Thinking about Trading My JK for new FJ Cruiser

[dhard]

I agree with the top heavy rolly feel too. They also tend to understeer a bit also. My discovery had a similar intial feeling of being in a boat but hung on amazingly well once you got used to it especially when running Bilstien and kings springs. They Jk doesn't have this roll feel as one it doesn't have the weight up top and two is quite stiffly sprung and heavily roll barred in comparison. This gives it a sportier feel and makes it quite fun to drive on smooth roads. However it makes it a tad skitish on fast paced dirt roads and rough bitumen ones. The stiffness and lower centre of gravity makes it very sure footed in low range situations. Handling tastes are quite personal but one thing i do know that is i'd get out feeling fresher after the Gibb River or Canning in an IFS vehicle such as the Prado. It would probably be a bit safer too. I didn't buy my Jk with this in mind rather it was bought more for it's low range ability and uniqueness. This is the sector that the Fj is going to have to eat into if it is going to be a success and i'm not sure it is going too as the retro style is a very personal taste and being japanese i just can't see it having the emotive feel that a Wrangler has in spades.

[jklad]

Just been to the Sydney motor show & had a look at the FJ Criuiser Toyota had on display.

In my opinion Jeep has nothing to worry about in terms of competition with the Wrangler, unless it's Wrangler sales are largely made up of the "under 40's metrosexual" demographic that a previous poster here claims Toyota is targeting with the FJ. I think the main losers in terms of sales to Toyota will be the Nissan X-trail and their very own Rav-4.

When I was there the only two guys who were looking closely at it and asking questions regarding interior colours and seat-fabric paterns to the leggy blonde who was cavorting around it (but seemed totally uninterested in her charms) were dressed in matching Gap jeans & tight muscle-tops to accentuate their tanned and hairless torsos and were definately frequenters of the "colourful" clubs on Oxford St, so it appears that Toyota has hit it's mark with their target demographic anyway.

They certainly need those suicide doors for entry to the rear anyway, as there's no way you could climb in past the folded front seats like a 2-door Wrangler; the headroom is far less than the Wrangler, and the rear leg-room is almost non-existent. Makes the back seat accommodations of the 2-Door Wrangler seem as spacious as a Statesman Caprice in comparasin.

On a side point, I noticed at the Range Rover stand that although they had several of their big, plush $150K+ Range Rovers featured, there was quite a crowd gathered around the little checker-plate covered Defender 90 they had off to the side, so it's a pity Jeep didn't have a stand this year to show the 2011 Wranglers with the new interiors & the new Grand Cherokee as they'd have generated a few sales out of it I'd say.