A New Adventure Awaits How do you turn a bunch of mature, responsible automotive journalists into a pack of silly, grinning teenage misfits? Easy, let
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| The gravel pit: a sandbox for bigger boys. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
them run loose in a massive mud-soaked gravel pit for a day with your newest toy. That's exactly what Toyota Canada did when introducing the coolest 4x4 to hit the scene in decades, and together with a bevy of multi-coloured
FJ Cruisers, happy memories of pushing Tonkas through my childhood sandbox came to life.
Dirt bikers know exactly what I mean; there are few better ways to spend an afternoon than in a vacated gravel pit. Three pre-planned course were set out, the first easily being the most fun. More or less it was a high-speed romp through
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| Mud and muck, all day long. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
the backside of the property, starting off with a slippery wiggle through mud and muck, then after a few turns, well, some more mud and muck, followed up with some more turns, more brown stuff, up a hill that veered right as it crested, something unknown and foreboding looming below, and settled atop a small plateau filled with even more mud and muck. If done slowly the course was interesting, allowing opportunity to feel Toyota's sophisticated four-wheel drive mechanisms and electronic driver's aids feverishly working magic behind the scenes in an effort to keep traction at all four corners. If done quickly, however, there was no time to pay attention to such nuances, but amid all the flying mud, slip-sliding, point-and-shoot driving antics and serious tomfoolery, I was glad they were there.
Still, as much as I tried to use momentum to overpower any chance for adhesion, the FJ did a remarkable job of spoiling my efforts - a good thing. Its grip is just that persistent. And control, unlike the many wild and wooly experiences
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| Modified BJ70 looks on as new FJ Cruiser takes on a rocky grade. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
I enjoyed (and sometimes simply endured) during my totally reckless youth, that somehow, by the grace of God I managed to live through, makes what could otherwise have been a frantically harried experience, brilliantly fun.
The second off-road stint was purposely designed to slow us down, immediately starting with a steep hill made up of smart fortwo-sized boulders. Hmmm, the quintessential rock climb, designed to separate pretenders from real 4x4s... could the FJ jam with the lifted 4Runner and modified Land Cruiser BJ70 that stood nearby? No problem. A walk in a Kyoto rock garden for the mighty FJ. Of course, Toyota didn't set up the trail so that the FJ would fail, but in talking with the third-party course designer, he wasn't really sure what to expect because he didn't have any FJ Cruiser's on hand to test out before it was too late to change anything. He was told to make it tough, but was literally crossing his fingers
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| Steep grades were hardly a problem. (Photo: Toyota Canada) |
the entire time we were there.
But it wasn't the rock climb he was worried about, or the steep downward grade that did a good job of showing off the FJ's fabulously short front and rear overhangs and resultant 34 degree approach angle and 31 degree departure angle, or for that matter the radical upward climb on loose sandy gravel that made use of all 239 horses and 278 lb-ft of torque while apportioning drive power each clamoring wheel when needed. No, it was the outrageous swamp buggy contest that ensued at the end of the day.
