Moving Up Trim Levels is Poor Value

[jofe]

@ncrunner nobody is forcing you to get a higher trim. Get the SR5 and upgrade as you wish if this is how you feel. What you’re describing is not unique to Toyota or cars in general.

 

[nubbins_]

I am still trying to decide between a 5th gen and a 6th gen. I want the V6, but used SR5's with 20,000ish miles are going for as much as the new SR5, and used Off Roads, or Premium models, are going for $43k+ for 2021 or 2022 models with 30k+ miles in my area (Minnesota).

I think if I go with a new one, which is looking likely, I will go with an SR5 and put a Homelink mirror and Katzskin seats in it and make a pseudo SR5 Premium for about $46.5k, depending on the cost of the seat covers. I saw a TRD Sport at the dealer near me with red Katzskin seats and it looked really good. I don't care about the larger infotainment screen at all. Both models just look like a giant tablet/iPad stuck to the dash, like they were an after thought. However, the big one in the premium models looks worse, or more obnoxious, to me. I do wish the SR5 had the better gauge cluster. I can't believe they cheaped out on that for one single model, but oh well.

It seems, at least, that the bigger screen upgrade won't be all that difficult to do. Whether it will still be relatively straightforward on a SR5 sans JBL sound system, dunno yet. Cluster upgrade probably rather involved though.

Personally I think the Canadian SR5 is a good starting point for the DIY kind of owner. Adding heated seats aftermarket might be a bit harder than swapping the rearview mirror out.

I did see in some videos that the smaller gauge cluster oddly has a display feature here or there that the larger one can't do. I would like to keep the gauge cluster and just upgrade the center stack. Not trying to watch movies through my steering wheel

I'm just glad Toyota doesn't believe heated+power mirrors and half-decent headlights should be an additional cost option in 2025 on a $50-60k vehicle (looking at you, Ford and GM, rot in hell)