Ok, now it’s getting exciting!  Today I picked up the vehicle that’s going to share this epic road trip with me.

If you know me at all, you know that I did my homework on what vehicle would be best for this adventure.  I considered Subaru, Jeep, Honda, and Toyota vehicles, among others.  I looked at the specs for station wagons, SUVs, and cross-overs mainly, but was open to all possibilities.  I had DATA!  I had SPREADSHEETS!  I test drove the ones that floated to the top from my research, and eliminated ones that I had thought would be strong contenders.

My criteria included ease of driving on-road, ability to go off road, interior dimentions, price, reliability, price for the mileage, and an ambiguous criteria that I’ll call ‘personality.’  Someone surprised me recently when they told me that I have a “big personality” — well, if I’m going to be spending a lot of time with a vehicle, I want to know that we’re compatible on multiple levels!  In the end, my final choice was as much from gut instinct as it was from looking at the hard data.  So I now present to you my traveling companion:

My 2012 Toyota FJ Cruiser!

With only 14,500 miles on the clock, and in pristine condition, I get the feeling this particular car was a bit of a trophy — nice to look at, but not much used by the original owner.  Because it spent it’s whole life in Texas, it’s also free from rust.  The folks at CarMax in Cool Springs were generous enough to hold it a few extra days for me until I could get my driver’s license, and were very friendly to do business with.  Thanks guys, the bow was a nice touch!

This is one of the vehicles that I test drove while I was still in Australia, and I have to say that I kind of fell in love with it at first sight.  The only real difference between the 2016 model that I drove there and this one, is the addition of factory sat nav.  But with a Garmin GPS added, that’s no problem.  I’d also have to say that this vehicle handles a bit better than the Australian one, primarily because the shocks seem much stiffer, which gives it a more solid, less boat-like, ride.  Since that’s one of the few things I would have changed in the 2016, I’m very happy, and it feels rock solid on the road!

For those of us who get all excited by the data, I’ll add the nominal specs on the FJ at the bottom of this post.  Since I have a pet peeve about underpowered vehicles, suffice to say that it’s got enough power to move down the road with ease, enough grunt to get me out of any situation I’m likely to get into, enough cargo space to make a nice home on the road, and it still feels light and nimble to drive.  One negative is perhaps limited visibility, due to the placement of the spare tire on the rear door, the low profile windscreen, and the thick side pillars.  But while it’s something to be aware of, I think I’ll also get used to it very quickly.

And as for style and personality…. how could I not fall in love with this face and this profile!?!

And the awesome suicide doors allow easy access to the back…. (and yes, that may be the first time ‘awesome’ and ‘suicide’ have been used together..)

Tomorrow will be a planning day, to get the interior measured up and design my fit-out, and to pick up materials and source hardware.  Then the modifications begin!  Ultimately I’ll remove the roof rack (which adds a bit of road noise, and I don’t need it), and the rear seats, but I’ll wait until I’m at a friend’s house in NY to do that, since he has the room to store them for me.

So it’s been another eventful day in the lead up to my odyssey!  Funny, how I don’t miss sitting in front of a computer all day….

 

Vehicle Specifications