Toyota FJ Cruiser production ends in August

Already discontinued in North America.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser, Toyota's only off-road focused SUV, is nearing the end of its lifecycle. The retro SUV is already discontinued in North America, and now, Toyota Australia has announced that its production in Japan will close in August. More than 11,000 units of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado-based off-roader have been sold in Australia till now.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser was originally unveiled at the 2005 Chicago Auto Show and being primarily targeted at North America, was initially available only in left-hand drive. However, in December 2010, a right-hand drive version was launched in Japan and in 2011, in other right-hand drive markets like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The right-hand drive version is built at the Hino Motors's Hamura Plant in Japan. Hino Motors is the Japanese automaker's truck division.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser is powered by the 1GR-FE 4.0-litre Dual VVT-i V6 petrol engine that produces 200 kW (268 hp) at 5,600 rpm and 380 Nm of torque at 4,400 rpm. Power is sent to all four wheels via a 5-speed automatic transmission with dual-range transfer case. Toyota Australia says that the FJ Cruiser has the best approach and departure angles (36 and 31 degrees respectively) in the Toyota 4WD range.

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The Toyota FJ Cruiser is currently available in a single grade and priced at $46,990 (INR 22,93,815) excluding on-road costs in Australia. Seven exterior colour choices are available: French Vanilla, Sandstorm, Ebony, Hornet Yellow, Red Fury, Retro Blue and Cement. Metallic paint (Cement) costs AU$550 (INR 26,848) extra.