I test drove an SR5 and Limited, and preferred the SR5

[Desmolicious]

I'm thinking about buying a 6Gen in the very near future and had narrowed down my choices to the Off Road Standard or Premium (non hybrid) or the Limited (non hybrid). The reason I am looking at the Ltd is due to the permanent 4wd, which is great for rain/snow/icy stuff on road. As well as being decent off road.
But I needed to test drive these things first - and I heard that the Ltd had a terrilble ride. I was curious about that seeing my current ride is a 2012 Wrangler Rubicon which is not exactly a smooth, floaty thing. And yet I have no issues using that as a daily for the last 13 years!

Two local shops had a used Sr5 and a used Limited, that way I would not feel bad about test driving when I was not going to make a purchase just yet. I personally don't want to test drive a brand new vehicle unless I was ready to buy. I figured between those two I could hopefully get an idea as to how an Off Road would drive - yeah I know the shocks are different but it would be better than nothing! And I'd still get a feel for the motor, braking etc.

I was ready for the complaints - plasticky interiors etc. But getting into the SR5 I found the seats surprisingly comfortable. More so than the Ltd which even though the seats were leather, they did not feel IMO like a particularly high quality leather. And yeah the SR5 has the hard plastics on the door - as will the Off Road that I am thinking of getting - but it was 'fine'.
In comparison I was really looking forward to the lux soft padding on the doors of the Ltd but the reality to me was disappointing. Yeah it had padding, but the padding was so thin and easily compressed I actually preferred the solid plastic on the SR5 because the expectation matched the feel if you know what I mean. Whereas it did not with the Ltd - it felt like they could have used a denser and maybe thicker padding material.

Then we have the giant screen in the Ltd vs the normal size one in the SR5 (and standard Off Road). I did not like the huge screen! I thought it looked comically large - as if it should also have super sized fonts and symbols for those who may have poor eyesight - plus it looked like an stuck on afterthought. The regular 'small' screen to me was easily large enough, looked better integrated and most importantly had the same features. Just not in a super size mode!
I could see why some love the huge screen - but coming from my Wrangler where I used my iphone for nav this was plenty!
I found it really distracting when the front cameras auto turned on everytime I came up to stopped traffic but I would think that feature could be disabled.

So the biggest surprise was the SR5 rode much smoother than the Ltd. And in the Ltd I made sure to put it into Comfort mode - but it still rode very poorly. It felt to me that the suspension was not designed for big 20 inch wheels, but they put them on because they looked cool. In comparison the Sr5 was just great. And it was the same with the motor (which has plenty of power - no complaints there!). The motor is a bit rough sounding (and feeling) but that didn't matter in the SR5 becaue it was not pretending to be a luxo barge. So it didn't matter, in fact it suited its personality. But the Ltd looked luxurious with the pearl white paint, big silver wheels, the leather and sunroof inside. So having that rough feeling/sounding engine just felt off. The same way the ride did. The Ltd implies luxury but does not deliver that.

Checking out the Sr5 made me decide that I would prefer the standard OR vs the ORP, and basically because I like the smaller screen. And I actually like cloth seats so I don't think I need the softex (?) ones in the ORP. Best part is there is about a $6K -$10K difference from what I can get an OR for compared to an ORP or Ltd.

I'm waiting for a 2026 to show up (I'm one of those never buy the first model year types) and will then test drive when I'm ready to buy. Sweet trucks and this site is such a wealth of information - I thank all of you for that!

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[TyRoosevelt]

I test drove the sr5 and the offroad premium and went with the sr5. I did not like the 14 inch screen either. I did not need heated seats or a heated steering wheel. I felt that what you get for the base trim is pretty great. I am putting $4,000 in it between lift, wheels, tires, sliders, taillights, hood liner, and skid plates and I think I will have still come out in a much better position than the higher trims. Toyota is selling more sr5’s than ever because of how ridiculous expensive and oddly optioned the higher trims are. Hope you find your non premium offroad. Those are like unicorns.

 

[sstarrx2]

I was very pleased with my SR5 as well. I too looked at non premium trd off roads but most I found were all Hybrids and too expensive. I think the SR5 is the best value and even if I were young and needed leather seats because of children...i would have opted for after market like Katzkin. I did that on a pickup once before and they were great. I prefer cloth and glad my children are all grown so that is what I look for now. The biggest surprise I got from the SR5 which added even more to its great value is the stock stereo...it sounds really good for a base system. I do plan on adding the Beat Sonic 3T3 to it because it is a very economical upgrade, but even without it, the base system is x10 better than the base system my GTI had. I also did not care for that ipad 14 inch screen...sits way too high. The smaller one is sized just right.

 

[TyRoosevelt]

I was very pleased with my SR5 as well. I too looked at non premium trd off roads but most I found were all Hybrids and too expensive. I think the SR5 is the best value and even if I were young and needed leather seats because of children...i would have opted for after market like Katzkin. I did that on a pickup once before and they were great. I prefer cloth and glad my children are all grown so that is what I look for now. The biggest surprise I got from the SR5 which added even more to its great value is the stock stereo...it sounds really good for a base system. I do plan on adding the Beat Sonic 3T3 to it because it is a very economical upgrade, but even without it, the base system is x10 better than the base system my GTI had. I also did not care for that ipad 14 inch screen...sits way too high. The smaller one is sized just right.

Yeah, and the rav4 has heated seat switches that can fit the blanks in the 4Runner and my local katzkin dealer will allow me to choose my switches. Additionally, there is an aftermarket heated seat company that also has factory like switches that will replace the blanks. So, for $2,000 more you can get nice leather seats with heated seat factory style switches if you really want them. I factored that in as well. And when I did that on my 3rd gen taco, the heated seats performed better than the premium option that I had after. My opinion, if you are willing to take the time to do your build right, the sr5 is the way to go.

 

[sstarrx2]

When you say the blanks you are referring to the 4 or 5 below the gear stick correct? That is where I would want them. I do not like when they are on the dash with the rest of the twitches.

 

[TyRoosevelt]

When you say the blanks you are referring to the 4 or 5 below the gear stick correct? That is where I would want them. I do not like when they are on the dash with the rest of the twitches.

Yes. This is just one kit I have found and the blanks look to be the correct size. I found a cheaper one before but just google heated seat kits that are square and not rectangular.

https://delicate-leather.com/produc...GWaIrv90mT-HW2-VxH1u1uIXPk_BGruxoCQ7gQAvD_BwE

 

[sstarrx2]

I will say this one thing abount my SR5 that was kind of goofy. It came with upgraded AT tires, Nitto Ridge grapplers. While the stock SR5 tires are 245 70 R17 the Nittos they put on it are 265 65 R17. 20mm wider which is good, but 1 inch shorter. This throws off the speedo by 2 mph. So speedo says 55, and am only going 53. I like the tires but when I go to replace them in 40000 miles I'll probably go with the 70s instead of the 65 so I can get my speedometer accurate again.

 

[127.0.0.1]

I will say this one thing abount my SR5 that was kind of goofy. It came with upgraded AT tires, Nitto Ridge grapplers. While the stock SR5 tires are 245 70 R17 the Nittos they put on it are 265 65 R17. 20mm wider which is good, but 1 inch shorter. This throws off the speedo by 2 mph. So speedo says 55, and am only going 53. I like the tires but when I go to replace them in 40000 miles I'll probably go with the 70s instead of the 65 so I can get my speedometer accurate again.

those tires are practically identical in diameter and revolutions per mile

the 2mph difference in actual vs displayed is there on your stock tires. your change
made it only 1.28 revolutions shorter for an entire mile. insignificant. all stock SR5
(and all rav4 and some other model toyota) all have a 2mph speed difference

the good thing is, the way Toyota programmed these things...
though the speed is misrepresented, the odometer is a little
bit generous and over 8 measured miles you get a free tenth or two.

 

[sstarrx2]

Good to know! I thought the difference was bigger, but I guess the extra width turned .5% iinto .2%. So if i went to 265/70s it would be only . 5% taller. Did not know about the speedo discrepancies...better under than over I guess!

 

[Joe Dirt]

Well I'll chime in on this one,

I'm not a rock crawler so the 17 inch wheel does me no good, I prefer the 18 in, gives me more height and ground clearance with a taller Tire basically a skinny 32.5, and the ride isn't as jarring.

If it's worth anything I've been down the modded road before with an SR5 and by the time you're done one could have just bought the off-road Pro or the off-road model.

Sure if you're going to make a major suspension change Etc. then you might save in that area.
I personally like the 14-in screen and don't find it very big at all, and for navigation with my on-x mapping it is stellar.
Sure you can upgrade to a bigger screen and now you're going down the rabbit hole.

And there are many other things that the ORP has that the SR5 does not and it's a lengthy list.
Just a thought, might as well just jump into an ORP and be done. I have always been a sucker for mods!. And when Bilstein comes out with their leveling 6100 struts and shocks I will go down that road.

If they made the trail hunter in a standard non-hybrid model I would have gotten that one. That's got everything that I would ever need, I even like the ome suspension.

But I digress as I am staying away from hybrid models as I like the extra space in the back.

Perhaps second and third year models will give us an "option" for a flatter Type rear seat that will fold flat.

 

[sstarrx2]

I will probably never put a single mechanical mod on my SR5. I added a hood protector to protect the paint from engine heat. I will add a homelink mirror. I plan on adding black lug nuts and Beat-Sonic 3T3 amp. That will probably be the only things I ever add.

 

[Joe Dirt]

I will probably never put a single mechanical mod on my SR5. I added a hood protector to protect the paint from engine heat. I will add a homelink mirror. I plan on adding black lug nuts and Beat-Sonic 3T3 amp. That will probably be the only things I ever add.

That's how it starts!

But wait!
There's nothing like sound deadening your doors so you can have that stereo sound even better and a quieter ride.

Maybe even going with an under the hood sound/heat insulation.

I personally don't see the insulation as a modification more of an upgrade. Mine came with the hood insulation but I plan on doing the doors with butyl matte and foam insulation.

 

[sstarrx2]

That's how it starts!

But wait!
There's nothing like sound deadening your doors so you can have that stereo sound even better and a quieter ride.

Maybe even going with an under the hood sound/heat insulation.

I personally don't see the insulation as a modification more of an upgrade. Mine came with the hood insulation but I plan on doing the doors with butyl matte and foam insulation.

That is what I meant by hood protector...that is what I added. These are just small things. Some were just missing, others like the black lug nuts are just asthetics. I added sound deadening stuff to my GTI doors...really did not help much. Still have an entire box of the stuff in my garage.

 

[Joe Dirt]

That is what I meant by hood protector...that is what I added. These are just small things. Some were just missing, others like the black lug nuts are just asthetics. I added sound deadening stuff to my GTI doors...really did not help much. Still have an entire box of the stuff in my garage.

Yes in small cars it's very minimal.
I did that to a RAV4 hybrid and increased the tire size to a size up with michelins. Made all the difference.
But I also did the butal mat in a two-stage process meaning I did the Butyl mat first and then backed it with a thin sound deadening insulated foam.
JBLStereo never sounded better, and on the highway it was and still is a very smooth ride, sold to the girlfriend and bought the TRD ORP.
I'm going to sound deaden the doors on the TRD as well.
I have a box left over. It's a pretty quiet ride as it is right now but, I have the time and might as well use it.

 

[duke]

It's pretty funny how the SR5 probably has the best ride out of the 4runner trims- save for maybe the Trail Hunter with the old man emu's. Even the ride on my ORP is pretty crap, it bounces around everywhere, but seems to be softening after 1k miles (or I'm just getting numb to it). But the SR5's that I drove definitely were a little cushier. The 17's help, but I think it's also the base suspension.

Interesting to hear your perspective on the Limited's interior. It's a shame they didn't do a better job with the lux touches. I'm very happy with ORP. I was about to get an SR5 originally but I now find myself enjoying all the extra creature comforts in the ORP.

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