Private Fleet Car Review: 2015 Toyota FJ Cruiser
Toyota has long been regarded as the Corolla car company and that’s fair enough. However the brand also made its mark by producing the tough as nuts Landcruiser. Production and release goes back to 1951 with the FJ nameplate coming into being in 1954. It’s proven to be a solid and dependable vehicle, selling world wide and conquering the harshest environments. In the early 2000s a secret design group commenced work on a new “Rugged Youth Utility” vehicle. 
Sharing much of the Prado underpinnings, such as the ladder bar chassis, the FJ Cruiser quickly gained popularity after finally being exposed to the public and news broke of its off road capability.A Wheel Thing tested the FJ recently and found that the car’s off road capability is limited by the driver. Fitted with a swag of electronic aids (and, somewhat surprisingly, automatic only) plus a high and low range transfer case, it’s a high tech trekker with a low tech history.
The powerplant is Toyota’s 200 “killerwasps” V6, albeit in four litre guise and pushing out the grunt via a five speed automatic, via the front wheels predominantly. A press of a button locks the REAR diff plus there’s a variable speed CRAWL control, allowing the driver to move at a slow but constant velocity across terrain. Backing that up is A-TRC, diverting torque to each corner on demand and adapting to the driven ratio, be it high or low range. 
Naturally there’s plenty of the normal driver aids such as brake force distribution, ABS, airbags and more. The off road ability is given extra oomph with approach and departure angles of 36 and 31 degrees, ground clearance of 224 mm and a side or break over angle of 29 degrees. The huge tyres, 265/70/17 in size, along with the near 2700mm wheelbase and track of close to 1900mm add their muscle to the Cruiser’s strength.
On the road it’s quiet inside the basically appointed cabin, with tyre roar muted until you push hard into a turn. It’s also a good idea to plan about a few seconds before hand, as the tyres, being a dual purpose setup, aren’t a fan of being told to turn hard on tarmac, protesting audibly. Being a high sidewall height helps absorb bump/thump and provides a smooth compliant ride. 
Acceleration is leisurely when under way, with peak torque of 380Nm coming in at a surprisingly high 4400rpm. It requires a severe prod of the go pedal to provoke some excitement in changing gears, with the engine and exhaust emitting a somewhat monotone drone. Seating is comfortable, supportive and easily adjustable whilst the dash is simply laid out with black on white dials.
TOYOTA'S FJ CRUISER RIDES INTO THE SUNSET
Toyota is set to bid a fond farewell to the FJ Cruiser, a retro-inspired rugged off-roader that became an instant classic when it was launched in Australia in 2011.
The FJ Cruiser will end its production run in August with Australians having bought more than 11,000 vehicles at an average of 180 a month – a considerably higher rate than originally expected.
Quick Getaways
Race-cars and super-cars have plenty of power, and sometimes this can be a handful to manage when accelerating quickly away from a standstill. There is some special technology that new muscle cars now have which enables optimum power and traction for the best fast getaway. The better the launch control system, the faster the getaway. So how does a decent launch control system work?
Launch control is a clever piece of technology which acts electronically to balance the optimum ratio of power with enough traction so as to get the car moving forward from a standstill with minimal wheel spin. The quickest getaways come from the best systems that control the colossal levels of optimum power under hard acceleration with the amount of wheel spin. Wheel spin under hard acceleration suggests that the tyres are unable to grab at the road because of excessive torque reaching the driving wheels. Too much torque and power results in the tyres losing grip on the road, and there is a lack of forward motion at this point. Launch control systems, electronically, allow an input of an optimum amount of engine revs that will provide enormous but not too much power at the driving wheels. A rapid and defined engagement of the clutch also occurs so that a mistimed human clutch progression is nullified. Electronically managed wheel spin, at take-off, results in smoother, quicker acceleration.
Private Fleet Car Review: 2015 Toyota HiLux SR5 V6 Petrol
The Toyota HiLux SR5 sits at the top of the tree for the popular range; A Wheel Thing tested the 4.0L petrol engined four door version recently and was left with the impression that Ford, Holden, Mitsubishi etc shouldn’t be worried…
For a four wheel drive capable ute, a torquey engine should be the go. This is where diesels are ideal for this class of car and yes, there’ll be those that will consider off roading going through a puddle on their front lawn, therefore a petrol donk is the go.
Due to the high revving nature (3800 for peak torque of 376 Nm) and low gear ratios, the 4.0L V6 isn’t able to get the SR5 off the line all that quickly, needing something around 3000 plus to see something approaching alacrity…it wasn’t the thriftiest of things, as a result, with around 13.0L of its chosen 95 RON tipple per 100 km the end result from a 80 litre tank.
Level 2, 9 Help Street