During the days of WWII, the Japanese army needed a new vehicle suitable for use on the battlefield. Modifying and tweaking the tried and true Willys Jeep formula is the best option in this situation, and that's what the army instructed Toyota to do. The vehicle that the automaker built shared a lot of similarities with the aforementioned Jeep, but to avoid confusion and lawsuits, they named it the Land Cruiser.

Over the years, Toyota steadily improved and refined the Land Cruiser, culminating in the FJ40 of the '60s. They also started selling it in North America, and it quickly topped sales charts all over the place. In the coming decades, the Land Cruiser's market position changed to target luxury SUV buyers, but Toyota saw the potential of an FJ40-inspired, off-road focused, rough and tough SUV. That's exactly what the FJ Cruiser is.

Overview Of The FJ Cruiser

The FJ Cruiser is Toyota's answer to the Jeep Wrangler. When it first went on sale in 2006, bar the Wrangler, there were no vehicles quite like it. This makes it all the more perplexing that Toyota refuses to revive the FJ Cruiser, with the undeniable popularity of the new Ford Bronco, the recently electrified Wrangler, the Land Rover Defender and even Toyota's very own 4Runner. The exterior styling is obviously inspired by the FJ40 Land Cruiser of years gone by, but modernized and toughened up to create a fantastic, charismatic exterior. With three windshield wipers. Sadly, Toyota discontinued it after the 2014 model year.

RELATED: 10 Reasons Why We Want The Toyota FJ CruiserWhile the FJ Cruiser technically has four doors, the rear doors are only half-sized, and they open backwards. Think Rolls-Royce Phantom, Mazda RX-8, BMW i3. It also had spotlights in the mirrors, to make potential obstacles easier to spot while off-roading, a rear-mounted spare tire, and some awesome alloy wheel designs. Underneath the funky off-roader styling, the FJ Cruiser's drivetrain components have a lot in common with the Lexus GX/Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, as well as the 4Runner.

Toyota FJ Cruiser Powertrain And Drivetrain

Under the hood, the FJ Cruiser features the trusty 1GR-FE engine; a 4.0-liter naturally-aspirated V6. In the FJ Cruiser, it started out with 239 hp and 278 lb-ft of torque. With a few upgrades throughout its life, the output rose to around 260 hp, but torque dropped just a little to 270 lb-ft. Although Toyota offered the FJ Cruiser with RWD in some markets, the only way to have it in North America is with 4WD.

RELATED: Here's How Much A Toyota FJ Cruiser Is Worth TodayThe engine sends its power to the wheels via either a five-speed automatic transmission, or a six-speed manual. There's also a Torsen locking differential with different power split settings depending on the terrain that you're driving on. Of course, locking the diff evens out the distribution of power between the axles. While the FJ Cruiser is a pretty decent vehicle on the road, it can seriously hold its own on the rough stuff. Thanks to its capability and the stuff-of-legend powertrain, a lot of people still swear by the FJ Cruisers.

FJ Cruiser Comfort And Quality

On the inside, the FJ Cruiser is a pretty simple automobile. The interior materials are tough and hard-wearing, and the seat fabrics are pretty simple and well put together. The basic creature comforts are here, including cruise control, air conditioning, a decent sound system and a few other goodies. There's also a set of auxiliary gauges atop the dashboard that show things like current altitude. A big focal point of the interior in the automatic cars is the pepper grinder shift lever.

RELATED: 8 Reasons Why The Toyota FJ Cruiser Needs To Make A Comeback ASAPIn terms of the FJ Cruiser's reliability, there's not much to complain about here. The 4.0 V6 is famous for its dependability, and Toyota still uses it in the 4Runner to this very day. You might need to do the occasional maintenance here and there, but it's a solid, dependable powertrain that should last you hundreds of thousands of miles. The FJ Cruiser seats five passengers, and the cargo area comes in at 27.9 cubic feet with the seats up and 66.8 cubic feet with them folded.

Toyota FJ Cruiser Prices

The FJ Cruiser is slowly starting to creep up in price. Toyota's unusual decision not to bring it back, combined with the FJ Cruiser's capability and durability, it's easy to see why values are on the rise. You can probably get a good deal on an older model with 150,000+ miles, but a late model with a comprehensive service record and less than 100,000 miles can easily fetch over $30,000.

Paying over $30,000 for a decade-old Toyota is a very interesting prospect, but this is no ordinary decade-old Toyota. With a fantastic reliability record, awesome retro styling and serious off-road capability, the FJ Cruiser is a great and important piece of Toyota history. Prices will only get higher, so now is the time to buy.