You Can Still Buy a Brand-New Toyota FJ Cruiser in the Middle East for $40K
Although Toyota yanked it away from the U.S. market in 2014, the off-roader soldiers on out east.
Tripped up by the 2008 economic recession, the Toyota FJ Cruiser's combination of distinctive, retro-inspired styling and all-terrain prowess never quite earned it the sales it deserved. Years of dismal, scarcely five-figure sales forced Toyota to yank the neoclassic off-roader from showrooms in the United States, its original target market, though surprising success abroad meant Toyota didn't fully pull the plug on the FJ. It still hasn't, in fact, as you can still buy a brand-new FJ Cruiser in 2020, provided you live in the SUV's last stronghold, the United Arab Emirates.
Still proudly listed as part of Toyota's current UAE lineup, the 2020 FJ Cruiser is almost unchanged from the vehicle we Americans haven't been able to buy since 2014. It still features the nifty combination of a compass, inclinometer, and onboard tire pressure regulation system, though its infotainment system has been upgraded to 2020 spec with standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.
Power still comes from the old 4.0-liter V6, since retuned to produce 270 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, which are distributed to all four wheels via either five-speed automatic and a transfer case or a six-speed manual and a Torsen-style center differential. Fuel efficiency is still underwhelming at 23 mpg combined, though an optional secondary tank that raises the FJ's fuel capacity to 42 gallons and the Middle East's cheap oil should offset the FJ's mediocre mileage.
Likewise, you can also cop a new FJ Cruiser in South Africa with many of the same updates. They get all the goodies there, like brand-new 70-Series Land Cruisers and regular-cab, long-bed Hiluxes, so that comes as no surprise.
Between updates to the infotainment and powertrain and removal of the base, rear-drive model, the still-available FJ is a tad more expensive than the one we remember, with a starting price of 147,000 AED. That's just north of $40,000, or about 11 grand more than what a base 2014 model cost in America, adjusted for inflation.
It's a lot of money to ask for a 14-year-old SUV, though it's still a fraction what you'd pay for the FJ's bigger, badder brother, the Mega Cruiser, or a similarly modernized Land Cruiser. One can't help imagining that when the 25-year import embargo on these foreign-market FJs lifts, they'll be some of the most-wanted imported off-roaders of the 2040s.
h/t Which Car
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