The 'FJ' In Toyota FJ Cruiser Has Real, Historical Significance
Two letters link Toyota’s retro off-roader to WWII and the Land Cruiser that started it all.
When prices of new cars shot up during the COVID-19 pandemic, they took an old Toyota SUV along for the ride. FJ Cruiser values exploded, more than doubling between 2019 and 2021, as buyers rediscovered the retro off-roader. The Cruiser's chunky design was, and still is, an obvious draw. But not everyone buying them understood that both the design and the FJ Cruiser name have real historical significance for Toyota.
The new-for-2007 FJ Cruiser started life as the FJ Cruiser Concept, which debuted in 2003 during the retro-obsessed era that also gave us the first BMW Mini, VW's New Beetle, and Chrysler PT Cruiser. But it took its inspiration from the J40-series Land Cruiser built between 1960 and 2001. The best known of those was the FJ40 (pictured below), the F referencing Toyota's F-series inline-6 gasoline engine fitted to US models.
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The J? That stood for Jeep, because the Land Cruiser's origin story goes right back to WWII when Japanese forces invaded the Philippines and discovered either a Willys Jeep or the Ford GPW equivalent (accounts vary) left behind by retreating US soldiers. That discovery eventually led to Toyota creating its own military Jeep, and then in 1951, the very first BJ Land Cruiser.
Fast-forward half a century, and Toyota's designers were busy adapting some of the styling cues of the FJ40 for a 21st-century audience. A near-vertical windshield, white roof, instantly recognizable FJ40 face, and rear-hinged rear doors with no B-pillar cleverly disguised the fact that the FJ Cruiser borrowed its ladder chassis from the J120 Land Cruiser Prado and Lexus GX 470. Under the hood was a 4.0-liter V6 that started with 239 horsepower (242 PS) in 2007, and by 2014 was making 260 hp (264 PS).
The FJ is back, but not for America
Toyota pulled the FJ Cruiser from US showrooms in 2014, though it lived on in other markets until 2022. Used values have dropped a little since the heady pandemic days, with Classic.com's market benchmark now sitting around $26,500. But the model still has a cult following, with fans often calling on Toyota to make another one. So it did, kind of.
The Toyota Land Cruiser FJ debuted at the Japan Mobility Show in October 2025, four years after the automaker teased the production SUV by revealing the Compact Cruiser EV concept. Between those dates, the SUV switched from an electric powertrain to a combustion one, and picked up more design ideas from the original FJ40. It also got a new explanation of the FJ name. Toyota says the letters now stand for "Freedom & Joy."
Slab sides, generous ground clearance, and plenty of chunky black plastic cladding give the FJ a cheeky, but tough look. Toyota has shown two different faces, just like on the bigger Land Cruiser 250. One has a retro-inspired design with circular headlights, while the other sports rectangular units with C-shaped daytime running lights.
Under that butch skin is Toyota's IMV body-on-frame chassis, the same one found on the new Hilux pickup that's a smash outside of the US, where it's not available. The truck's 161-hp (163 PS) 2.7-liter inline-4 also makes an appearance, and drives all four wheels through a conventional six-speed automatic transmission.
Sadly, the Land Cruiser FJ, like the Hilux, will remain off-limits to North American buyers. Europeans and Australians, too. The smallest Land Cruiser is built in Thailand, and is intended mostly for Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.
