Toyota's Retro Off-Roader

The new FJ Cruiser recalls the classic Land Cruiser as a small, Hummer-style SUV at a bargain price

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Low price, wonderful off-road capabilities

The Bad: Wide turning radius, very cramped rear seat

The Bottom Line: A small, Hummer-style SUV at a bargain price

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With gasoline prices soaring, who's going to buy a Hummer these days? The folks at Toyota Motor (TM) apparently figure a lot of people will, if the price is right. The Japanese manufacturer has just introduced its new FJ Cruiser, which could pretty accurately be described as a clone of the Hummer H3, the new "Baby Hummer" that has been selling like hotcakes since coming out last year. You can bet General Motors (GM) is worried that the new Toyota is about to start stealing sales from one of the most successful new models it has on the market.

GM has good reason for worry. Having test-driven both models, I prefer the H3, everything else being equal (see BW Online, 12/28/05, "The Mini Hummer Is Quite Mighty"). But everything else isn't equal because there's a weird sort of role reversal going on in this rivalry. The FJ Cruiser's main competitive advantage is its lower price and bigger engine. Isn't that the way Detroit usually tries to compete against Toyota, not vice versa?

The H3 comes standard with four-wheel drive and starts at $29,500. That price seemed reasonable enough to me until I learned that the FJ Cruiser 4X4 starts at only $23,495 with a six-speed manual transmission, and $23,905 with a five-speed automatic (a two-wheel-drive version starts at just $22,315). The Hummer comes with some standard equipment the Toyota doesn't have (under-body skid pads for off-roading, cruise control, and a year of free OnStar service), but the bottom line is that a fairly well-loaded FJ Cruiser lists for about the same price as the most basic Hummer H3.

SIMILAR STATS.

It's too early to know if the FJ Cruiser will be a hit with consumers. Toyota only sold 2,784 FJs in March, its first month on the market, about half as many H3s as GM sold. But given the way heads turned when I drove it around town, this new Toyota will probably sell very well. If you're considering buying one, other models to look at in the category are the Nissan Xterra and the new four-door Jeep Wrangler that Daimler Chrysler (DCX) is bringing out this fall.

Statistically speaking, the FJ Cruiser is very similar to a Hummer H3. Both are four-door, five-seaters with a cramped rear seat and a station-wagon-style cargo area in back. The Toyota is smaller, but only slightly: It's 183 inches long, 4 inches shorter than the Hummer, and 71.6 inches high, 3 inches lower than the Hummer. They're both about 75 inches wide, and both have about 9 inches of ground clearance. In both, the wheels are set way out at the corner of the body, so you can mount and descend steep inclines without scraping bottom.

The Toyota weighs just under 4,300 lbs., 400 lbs. less than the H3. But fuel efficiency is almost exactly the same: Both are rated to get 16 mpg in the city and 19 mpg on the highway. In a stretch of 145 miles of mixed driving, I got 16.2 mpg in the Toyota. The Baby Hummer, however, operates on inexpensive regular gasoline, while the FJ Cruiser takes premium. With premium averaging $3.22 per gallon nationwide right now, 30 cents per gallon more than regular, that's a big advantage.

SPORTY STICK.

The FJ Cruiser, on the other hand, is more fun to drive than the Hummer (which Consumer Reports clocked doing zero to 60 in a tortoise-like 11.5 seconds). The Toyota's 4.0-liter, 239-horsepower V6 engine is much peppier than the Hummer's 3.5-liter, five-cylinder engine.

My test Toyota, which came with a stick shift, was downright sporty -- it was actually fun to take it out on hilly country roads and throw it into the curves. Both vehicles do surprisingly well on the highway, but the FJ Cruiser has a lot more oomph when you move into the passing lane. I had the FJ up to well over the legal speed limit, and the ride remained smooth and confidence-inspiring.