X-AWDriver

I just got the new C&D in the mail and while there are no links yet they put a "pretty close to production" FJ up against an H3,a JGC Laredo and an Xterra.
I won't give the results yet so people have a chance to read for themselves and the debating can begin.

This is an actual off road test on a category 4 trail in Death Valley but this test if for the best overall SUV since if it was just trails it might be different.
Excerpt from the article -

The idea for this test was sparked by the Hummer public relaters,who swore their H3 was to off roading what a Daisy Cutter is to 4th of July firecrackers.
"Only a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon can beat us" they boasted, "and we don't compete with that".

Keggo

ooh!!!

dragr1

iTrader: (3)

I'm going to have to pick up that issue!

BT17R

Yeah, someone posted excerpts on another forum. It generated just a little controversy in the Church of FJC.

tulsa_97SR5

I seem to recall another "off-road" test one of the car mags did a while back. The 4th gen runner was the most capable off-road, they said it was about the same as the jeep, but the jeep was banging the underbody a lot more. IIRC the 4runner came in last, because the other rides had better on road performance/comfort/power. If this "off-road" test is anything like that one I'll pass.

bulldog-yota

Car and Driver should stay away from Trucks and real SUvs as they have no concept of what to look for. They gave both the 4R and Tacoma pretty bad ratings in these comparisons, while both where the most capable offroad and also one of the fastest in both these comparison tests. Yet they managed somehow to get both dropped in the lower listings.

The H3 is like the H2, looks very impressive on paper when fitted with the right options. However they have their fair share of shortcomings as well, and it really depends on what you are looking for.

Toyota could have done a lot better with the FJC, but I guess they decided more interior space was most important. If they used the Prado 3 dr chassis and setup, the wheelbase would have been 7 or so inches shorter and the overhangs another few inches on each side. The gas tank would have been tucked up below the cargo area and out of the way. This would have made the FJC a lot more capable offroad at the cost of less cargo and rear seat space. Now these issues will have to be addressed by the owner and aftermarket parts. Fortunately all you new FJC owners will get a bunch of goodies the first day you drive of the lot you can fit, you wont have to go through the pain as we did with the 4R.

Paul H.

Too let you know, they repeated what Tulsa said. The vehicle that won was not the best offraoder but had the best on road performance. Like bulldog says, I wish they would stick to what the know and that is cars.

Grimace

I find C&D to very biased. If you read thier test of the Lexus IS350 Vs. BMW 330i. The lexus lost by one point despite thethe BMW broke down. After C&D published the results readers found out C&D added incorrectly. C&D said tough cookies.

X-AWDriver

The Nissan was the best off road and on road but I was surprised by the Jeep in 2nd but this test was based on all around use and the H3 and the FJ had pretty bad pavement manners while the Jeep conquer the trails right along the with the others (at the expense of the underneath a couple of times) and of course the Jeeps are still aimed at on road use which is where any SUV sees nearly it's whole life.

For a DD the Nissan is truly the winner with it's ability to tackle trails when asked and if I had to choose I'd take the vehicle that did best where I did most of my driving and that's on road more than off road and the Xterra seems to maintain a nice ride to live with on a daily basis but can handle the rough stuff when asked just like 4Runners do.

Read the article before coming to biased conclusions.

bulldog-yota

I will definitely read it and see. I will be surprised if the FJC has any bad road manners at all.

Paul H.

The point is that the article makes you believe that they will only compare how the vehicle does off-road. On-road handling should not matter in this test. If it does then the test should be called Best Overall 4X4.

X-AWDriver

Car and Driver tests most of their cars in real world situations and they drove all these vehicles 200 miles each way to the trail and back to LA and the FJ and the H3 both recieved low marks on pavement and that's where these vehicles will be spending most of their lives and that's how C&D test their cars/trucks for everyday people . I'm sure one of the 4wd mags will solely test the 4wd part with a full review soon.

Sac State

How can they say 9.6 inches is VAST ground clearance on the FJ?

Our Runners have 9.1 of clearance and everyone is always complaining for more height.

.5 inches is the difference between complain and vast?

Just an indicator that these car boys have no vast knowledge of off road vehicles.

They weren't too flattering concerning the road driving manners of the FJ. Or the visibility from the cabin. They even took a shot concerning the styling.

The FJ is a boutique vehicle, they will only sell 40K units. Very limited market. The 4Runner is more main stream with more than twice as many units sold, so the Runner has to be more civilized in on and off road situations, whereas the FJ is geared more towards the off road niche. The Jeep Wrangler is what it is, an off road vehicle, it doesn't try to be a road car.

Both the H3, FJ and Wrangler are in the same class.

The Nissan is a nice package, I just can't get over the ugly styling. But everyone has their opinion.

BT17R

Doesn't C&D rate Ridgeline, Accord and Civic above Tacoma, Camry and Corolla? Yet how do buyers respond to their opinions? All of those Toyotas lead their segment in registrations.

Even if FJ sales slow next year, Toyota's inventory control system will respond within days to cut production to match demand. Toyota runs lean inventories, between 2 Days Supply for Prius to 30 DS for Land Cruiser. Domestics run 60 DS for their "hot" sellers and 120+ DS for the incentive queens.

I don't think C&D reviews worry Toyota in the least, especially since the FJ was created to attract young men into the Toyota truck owner's life cycle (FJ-->Tacoma-->4Runner-->Tundra-->Sequoia) just as Scion does on the car side and Matrix on the cute 'ute side.

I think the only surprise to Toyota will be the FJ appeal to a much wider demographic than planned. I expect the specialty FJ models in the pipe will expand the market beyond young men and it won't be long before you see these in SoBe and Rodeo Drive.

Sharp4runr

That extra clearance can probably be attributed to the 70 profile tires on the FJ compared to the 65 series on the 4Runner

Sac State

Never understood why Toyota used 65 series tires on the Runner. The selection of 65 series tires is horrible.

X-AWDriver

The idea of any of those tests are to compare everything which includes on road manners since that's where these vehicles will still spend most of their time and if a vehicle has crappy road manners and it's my DD it will get old real quick.
They also did say that if off roading was the only concern then the H3 and the FJ wre suited nicley for the job but the Nissan had the best of both worlds and it did deserve to win. I also dont' consider the H3 or the FJ in the same class as a Wrangler,the others are closer to a 4Runner by far while the Jeeps are true to what they are.

And can you dispute the lack of power in the H3 and the visibility sight on the FJ does look like it is an issue and on the street that is a big deal. I like the FJ but as daily driver it does have it's shortcomings but I'm sure some of the handling issues (darty,unstable is bad at 55mph on the highway) will be corrected by the time it hits the showroom.

firemedic

Remember, they will sell 40k units per year, a lot different than 40k units total.

X-AWDriver

You'll see FJs sporting 22"s in no time.

AlexJet

April issue????? May be March? We don't have April issue yet in our stores in Canada.