Get a SUV, get a life

THE FJ Cruiser is a fusion of retro styling and manga cartoon lines. As the few models spotted in town attest, some buyers find it attractive. I am not one of them.

The Fibonacci proportions of the old FJ60 series still
claims all the beauty in the eye of this beholder.

For me, the Fibonacci proportions of the original FJ60 just cannot be beaten, and these days, nor can the price.

Prices for the new FJ Cruiser have gone up by some R22 100 since it launched at R435 500, with the FJ Desert Cruiser — which cost R450 400 at launch — now coming with a recommend retail price of R480 600. By comparison, an old coast-dwelling FJ60 can be picked up for less than the price of five new off-road tyres — as I know from personal experience. And up in the Highveld a mate bought a mint, late eighties’ FJ60 for R68 000.

But you have to look out for these timeless classics. Their owners tend to sell only when the only options left are a zimmerframe or a tombstone.

In deep-ist Africa or on a pristine
piste,  the old FJ60 Land Cruiser
also runs on alchohol. Before or
after consumption.

Of course, Toyota makes up for the new FJ’s price with what is under the hood, but as recently reported in motoring pages of the Weekend Witness, any Toyota engine in Africa is more proven than new, as the Japanese giant refuses to submit its finest new machines to our dirty fuel.

Which is also why I don’t mind driving a 4,2-litre engine with 26-year-old tolerances that are as wide and forgiving as love itself. It will soon enough drink up in petrol any discount I enjoyed on the rusted body, the pistons will also fire on dirty petrol in deepest Africa, or the contents of a bottle of mampoer: before or after it was consumed.

Hence, I see my fuel outlay as the cost of an equivalent holiday or time-share. But this time-share can crest a slice of Berg to find a pristine piste on which a bunch of enterprising teens slide down the only boogie board in 50 square kilometres.

To reduce the pain at the pumps one day, I’m told a Lexus V8 fits nicely into an old FJ.

A word of warning though for any old Toyota bakkie owner going the Lexus route, heed those tiny brake drums upfront. As many have discovered with a Lexus V8 adding some speed, Toyota bakkies are not made for stopping so much as for going on and on, and on.
Update September 2014:

Seems Toyota hearkens to me and millions of other "real" Cruiser fans, as it decided to mark the Land Cruiser’s 30th birthday with a remake of the series which the company built between 1984 and 2004. This is the series that established the Land Cruiser’s legendary abilities over America’s snow, in Africa coup d’états, on Arabian sand dunes and through Australian billabongs, as can be seen in countless YouTube videos, like the inset which shows a Cruiser floating over a billabong without the benefit of a snorkel or traction on any wheels. The anniversary model, called the Land Cruiser 70, will only be sold in Japan. A five-speed manual gearbox will make drivers feel nostalgic, while better headlights, ABS brakes and airbags will make them feel safer in city traffic.
A 4,0-liter V-6 rumbles under the new-old 70s’ hood, but because most of these collectible 70s

will never leave the cities, Toyota made diff locks optional. A bakkie is also available. The station wagon will sell for 3,6 million yen (about R360 000) and the bakkie wll sell for 3,5 million yen.