These are expensive SUVs for what you get. They are in vogue with hipsters and yuppies right now so there is a massive yuppie tax on these cars. Far higher a price hike than any drift tax because these are people with money.
Prepare to pay double compared to recent SUVs of similar model year.
No, they do what they were designed to do very well & the design happens to be different enough to maintain uniqueness, without being like a boring Camry with 4 wheel drive. Not just Yuppies & Hipsters - they are mucho popular with very serious off roaders who are tired of the same old low reliability, quickly depreciating, low build quality offerings from the big American 3. Research how they designed it & built it. They built 5 of them, sent them to some of the roughest terrains on the planet (within reason) & beat the crap out of them. Then fixed what broke & kept at it. Then wrapped them in a pseudo throwback body nod to the FJ40. These are no poser 4x4s. Yes, most will never leave the Tarmac but if you choose to, you will see why they are popular & holding their value so well. The only thing at all lacking is the power, a 5.6l V8 or diesel would be about perfect.
I'm not saying they are bad cars i'm just saying that they are popular with yuppies, which they are, which causes them to not depreciate at all. In fact they were listed in the top 5 as the least depreciating car by the blue book not long ago. Yuppie tax is the same thing as the drift tax, it says nothing about the car other than they are popular with certain people. Subarus are the same way and just so happen to also be popular with yuppies, does that make them bad? No. Does that make them a bad value for a used car just to tow? Probably.
He can probably get a 4 runner or a Tacoma for much cheaper, newer, with lower miles, and do everything he states he wants to do equally well as with a FJ. Do you not agree?
Never said "just yuppies and hipsters" buy them, I said they are in with those people so they will be more expensive just like the drift tax for a clean ae86 they have the yuppie tax.
My buddy tows a pretty substantial wakeboard boat (9 passenger with a 400CID V8) with his FJ with no problems. That's through the hills of WV as well.
mdshaw wrote: they are mucho popular with very serious off roaders who are tired of the same old low reliability, quickly depreciating, low build quality offerings from the big American 3.
What? I think you need to do a little more research on some of the solid offroad offerings over the years from "the big three". Even Toyota themselves have offered better offroad rigs in the past. The FJ is decent, but it is far from the end all be all you claim it to be. Look how popular the solid front axle swap is on them for the "very serious offroaders".
Well, not "everything" I guess. Most of the other offerings, while plenty workable, are plenty boring also.
Say what you will about the FJ, but it's pretty cool looking. I'm not sure if that makes me a yuppy or hipster (I don't actually know a single hipster that makes enough money to afford a FJ...), but it sounds like a solid option and there are plenty of low miles options for pretty cheap around me.
It also seems that the people that own them on this board rather like them. That's good news.
Thanks for the input guys.
Trailer brakes and go with a lower profile tire (less squirm). You will be fine. Really.
My friend tows his race car with an FJ cruiser. He thinks it's awesome for it and he recommended that I consider it as well when I pull the Miata off of road duty finally and only race it.
I think they're the coolest SUV out there right now. And I think they are the coolest thing Toyota has made in the last 20 years by far (Toyota proper, forget about the new Scion which is also Captain Cool). I sold the Lexus when I bought the Viper and I intend to replace the Lexus with one of these next year.
The only surprising thing to me was the gas mileage note. Was that 15 MPG while towing or all the time? That would make the Viper my "economy" car. 
I was all set to buy an FJ two years ago. I was put off by the high prices for used and considered a new one. It was tough to find a low option manual transmission model. In the end ceased I got a 2004 4runner with a 4.7. It was 11k for 74k miles. It's a great rig and tows a light car with ease.
Towed 3,700 lb, with my FJ, Seattle to San Diego last two days. Did excellent
I replaced our Mazda5 of 9 years and Tacoma of 18 years = combined into our FJ . Love it
accordionfolder said:I was looking at the tow ratings for the 6spd FJ Cruiser with the 4.0L v6 (4700lbs) and it was pretty solid. I like the looks of it, and it's a Toyota. Does anyone have any thoughts on the reliability of them? Issues with the chassis? Good years/bad years?
Short wheelbase isn't ideal (I used to tow with a 4Runner, which is longer, and it still got pushed around sometimes by the trailer). FJ is nice overall, but rear seat access sucks, cargo space is pretty low, and massive blind spots.Reliability is "Toyota," so 'nuff said!
Plus,they're pretty high resale value right now. If you're willing to pay the "Toyota Tax" Id' say get a 4Runner instead. It's better in every way except hardcore offroading. And definitely better towing.
I didn't realize this was a zombie thread until I saw my own post from 6 years ago. My FJ is ready to roll over 198K soon. I still haven't had any problems at all. Gas, oil changes and tires. The rear brakes are due for a change, but it has been the best vehicle I have ever owned.
D2W said:it has been the best vehicle I have ever owned.
+1
There is a reason I dumped my low quality Mazda5 after 9 years, and replaced with FJ. This is our family vehicle with kids. Sees 22k miles a year, hope to get the kids to college in it
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