Chevy 307 V8/Turbo 350 in it for the past 100k+ miles (that inline 6 really buzzed at freeway speeds and was a pain to adjust solid lifters every so many miles (had to adjust while running, with hot oil squirting all over your hands!!)). But I put plenty of off-road miles on it, and it never let me down!! It's currently in the garage receiving a complete rewire (old wires were VERY brittle).

I bought an '07 FJC a little over a year ago, and found it comfortable, but didn't feel safe driving it because of the horrible rear visibility, and never quite got used to the additional width off-road after driving the FJ40 and '00 Xterra. Don't get me wrong -- it was GREAT off-road!! But I mainly bought it to tow a ~3,500-lb trailer, but then the wife fell in love with a ~5,000-lb one, which we got instead. The FJC is only rated for 5,000 lbs., and was quite slow towing it. It also would downshift at the slightest incline, even without the trailer (285/70-17 tires). I'm also not crazy about the suicide rear doors -- if you're parked close to something, you get trapped between the two doors...

The tow capacity & rear visibility prompted me to recently buy an '06 V8 T4R Limited with 7,000 lbs tow capacity and great visibility. I would have rather gotten an SE, but those were impossible to find equipped with V8 and side air bags. I'm not crazy with the leather interior (seats slippery, get REAL hot in the sun and reflects too much body heat), but I'll find some kind of seat covers...

I'll be transferring suspension, tires, and skids from the FJC to the T4R, then I'll be selling the FJC. I've yet to take the T4R off road -- it's got 18" street tires, so I'm waiting till I mount my 285/70 KM2's...