Going from a Tacoma to a Fj

Who has went from driving a tacoma to driving a Fj Cruiser. Any complaints. Miss your tacoma? I am considering selling my tacoma to buy an Fj but I'm not sure if I will miss the tacoma. It's a 2.7 with a five speed and I would be buying a 4.0 auto. Anyone have any advice. Thanks in advance

 

Honestly, unless you're actually going to off road, avoid the FJ. It's big, bulky, and like a cave inside with piss poor visibility, terrible seating position, sucky gas mileage, and poor aerodynamics. They are great on the trail, but as a daily driver you'd be better off with the Tacoma.

Replacing 3 windshield wipers probably gets old fast too. Just my opinion though, I am not a big fan of the FJ. I started out wanting one too, but after driving one, I went Tacoma and glad I did. Visibility, a bed, and 4x4 to get me around in the winter.

 

I went from a 2004 Tacoma DC to a FJ and I love it. I main things I miss are not having a bed, but a trailer works for the few times that I need to haul so thing big. It is bigger then my Tacoma, but I like the size. Bigger then by tacoma, but smaller then a full sized SUV. My FJ has a lot more power then my Tacoma did, and I get around 18 mpg. The ride is better too. Off-road it's a beast, but a good daily driver too. Check out http://www.fjcruiserforums.com, the is a lot of good information on that sight.

 

Had an Army Green Trail Edition on the show room floor at the dealership when i bought my truck. And i WANTED it. I had to have it. Then took it for a test drive and it's blind spots are scary bad. I have those giant circle mirrors on my trucks side mirrors, and maybe that would help. Im sure it would. But dang its bad. Even your rear window is covered by the spare tire. Dont get me wrong, they look bad ass. And im sure people can argue that they have no blind spot trouble. But at least test drive one first.

Edit: didnt even know we had an FJ thread in this forum. Just looked through pictures. Damn those FJs are sweet looking. Those dudes obviously didnt have a problem with blind spots on their FJs. Maybe i would have got used to it. If ya need a reason to buy one just think, they dont make them anymore. So youd have something rare?

 

Back in the day, I went from an '05 TRD Off Road Taco to a '07 FJ.

The FJ is surprisingly quick and nimble for it's size. It's awesome off road and in the snow.

The interior is easy to keep clean. The rear seats are very easy to get to.

Gas mileage was slightly better than any of my Taco's, believe it or not.

I never had an issue with blind spots, and at the time, I drove 37 miles on the highway to and from work every day.

The only reason I went back to a Taco was because I needed a bed.

I'll pick up another FJ someday for sure.

 

I had an FJ for 6 years and sold it - bought a 2000 Tacoma.

The FJ is surprisingly quick, rides great, gets better mileage than my Tacoma, it's easy to clean out, easy to modify, great on the trails. Visibility isn't great but if your used to using your mirrors you'll be fine. Before long you won't even notice the visibility is limited. I wouldn't have sold mine but I needed the pick-up bed.

Premium is recommended which is certainly a cost factor.

The FJ manual is in 4wd high all the time, MPG suffers because of it, but it has it's advantages. The auto will get 20MPG highway, and is a part time 4wd like your Tacoma. Pretty sure all the manuals come with a locking rear diff as well, where it's an option on the Auto.

 

And I actually kinda miss having three windshield wipers...

Thanks to this thread, I'm looking around right now for an FJ that I can trade my Audi in on.

I'm leaning towards a silver one, and having the top painted to match. I'll add a set of Duratracs, black wheels, and a 2" lift. BAM!!!

 

I have both and I like both.
My FJ makes me smile every time I take her for a spin.

 

Thanks for the response guys. It was mostly just an idea. Not too serious about the whole deal. I think I would miss the bed and the gas mileage of my taco. And I think I would rather keep the taco and get a second vehicle that's a trail rig and beat on the trail rig rather then wheeling a FJ. Don't get me wrong I adore the FJ. May have to buy one down the road. I thought this would be a good topic to get some input on thus this thread.

 

YOU WILL STILL NEED MY WHEEL BEARINGS!!! MUAHHH!!!

 

Next time they go on the taco I'll buy some from you. Just replaced them at 190,000 ish miles so if may be a while. Sitting at 192,700 miles now

 

honestly, going from my 2008 tacoma to my FJ about 5 months back was the best decision i have ever made. I loved my tacoma and had a hard time even thinking about selling it but it was worth it. mind you, my tacoma was 2wd and now i have 4wd (finally lol) so that was a big factor. but also, just the bigness inside the fj is so nice, seats are nicer too. I have a dirtbike but just use a hitch carrier now and it works fine, other than that i barely used the bed other than to go camping but the fj will work perfectly for that still.

 

Went from a taco, 4 runner and now FJ. The Taco is great for a lot of things like hauling stuff, but when it comes to overall drive ability the FJ is better. I can maneuver the trails a lot easier and climb the rocks better than the taco. Highway manners if really nice. Good power and I get better mileage from the FJ for some reason. I like the uniqueness of an FJ also. Let me put it this way.....I'm ok leaving my taco and 4rnr, but I don't think I'll ever get rid of the fJ.

 

It's a real shame that sales numbers took a dump and they have to discontinue it. It's one of the best trucks Toyota ever made.

 

Not to hi-jack this thread but I think Toyota had the 4Runner and FJ filling a near identical "off road truck based" spot in the sales lineup. But IMO they could have kept the FJ had they offered less options and made it a bit less expensive.

I could never figure out the logic buying a 40K truck and go beat on it on the trails, but a more purpose built trail machine that would be cheaper, makes sense to me. The 4Runner is a great truck, but sunroof, leather and carpeting doesn't say rock crawler to anyone.

The FJ was perfect for what it was - an on road 4WD vehicle that could be taken off road and cleaned up easily.

Now it appears with the FJ retired, Toyota is trying to make the 4Runner appear more off road friendly to appease the potential FJ buyers.

 

Just curious but OP what do you think an FJ could do that a taco can't? I love the FJ look but taco seems more practical in almost every way.

 

For one my taco is 2wd and if I were to get a fj it would be 4wd. I like the 4wd system a lot better than the tacoma. And by that I mean a mechanical shifter rather than a switch hooked up to a computer. I like the looks of the Fj a lot. But I also love the looks of the second gen taco. I like having a 6ft bed. But SUVs are cool too. I like them both equally. Now to answer the question of what the Fj will do my taco can't. I'll answer a slightly different question. What can a Fj do that a equivelent taco can't do. Probably nothing. You do loose a bed which is a downfall. And blind spots sound like they are an issue. Depending on personal preference the Fj might put a bigger smile on your face. I've never done any real wheeling in either so I'm not to sure which does better. But there must be a reason they sold tacomas and FJs amd not just one or another. They both have their roles. They both fill some void in someone's wants. I'll leave yall with that. Sorry for the rant

 

If blindspots are a conern I'd be willing to bet that you'd get used to them pretty quick. If you've ever driven a U-Haul truck or any box truck, once you get used to relying more on your side mirrors you can drive safely with confidence. I've never sat in an FJ but I doubt it's as bad as a box truck, visibility wise.

As far as one over the other (FJ, Taco) it really depends on what you need from the truck and what you can afford. I like the FJ, but didn't like the fact that the manual model was fulltime 4x4 with horrible mileage. Why couldn't the manual be selective like the auto? Who knows. Also for me was the fact that an FJ would be almost $10,000 more than the Tacoma I ended up with.

For me, I rarely carry more than one passenger, and I like having a 6 ft bed so I got an access cab. I work in residential construction and sometimes have to pick up lumber or supplies, I can safely haul up to 12 ft boards or 4 x 8 sheets of whatever. These things would be tougher in an FJ, though you could strap them to the roofrack I guess. And there may be certain things you have to haul that you don't want inside you vehicle, like wet and muddy tarps, or bags of cement or whatever.

If you haul more people than supplies, an FJ may be the better choice. It would probably make one of the more manly family vehicles! Maybe a double cab with 5 ft bed is a great compromise?

Just opinions and maybe food for thought. Ultimately both are cool vehicles with good drivetrains, rugged designs and great aftermarket support, both from vendors and forum folks.

 

For me at least, blind spots aren't a biggie since I drive a line truck at work and use my mirrors.
I installed a pair of small stick on convex mirrors I picked up at Wallyworld and they helped a bit. You get used to it.

 

I once drove a pickup truck with a cap that had those stick on convex mirrors. They do help greatly.