FJ Cruiser vs v8 4runner

FJ is like driving a bedroom. Terrible visibility and feels huge even though it isn't really that big.

I have a v8 4runner and I love it.

What aren't gx 470's v8 only? They seem nice but
>aftermarket?
>that rear hatch that opens the wrong way
>rear in general

Was it an intentional design choice to make FJs look hueg as fuck? It's honestly about the same size as a 4-door Wrangler, but with the suicide doors it felt like they were aiming more towards the small SUV market to compete with the 2-door Wrangler. Maybe it's just styling? But looking at the FJ and realizing it's only really 20 inches longer than the 2dr Wrangler makes me realize just how large the Wrangler has gotten. It's weird.

Why do people want a manual for offroading? Have these people ever been on lose terrain?

funner on road probably

They don't look that big next to a 4runner

I agree. /o is just obsessed with a manual for everything. I have an F150 4x4 with a stick that i take off road sometimes. It works fine but sometimes I find myself in situations where an auto would really be handy.

>aftermarket?
Heaps of J120 and J150 aftermarket. They were Prados overseas after all.
>that rear hatch that opens the wrong way
It's a little awkward in that you need to leave a bit of space behind you to fully open it, but barn door style gives better access to the back of the cargo area.
>rear in general
Much more accomidating than the two original options posted.

I prefer manual for the direct wheel speed control via throttle. A hydraulic link is good for taking off from a standing start in soft sand or climbing something vertical that your CVs or unis probably weren't designed to do anyway.
Autos are also better for up shifting unde load, but this can also accelerate internal wear depending how hard the transmission's working.
As noted in a previous thread, a conventional manual is better of rocking back and forth out of a bog.

I'm actually selling my FJ after four years of ownership tomorrow and I'm gonna fucking miss it. They're not half as roomy as you think they'll be (srsly I couldn't fit a drum set into it once and watched my friend toss the set into her Mazda hatch), everything is hard plastic which honestly makes it super easy to keep clean, and your friends will fight to the death over who has to sit in the back. But honestly, they're fun as fuck to drive and have ground clearance 4 dayz. They have like a -0.1 drag coefficient and just today I let it coast down a hill to see at what speed it stops speeding up, that speed is 50mph, you're constantly on the gas on the highway. I'm selling it just because I never take it on trails anymore and I'm always on the highway so the pitiful efficiency is starting to outweigh the amazing rough trail performance. Oh yeah it comes with a skid plate too. My friend has a highlander and I feel like I'm driving a house in it, it's comfy as all fuck in there. Probably does better on the highway too. Take the FJ Cruiser if you know for sure you're going to take it on trails and don't need metric fucktons of space, otherwise the 4runner is a better pavement queen. Also both of your options are gonna be massive gas guzzlers j/s.

New 4runner is better than old Fj. Same year 4runner is worse than same year Fj.

>skid plate
You mean that $400 piece of aluminum foil?
And what proof of this do you have?

...

You could at least pick one without nigger wheels if you're going to post a Tundra.

the big plastic buttons are great for winter driving, you can do almost everything with gloves on.
get an aftermarket bumper with a winch, and suddenly the thing's approach angle becomes far better.
if you want snowday fun this truck, it does it well with TCS off. Toyota's traction control computer is screaming the whole time even when disabled, beeping like the truck itself is terrified.

in terms of mechanical bits? 6 speed manual is very nice, might have trouble in the hills in 6th gear. Belt driven fan is among one of the loudest I've heard in a V6, but the whole engine bay is very American inspired.

Neither, they're both trash.

>presumably a nicer interior
absolutely disagree. one of the big reasons i bought the fj over the 4runner was the plastic interior. spill something? throwing tools in the back? dogs muddy as shit? no problem! hose the fucker out!

>jap reliability is a meme
>jap cars are trash
Inb4 butthurt responses on either side of the fence

Utilitarian =/= nicer.

>built ford tough

fucked up in a year from holes and mud =/= nicer either

>he likes the worst truck you can possibly buy
kek
They're already mad.

Raptor damage always angers me, it's almost always dunefags who think they suddenly own a Dakar truck.

Not sure if it would factor into your decision making OP, but the FJ is becoming a bit of a future classic. Prices on good examples have been appreciating the last few years, and clean/well modified examples are going to hold value extremely well. Now if it's something you intend on trashing, then it doesn't really matter either way

4runners suffer from rice tax just about as bad though, although I would imagine they have a much better aftermarket at this point

FJ's are actually being exported to japan, fairly popular.

>Ford
>anything Dakar related
kek

>implying anyone is going to beat on a new car like that
Pull your head out of your ass.
>posted raptor
>fanboy says its the worst truck
youtu.be/6eK-1Ld7sJY
A gravel road bent the frame.

yeah, if you want to be in the cool Dakar club, you need a Kamaz

I can believe that, I've actually seen several of these get sold at auction to people I highly suspected worked for export companies. They get these and any older Lexus SUV's they can

>implying you can buy anything but used FJ's

toyota.jp/fjcruiser/
so they now sell them locally, with a fender mirror because japan

>implying you can't buy new
thomasvilletoyota.com/vehicle-details/new-2014-toyota-fj-cruiser-4-dr-JTEBU4BF2EK198531

Buy an FJ if you're looking for a more rugged car and don't want more than 1 person riding in it on a regular basis. The rear doors will make your friends who don't call shotgun hate you. However, if you want a more comfortable town car. One drawback is if you want a manual, it is all time 4wd, so your mpg will suffer a bit. The 4runner is more comfortable and had less of a plastic feeling. The 4runner will perform similar to the FJ off-road, as they share a majority of the suspension components. Another option you could consider though, is the Xterra. They don't have the rice tax Toyotas do but they're pretty similar overall.
FJs have a larger off-road market than the 4runner and it may still grow. My brother bought his for $23k a couple years back and sold it for $30k recently, altough that was mainly due to it being one of the nicest looking FJs in America.

>Xterra
Weirdly, it's getting harder and harder to find decent examples of those. Pretty much every one we ever take as trade is completely trashed

And I can believe the FJ has a bigger market now. Every time I go to Boone, I see more and more of them

>tfw last time you were in Boone, you saw Angry Ute at Earth Fair, and almost stopped to leave a note on his windshield

$400 piece of layered aluminum foil tyvm.
But srsly I thought I was ramming through fresh loose snow once and it turned out to be 80% ice and that plate did possibly prevent quite a bit of damage without getting warped or damaged at all so I for one give it a thumbs up. Probably couldn't take straight up boulders though.

A lot of the 05-08s are crappy. I wouldn't recommend buying anything that's not an 09+, especially due to the automatic transmission failures in them. I like mine but it's obvious it's pretty cheaply built.

But for the FJ, the 4runner parts market pretty much follows the FJ's. Pretty much every part made for a 4runner is available for the FJ, but not every part the FJ has you can get for a 4runner.