Web Site Announces 2007 SUV of the Year: Toyota FJ Cruiser

2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser

SEE ALSO: Compare Toyota FJ to All Other SUV's

CHICAGO, May 9 -- 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser won the hearts of the owners and enthusiasts. ReviewCars.com announced the winners of Top 10 Trucks and SUVs of the Year, and Toyota FJ Cruiser topped the list.

"FJ Cruiser is a surprise winner," said Edward Choi, President and Publisher of ReviewCars.com. "Given its fashionably quirky retro look, FJ Cruiser should have appealed to only a small group of people. But its significant off-road capabilities and everyday urban utilities brought a wide range of buyers to consider FJ Cruiser," said Choi.

Consumers especially liked FJ Cruiser's stocky body, easy to clean interior, exceptional throttle control, off-road capability and comfortable ride. Over half a million consumers' research and ratings behavior indicated that FJ Cruiser's scores were not only good, but also consistently good compared to other trucks and SUVs.

Jeep and Honda scored high as well, and they have multiple vehicles in the Top 10 list.

  2007 Top 10 Trucks and SUVs of the Year are:

   1.  Toyota FJ Cruiser
   2.  Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
   3.  Acura MDX
   4.  Hyundai Santa Fe
   5.  Honda CR-V
   6.  Chevrolet Avalanche
   7.  Mazda CX-7
   8.  GMC Acadia
   9.  Jeep Compass
   10. Honda Pilot

Another surprise entry was 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe. The image of Hyundai as a small and cheap car producer seems to be diminishing. Even though the debate over long-term reliability of their cars lingers on, consumers' initial satisfaction and reaction to Santa Fe have been extremely positive.

Consumers submit reviews of their own cars or cars they test drove, and they rank each car on Performance, Exterior, Interior and Overall categories. Reviewers also submit pros and cons of each vehicle, and ReviewCars.com's editors summarize these submissions into top 5 pros and cons.

"Toyota's brand image of building reliable and usable vehicles continues on with FJ Cruiser. Ford is launching several new crossover SUVs, and they look promising," Choi added.