Toyota has officially unveiled the much-anticipated Land Cruiser FJ, a compact off-roader that brings back the spirit of adventure in a smaller and more accessible package. The new model will make its public debut at the Japan Mobility Show later this month, ahead of its market launch in Japan around mid-2026.
Few vehicles turn into icons, and even fewer represent a market in its purest sense. The Toyota FJ Cruiser, since its launch in 2007, turned into a symbol of pure, undiluted off-road motoring experience, something that the Middle Eastern market thoroughly enjoyed. But like all good things, this comes to an end too but not without a final hurrah. Here is the 2023 Toyota FJ Cruiser Final Edition, celebrating the 15 years of the modern FJ.
If you’re wondering why we don’t talk about our 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser any more, it’s because we sold it last year to a reader. And what a great car it was. Let’s take a final look at the running costs.
Update: The Toyota FJ Cruiser is still on sale in the UAE and GCC as of 2019!
The FJ Cruiser has been around for a decade now. The quirky body and the out-of-the-box retro styling has given it a special place in the market (and our garage). After two false alarms when the FJ exited the US and Australian markets in 2014 and 2016 respectively, it is really time to say goodbye as Toyota has prepared a fitting farewell called the FJ Cruiser Final Edition for the Japanese market only.
Our Toyota FJ Cruiser is running trouble-free, as we expected it to do. We even took it off-road, where it did phenomenally well (despite the confused thumb gestures by our offroad monkey Vivek “Payero” Menon in the photo above). But it’s currently facing a minor (or major, depending on how you look at it) concerning the exterior trim.
As the fate of the much-loved FJ Cruiser is sealed, Toyota’s lineup required a funky SUV to fill its shoes in when it’s gone (possibly in 2018). A very likely candidate for that job is being displayed in concept guise at the 2017 New York Auto Show. The Toyota FT-4X takes its design inspiration from the FJ Cruiser as well as the original Land Cruiser and then blends it with contemporary elements. However, it is a much smaller crossover!
Our manual Toyota FJ Cruiser has been chugging along trouble-free. There’s absolutely nothing to report except the cost of the latest service as well as someone puking in it.
While the Toyota FJ Cruiser’s demise was greatly exaggerated the last time in 2014, when it was discontinued only in the United States, it seems the time has finally come for the rest of the world to say goodbye as well. Production will fully end by August this year. Update: Production is still continuing, at least for the Middle East market, for the forseeable future, as per Toyota Middle East.
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.
International stunt driver Terry Grant apparently broke the official world record for the longest drive on two wheels at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the United Kingdom, using a Nissan Juke RS.