Car of the week – March 26th – FJ Cruiser TRD

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  • The car is as much fun as it looks. It's not what you call fast, but it barrels along very nicely.

    I have always liked the FJ Cruiser for no other reason than the fact that it stands out from the crowd with its unique retro style. It looks like a vehicle that will be great fun to drive and it is. 

    It’s not particularly fast, it certainly isn’t overly comfortable, is a sort of mix between a Jeep and a troop carrier, but has unexplainable charisma that has enabled it to establish a strong foothold in the UAE. 

    – #Quiz360: WIN a group paintball session at Zayed Sports City

    – Car of the week – March 19th – Porsche Cayenne S

    It’s popularity is also due to the fact that this vehicle’s off-road capabilities are impressive. In fact, whilst it is versatile enough to be driven on and off-road, it looks like it was built for adventure which just adds to its unique personality.

    The basic FJ is nice enough but there is also the FJ TRD (Toyota Racing Development) which might sound a bit odd because one thing this car was not built for, is racing. But that was never the intention even though TRD is a celebrated motorsports engineering company which provides various tuning products and performance components for Toyota’s racing cars around the world. 

    In this case, and that of other Toyota road cars like the 86, Yaris hatchback and sedan, Corolla, Aurion and Fortuner the TRD treatment is all about cosmetics and nothing to do with tuning the engine which is a shame because the odd horsepower tweak would not go amiss. 

    Our FJ TRD came in a cool polar white colour, has striking 17-inch TRD black alloy wheels, a TRD front skid plate protector (not too sure what that adds), raised coil springs and shock absorbers which provide better ground clearance, steering response and cornering ability apart from a striking appearance, a tarted up exhaust pipe, and black side sill protectors. 

    There are also flared wheel arches and TRD mud guards. Visually, it does look impressive and turns plenty of heads and it really does make you smile.

    Toyota say the whole TRD effect injects a bit of Waku Doki, which is Japanese for adrenalin rush. A slight exaggeration if you ask me, but it does make the FJ look even more appealing than it already was.

    The interior is much the same as the other FJs except for a TRD shift knob which seems hardly worth the effort. 

    The rest of the cabin is well laid out and functional with a seven-inch infotainment touch screen at the centre of the dash. 

    There is also a circular controller on the centre console which amongst other things simply acts as a secondary volume controller for the radio which seems a bit pointless. There is a compass, temperature gauge and slope indicator mounted on the dash and all the other switches for driving off-road are easily accessible on an overhead console. There is also sat-nav and a built-in air compressor to help with tyre inflation following off-road excursions.

    If you are looking for a luxurious interior then this is not for you. There’s no place for high-grade leathers etc in a cabin designed to deal with the kind of tough, adventurous motoring the FJ is built for with water resistant and sturdy materials, but that doesn’t mean it is tacky because it isn’t.

    Like other FJs, this is powered by a four-litre V6 which has 270bhp and torque of 380nm. It delivers the power to the full or part-time all wheel drive system via the five-speed automatic gearbox. There is a separate low-gear selector for off-roading.

    To drive, the car is as much fun as it looks. It’s not what you would call fast, which is just as well because it’s about as aerodynamic as a brick, but it barrels along very nicely. The visibility out the back is not ideal but it’s good enough and the two large wing mirrors have to be carefully adjusted to avoid dangerous blind spots.

    One of the things that impressed me about this vehicle was its fuel economy because you tend to associate this kind of machine with high consumption. Sadly, I didn’t get the chance to take it off-road which is where you feel it really belongs but the FJ’s capabilities on tough terrain are well documented.

    The FJ Cruiser is actually being discontinued in other parts of the world but thankfully, and sensibly, it will continue here in the UAE because without it, driving wouldn’t be quite so much fun.

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