Long-term update: Our Toyota FJ Cruiser just became more rare
We always knew our Toyota FJ Cruiser would become sought-after one day, just like the original FJ40 it gets its name from. What we didn’t know was that it’d happen so soon.
You see, the FJ40 was a barebones offroader with a manual gearbox. Our FJ Cruiser is the base model with a 6-speed manual gearbox. And the UAE dealer has just stopped selling them, as their website only lists 5-speed automatic models now.
Mind you, the reason they stopped selling the manual is precisely because very few people were buying it. So it’s not really that sought-after right now. But as history tells us, once the manual ones become rarer over the next couple of years, those few who suddenly have a craving for one a few years from now will have to trawl through used-car listings to find one. Even now, out of a whopping 150 FJ Cruisers listed on dubizzle in Dubai alone, there are only 5 manual ones, and out of that, only 3 are GCC-spec.
So there you go — a Toyota that’s actually a classic car in the making. We still maintain that this basic manual FJ is the most fun version of this 4×4 you can ever buy. Sure, the Xtreme and TRD versions make dune-driving easier, but the fun continues on the road as well with the manual one. And you can always install bigger wheels and fenders on your own if that’s your thing.
Original Mileage When Bought: 5,500 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 12,500 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 14.5 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 0Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Bought: Dhs 870
Comments
marc
Spot on comment i have to say.. A classic in the making indeed
Zoheb
Is your fj manual gear all wheel drive or back wheel drive.
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
Back-wheel-drive one was never offered in the UAE, so ours is all-wheel-drive.
Manulal M I
FJ Cruiser is meant to be a serious off-roader and it is indeed one. In fact, the full time 4WD transmission with torsen center differential is far superior than more traditional part time 4WD. It’s an irony that Toyota is not offering full time 4WD in FJ with automatics. In that respect a stock Prado is much better in dune bashing than a stock FJ with part time 4WD. I guess Toyota might be thinking that a real offroad enthusiast will go for manual anyway. But in UAE, many offroaders don’t even have a manual licence!
FaYsaL
by the way how many cars do you have :$
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
4 and a half.