Thanks for the link!
From an outsider point of view: you sound like a normal person, and not at all like a cross between Kermit the Frog, Chewbacca, and Gilbert Gottfried.
Doing Berthoud a bunch last Winter was a little hairy shifting in and out of 4WD as we switched from dry to packed snow/ice. I slid out towards a guardrail once on one of the tighter switchbacks. Kept it together, but was a little nerve wracking. Couldn't power through, and had to back out of...
Two of my best friends have a 2015 and 2016 TEP, and they are great. My TRDP is also great, but has a color that I like more, and no sunroof, which I prefer. Other than that, the exterior "looks neat" stuff is nice to have, because it looks neat.
They really aren't. Trails don't have softex seats. Trail premiums have moonroofs. Neither has auto headlights. While these are not huge deals for "features," they come out of the factory with these configurations. The cosmetic and suspension stuff added at port is essentially all exterior.