The Toyota FJ Cruiser 2009 represents affordable midsize SUVs that offers off-road vehicles capability. The FJ Cruiser models is stylish, fun, practical and affordable, it’s also the reason why mainstream buyers move away from truck-based SUVs like the Ford Explorer into unibody crossovers more adept at tackling the challenges of suburbia.

The 2009 Toyota FJ Cruiser gets new safety features. Roll-sensing side curtain airbags have been added, and front-seat active headrests are now standard. Finally, the FJ Cruiser’s optional convenience package now includes a rear back-up camera and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

The old Land Cruisers had few creature comforts, but the FJ Cruiser has plenty of standard comfort and convenience items. They include air conditioning, a tilt wheel, a manual height-adjustable driver seat, console with cupholders, an AM/FM/CD audio system with 6 speakers, skid plates and power windows and door locks.

Three windshield wipers sweep almost every inch of the glass. Like the exterior, the cabin exudes simplicity, echoing the feel of the earlier FJs with cloth seats, a body-colored radio surround and large, easy-to-operate controls. The interior isn’t quite as retro as the exterior aside from a dashtop-mounted trio of gauges – a compass, an inclinometer and an outside temperature gauge – but it’s functional and fairly comfortable.

FJ Cruiser has a 4.0-liter V6 good for 239 horsepower and 278 pound-feet of torque. Both a five-speed automatic and a six-speed manual transmission are offered. FJs with manual transmissions are only available with a full-time 4WD system; models with automatic transmissions come with either two-wheel drive or a part-time 4WD system. In our testing, a 4WD automatic FJ Cruiser went from zero to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds. Towing capacity, at 5,000 pounds when properly equipped, is about average, as is fuel economy — 16 mpg city/20 mpg highway and 17 mpg combined in 4WD models with automatic transmissions.