I would think that any dealer worth their salt would be willing to swap some 17s onto a Limited, then upsell the vehicle with the Limited rims...

Chiming in from Canada (I'm in AB) with some feedback.

I have a 2019 TRD OffRoad. I'm not an off-roader. The truck is stock and is my daily driver. I drive 95% in RWD mode and it works fine. I have only engaged 4WD in winter, and usually when engaged, it is in 4H (instead of 4L) because I am driving on the highway, or going somewhere on city streets. You're right in that 4H and 4L should only be engaged when tires can slip (eg. driving on snow, ice, slush, rain, loose gravel, etc). I have needed to use 4H for example when going skiing - for my situation the TransCanada was all snow and ice covered, and I needed the front wheels to help pull the truck through snow, ice, slush. Driving in 4H in these conditions helps a lot and I can feel the additional traction provided to the vehicle. In the winter, if I'm in 4H, I find I hardly ever need to shift from 4H to 2L and back and forth. This is because even on plowed roads, there is still snow, ice, slush, etc. left on the road. So on the days I need to use 4H, it usually stays in 4H until I get to my destination. You just need to note the road condition and adjust accordingly. Oh, I should mention I have 2 sets of rims/tires. One set of rim has winter tires and I put them on usually by November. They come off sometime in May. The other set of rims has the factory all season tires.

I've driven the Spray Lakes trail in my other front-wheel drive car (don't have it any more). I haven't driven it in my 4runner yet. I would think the 4runner will be fine and soak up the bumps because it has larger profile tires and is also heavier (compared with your Q5). The road is basically loose gravel and dirt, so you can drive it in 4H for additional traction.

I'm not sure if you're aware, but those other terrain modes on the 4runner require the truck to be in 4L in order to be activated. When you're in 4L, you need to keep the speedometer under a certain speed (I can't recall what it is but probably under 20 km/h). The terrain modes would come in handy if you're stuck, or need the truck's power to climb over things.

The 4runner will be a nice adventure vehicle. It has comfortable room for passengers, and had adequate cargo space. With the rear seat folded, it has lots of cargo space. You can take it off the beaten path

Just to add to the point above is that the Mud/Sand (lowest setting on Multi Terrain Select) can be used in 4 Hi. Works nicely!

Wheels and tires are an easy fix

So, I never looked very far into the terrain select, it sounded more gimmicky than anything. What's it doing? My assumption is it's just acting like ATRAC, but with a different "tune" for how atrac will behave depending on the setting you choose. Is there more to it? Is it engaging the locker on it's own or anything?

Purchase what you need and can afford concerning 4x4 and AWD/4WD. Living in NYC, I didn't need 4WD but wanted 4x4 hence Trail 4Runner purchase. If I lived in an area covered in snow for 8 out 12 months then I would have purchased the limited or a Subaru.

You could even go with a Premium SR5 for what you're wanting!

Leather, Sunroof, 4x4, and thick tires.

By what you're saying, I'm assuming you have no need for a locker or crawl control. You could buy a lot of gas with the price difference between an SR5 Premium and a TRD Off-Road or Limited.

Here in Canada only Limited (7 passenger) and Nightshade (7 passenger) have leather seats.

Although I've never used locker/crawl control, it seems like something I WOULD in fact be using going up some difficult forest service roads and stuff like that?

Only the Limited models have leather seats. The SR5 Premium, Off Road Premium, and TRD Pro have SofTex seats (synthetic leather).

You won't need the locker/crawl control unless you get the tires buried in deep mud or snow and even then, 4LO will get you out of it if you're gentle with the throttle.

Rear locker and crawl control is good to have. Use your rear locker when you're stuck, but you can also engage it for extra traction when climbing in 4L.

Between the TRD OffRoad and SR5 (Canadian Editions), the additional features on the OffRoad offer better value for not a lot more $. It depends on your budget, but those extra modes are nice to have for whatever situation you may encounter. You get the cool 4WD shift lever, and also the awesome hood scoop with the TRD Offroad too. Softex with red TRD stitching is nice too.

Haha I gotta be honest, any of the "looks" features I don't care about - hood scoop for example is pure... decoration?

But yeah the functional features seem worth it for the offroad. Once you go beyond that, you start paying a lot more for not much more... or even swapping out some of the things you want.

I want to squish the offroad trim with the creature comforts of limited! (parking sensors, full-time 4WD...) otherwise it does seem the offroad is best buy.

Kaitlyn, I'm local to you and have a limited. I've driven most roads up Squamish Valley/Elaho/Ashlu in my limited w/ the 20" wheels still (just waiting for the treads to go and I'll be moving to a 17" wheel). I'm not really understanding what you mean by your friend using crawl control just on the FSR's? Unless your going over some extreme terrain, which I wouldn't consider any FSR around here extreme, you would not need to use crawl control or even 4lo. Heck, with the Limited full time 4wd system I have only had to move it into 4Hi a select few times and that's mostly just to use it as you should engage the system once in a while. I also travel with a tent trailer on these roads so the 4wd system is great for engine braking. Otherwise, its just a road with some rocks and potholes.

Don't get hung up on the wheels, most dealers around here will swap them out for you. Lots of limited in town on TRD Pro wheels that the dealer has installed. Also if it bothers you aesthetically, the front end swap is easy. It bothers me and am slowly building up the parts to do the swap as was always my intention. I never wanted the limited but the wife did so....you know how that went.

Now I'll soon be at the best of both worlds. Non-limited trim pieces but the nice bells and whistles of the limited. Push button, auto climate, leather w/ heating and fans for cooling, parking sensors, JBL system, etc etc.

Here in the lower mainland the fulltime 4wd is nice with the all the rain and varying weather you can encounter on a road like the Sea2Sky.

To summarize, unless your going to be doing the Whipsaw or crawling around Stave or some extreme trails around here you are not going to need the lockers or terrain select.

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My experiences are like the others. I’m on my 3rd Runner, a 3rd gen and now 2 5th gens. Current one is an ORP, the other a standard SR5. Had the first 2 runners in snow so deep that I couldn’t believe it was not getting stuck. No low gear no crawl control, just 4H. It hasn’t been that bad since I got the 18 ORP to test the crawl or multi terrain features. I can tell you though the ATrack is excellent.
For what you describe, the SR5 would be just fine. The other models will make you “feel” better. I do agree with the others that you need to learn how the 4WD system works and test it before you really need it. Being familiar will lead to confidence. These trucks are bruts and I would have nothing else!

Bob


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They even sell 4x2 4Runners in Canadia?