RE: Drove the new Toyota today
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RE: Drove the new Toyota today - 4/15/2006 12:42:02 AM
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dapembroidery
Posts: 22
Joined: 3/26/2006
Status: offline
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Cruzer, thanks for the pic of the FJ next to a Hummer. It's good to see a comparison.
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RE: Drove the new Toyota today - 4/17/2006 4:51:53 PM
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shortbus
Posts: 3602
Joined: 6/27/2005
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the benefits of working from home - i get to dress the way i want. the benefit of that - car salesmen see someone in desert camo pants and a hard rock t shirt and figure you can't afford a new toyota, so they leave you alone.
i figured driving this beast would have been a waste of everyone's time - but here's my take on it.
the only one on the lot at the time was silver, which made it look less idiotic than the blue ones. this one had upgraded blingy rims with simulated beadlock and it listed a lift, but everything i saw underneath looked stock.
i'll start outside - tiny sideview mirrors, with incorporated turn signals that are just asking to be smashed by tree branches. the undercarriage protection looks pretty useless, the only thing covered is the engine, and the top of the leading skidplate has no mechanical connection for the first 6 inches - you hit something, it's going to be bent into your plasitc bumper. the exhaust from the driver's side, as it passed across to join the single muffler, is a good 1/2 - 3/4" BELOW the frame! there are 2 tiny bars connecting the crossbeam to the side rails, that's it for protection. the transfer case and tranny are totally unprotected. for all their bluster, this is not a toyota made to take off road out of the box. one thing i did like though, the rear suspension is kept tucked up nicely above the axle, or tight against the rear hubs, something that should have been done for the H3.
once i opened the door, it just got worse. the interior looks like they stole a page from GM. cheap plastic! i expected that in the H2, but not in a $35k toyota. the center console is completely open, there's no lid on the storage box. which means anything bigger than a california highway pothole is chucking your stuff throughout the cabin. although it wouldn't be hard to reach on the backseat, which wouldn't fit my son's carseat without moving the front seats forward.
the only thing i liked about the inside was the level guage on the center of the dash (the compass could go though). it does both side and approach angles.
sorry, no drive test, so i can't say whether it drove bigger than the H2 or not, but it has to be easier to park.
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RE: Drove the new Toyota today - 4/17/2006 10:54:10 PM
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dapembroidery
Posts: 22
Joined: 3/26/2006
Status: offline
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Cruizer, I didn't know a better way to describe it. But, yes I felt like the Toyota was bigger on the road than an H2. It just felt really bulky. And with a bare bones, no frills interior, it felt even bigger. At least with the Hummer line, you get the luxury and the comfortable seats that make you feel part of the vehicle.
I had no problem driving an H2, but driving the Toyota for even 10 minutes, I was not comfortable with it.
And I do agree with another poster, the side mirrors on the Toyota were way to small.
Danielle
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