HIGH STYLING; Design debate begins over Toyota's retro SUV.(News)

Byline: KEVIN A. WILSON

Love-it or hate-it styling hasn't been characteristic of Toyota-its emphasis on affordable reliability has been clothed in design expressions more along the lines of "accept it or ignore it.'' For a firm where putting a sea-elephant snout on a Camry counts as daring, the 2007 FJ Cruiser is dramatic and even divisive.

Perhaps it doesn't strike you as a stretch, but in the FJ's first couple of weeks in our long-term test fleet, some AW staffers have already gone hypercritical.

They complain it is hard to see out to the rear of this high-rider with its small quarter-windows, big C-posts and spare tire sticking up into the backlight. They grouse it is awkward to use the suicide doors for access to the back seat, and gripe about the optional black wheels. It's not that the wheels are black, it's that they are not alloys and look like standard steel wheels from 40 years ago-in other words, cheap. What, they ask, is the point?

It's all about the look, others argue. Think of the wheels as a touch of rat-rod aesthetic infiltrating the mainstream car market. Although this Toyota has cred as a tow vehicle (up to 5000 pounds) and hauler (payload rating of 1325 pounds), it's really an on-safari styling statement.

For adventure-gear looks, the FJ spanks your standard SUV and makes even the ruggedly handsome Land Rover LR3 look like your mom's grocery-fetcher. Our off-roaders are intrigued about its potential, but even they key in on the design statement-the cutaway fenders look ready to mount still-bigger wheels and tires, they note.

Arguably the first retro design from Toyota, the FJ hearkens back to the early 1960s when roofs were reflective white because air conditioning was rare, and the notion of a two-door truck wasn't considered absurd. (The suicide doors are a concession to modern marketing reality and operate like those on many pickups.) But don't let the retro statement lead you into mis- taking this for a back-to-basics truck on the mechanical side.