Well -- we went and looked at the FJ last night -- I really had my heart set on it -- well, no way. The build quality isn't what I expected. The "silver plastic" front side bumpers are junk -- the fit and finish of the plasitc parts are junk too... this is a "smoke and mirror" and car as far as I'm concerned -- made to look tough, but in reality, nothing to talk about.

The blind spots are just silly -- and the huge mirrors that they have make the front side (left and right of A pillar) windows almost of no value.

Couple that with the poor mileage (not really a concern, but another factor) and Toyota really isn't "all that" on this one.

I *did* like the build quality of the 4Runner, but you don't get much for the price...

We've settled on the Honda Element. Not much in the way of size -- but it is the right price, and the room inside is really a shocker. I was expecting it to be cramp -- it is simply huge. The distance between the rear seat and the front seat is great... The re-sale value is huge... they are selling them used for what I'll pay for the new. (Manual trans).

Just thought I'd follow up.