If you're a fan of the FJ Cruiser and can afford the high prices, Hagerty has some great advice to help you get a good one. It's a great example of a bygone era, and could potentially become an icon of the future collector, just like the Land Cruiser FJ40 was before. It had a powerful 4Runner chassis and a rugged 4.0-liter V6 engine, with touches of vintage FJ Land Cruiser style, such as the wraparound rear windows, the front grille, and the contrasting roof color. This year, five FJ Cruisers have been featured on Bring a Trailer's collector car auction site, all in almost pristine condition.
The increasing attention to the more modern Land Cruiser models is a good sign for the modern FJ Cruiser. It was like a Goldilocks car - it had the daily usability of a crossover and the undeniable utility of a larger SUV. The FJ Cruiser 'Final Edition' will come in one beige tone for its exterior, upholstery, and details on the central panel. Toyota's FJ Cruiser was designed as a tribute and successor to the first Land Cruiser line, but it wasn't an instant classic.
The FJ Cruiser was one of the few times that fun was part of Toyota's design process. As an homage to the 70 Series Land Cruiser, there are three gauges prominently displayed on the dashboard: a compass, thermometer, and inclinometer. Underneath all the nods to the FJ40 (the square shape, white roof, wraparound rear windows, and narrow “TOYOTA” grille flanked by round headlights), the FJ Cruiser is an all-rounder. Classic car auctions have gone from selling two or three FJs per year to more than two per month.
With the Bronco likely to be successful with its similar formula, the value of pristine FJ Cruisers can only go up from here. Even as sales of new FJs declined, values of their predecessors skyrocketed. The FJ Cruiser was an all-rounder that competed with models like the Jeep Wrangler and Nissan Xterra, as well as Toyota's own 4Runner. It has all the characteristics of a certain type of classic that didn't make much of an impact at the time but uniquely embodied an entire automotive era and achieved enough success that well-maintained editions are still available.
