Toyota sings the old-time blues for FJ Cruiser

TOYOTA has again reached back into its past to provide a lift for its retro-styled FJ Cruiser large SUV, adding a “new” blue exterior colour based on the original blue of its legendary LandCruiser FJ40 dating from the 1960s.

Called Retro Blue, the colour is one of seven now available on the single-model FJ Cruiser range which also gets a new-look seven-spoke alloy wheel in the minor revamp for 2014.

Pricing remains the same at $47,990, plus on-road costs.

The FJ Cruiser is selling at more than 200 units a month – more than twice its original projections when the vehicle was launched in Australia is March 2011 – but sales are down 13.9 per cent year to date, with September volume down more than 38 per cent. Sales peaked at 503 units in October 2011.

The niche FJ Cruiser is now holding 2.5 per cent of the large SUV market, compared with 3.0 per cent at the same time last year. Its volume-selling large SUV siblings have also slipped a notch this year, with market-leading Prado dipping from 17 per cent share to 14.4 per cent, and Kluger down to 11.4 per cent from 12.9 per cent at the same time last year.

Collectively, the three Toyota vehicles still hold a massive 28.3 per cent of the large SUV segment up to $70,000, around double the share of next-best Holden with its Captiva twins, 5 and 7.

Toyota Australia executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said FJ Cruiser's success is due to its off-road prowess, suitability for everyday driving and flexibility for all types of activities.

"Motoring enthusiasts love the FJ Cruiser because it inherits the DNA and pays homage to several of the most compelling stylistic themes of the original LandCruiser FJ40," he said.

"They also appreciate the FJ Cruiser being simple and rugged with the ability to traverse tough terrain and deliver full-scale off-road driving performance."Unlike Prado – the darling of Australia’s “grey nomads” – FJ Cruiser does not offer a diesel option, coming exclusively with a 200kW 4.0-litre petrol V6 hooked up with a five-speed automatic transmission with a crawl function for bush work.

FJ Cruiser has part-time 4x4 with an electrically activated rear differential lock and switchable active traction control.