Help me decide between the SR5 and Limited

S

Sprocket

New member
First of all I'd just like to say thanks for reading this and giving me your thoughts.

I live in South East Michigan. I travel up north all year round, rain, snow, sun etc. I do a fair amout of two track driving and some rougher stuff occasionally.

I'm having a hard time deciding between the two mostly about whether or not I'd be better off with the part time 4wd (SR5) or the full time awd (limited). The price difference isnt a huge deal as I would put many options on the SR5 any ways.

So for these conditions I deal with in Michigan would you recommend the SR5 or the Limited?

Thanks again
 
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Faced with the same thing when I bought - it was more of what was on the LE that I didn't want, or need, eg: NAV, especially the 20" wheels, and full-time AWD (I prefer to select 4WD when I need it). Bottom line, the LE was overkill for me. YMMV.

I optioned the BU camera (great option), upgraded radio, BP color, Premium Pkg, moonroof, floormats. Had the dlr install running boards (another very useful option IMO) and roof rack cross bars. It's exactly the way I wanted it.
 
I live in Boston and have a 4th Gen Limited. The 4WD system on my 4th Gen is basically the same as that on the 5th Gen Limited. During the winter here, the road surface can go from snow covered, to wet, to dry, and back over the course of a mile or two. It isn't uncommon for me to drive home on dry roads, but have to turn into my driveway which hasn't been plowed yet. These sorts of conditions make a full-time system (like my 4th Gen and the 5th Gen Limited) more convenient than a part-time system. The Limited also comes with heated seats, which are very welcome in cold climates.

Given your location, I'd go with the Limited.
 
If you aren't consdering lifting the rig, the xreas on the limited improves the handling over the sr5. If you don't like the 20's, you can easily find a buyer for them.

As started, the heated seats are wonderful :)
 
Couple subtle differences that are nice to have on the Limited are the nicer gauges and pushbutton start, auto climate control.

You can find the limited w/o nav. I had to decide between a limited w/o nav and a TE with KDSS. Ended up taking the couple k in savings i got by going with the TE and rolling it into heated leather, new sets of tires, and some sliders.
 
I like all my extra features like auto-climate, smart keyless everything, optitron gauges, auto lights, solid black dash and console, full-time AWD(most of the time). I'd say go Limited if the price doesn't matter.
 
I would go with the LE if I were you and for the climate you are in, not so thrill with push start button or Navigation but with full time 4WD you don't have the hassle to decide if you should shift it in 4WD or stay in 2WD but just let it run. The down side of that are, you have a bigger payments and 1 mile less per gallon on Gas.
 
If price isn't much of an issue, there should be no question: Choose the Limited: Full time AWD with torsen centre-diff, XREAS suspension, killer stereo, nicer wheels and interior options make it, quite clearly, the better buy for the use you described.
 
thanks for all the suggestions. What exactly are the advantages of the touch button start system? I've never seen one so I have no idea.. Do you still us a key for the doors? How does that all work.
Thanks
 
The smartkey automatically unlocks the doors when you get within a certain distant of the vehicle. To lock the doors, you just get out, close the door, and press a little black button on the handle. Pretty nifty feature if you find yourself loading up the car with your hands full. Parents apparently love the feature (I'm just a DINK family at the moment).

Personally, the only things that the limited has that I miss from my SR5 (which has all options except 3rd row) is the nicer gauges, all black IP and console, and push button start/smartkey. Those few things weren't worth the $4k premium to me. I prefer 2WD with selectable 4WD rather than full time. I prefer the 17" wheels over the 20" wheels. I'd consider picking up XREAS if someone sold the system off their Limited for cheap enough, but again, it wasn't something I was willing to pay for from the factory. The stock SR5 takes turns quite well for a vehicle of this size and heft.
 
Speaking in terms of the 4WD models in the Northern NJ area, major trade off options you can't get in an SR5 include the X-reas and all-time 4WD. Minor trade off options you can't get in an SR5 include the 20" oem wheels, smart key, Optitron gauges, JBL, and Nav. Electronically operated tranfer case control is another (knob instead of shift lever) minor feature, but that goes with the all-time 4WD system.

If any of those options are must-have options for you, then you have to get a Limited if you are only looking at the SR5 and Limited. Otherwise an SR5 w/ leather is likely to be well loaded in your area.

One thing Toyota did right is make the Limited and SR5 look identical on the exterior by avoiding a unique bumper fascia, and other minor styling details that sometimes make buyers splurge for the Limited (or TRD) line.
 
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I just purchased a 2011 4wd srf t4r. The only thing that kept me from the limited was the money. I added the 3rd row seat and leather. It still would have cost me about 5k more to go with the limited. If money really doesnt matter, I would have gotten the limited. Would be nice to have the keyless, they better stereo, and all the little extras. 20" tires not a plus for me, so no way I could justify the cost.
 
When I test drive LE and SR5, I seemed to me that SR5 has better acceleration probably because it was in 2Hi mode. Another thing unique about SR5 ia that for some reason it's the only model which has parking sensors and they work very well with backup camera. I didn't notice much difference in suspension, maybe it feels only in really sharp turns or I just didn't pay enough attention. If the LE price was the same as SR5 I might go for LE but it wouldn't be an easy choice for me.
 
Quentin said:
The smartkey automatically unlocks the doors when you get within a certain distant of the vehicle. To lock the doors, you just get out, close the door, and press a little black button on the handle. Pretty nifty feature if you find yourself loading up the car with your hands full. Parents apparently love the feature (I'm just a DINK family at the moment).
Click to expand...

To unlock, you either have to push the button on the fob or touch the door handle/touch the tailgate button. It isn't automatic.
 
scanny said:
When I test drive LE and SR5, I seemed to me that SR5 has better acceleration probably because it was in 2Hi mode. Another thing unique about SR5 ia that for some reason it's the only model which has parking sensors and they work very well with backup camera. I didn't notice much difference in suspension, maybe it feels only in really sharp turns or I just didn't pay enough attention. If the LE price was the same as SR5 I might go for LE but it wouldn't be an easy choice for me.
Click to expand...

Of course it accelerate better because it is lighter, when they stuff the LE with additional feature it also add more weight. The reason parking assist is only come with SR5 because SR5 are beginners, The Pro they buy LImited or Trail Edition, so for those beginner will be provided some help to park their cars straight in their own parking spot. :hiding:
 
I test drove the SR5 and Limited back to back. The primary reason was exactly the same as yours. I was trying to decide between the two trims. Personally, I could not find a single difference between the way they handled. True that the Limited has a bunch of really neat features like the smart key etc, but you also pay significantly more for them. If I were you, I would make a list of things that you absolutely needed to have in my new vehicle and then look at the SR5 and Limited to see which of those two fit the bill better. I would stay away from paying for something that you can live without. Whatever the case, as one of the guys on here told me when I asked the same question, 'do not get stuck into the grass is greener on the other side question'. Look at what you need, what you can afford and pick accordingly. You will not be making a bad choice either way- its a 4 Runner!
 
I like my limited! I think the FTAWD is great! Only problem with it is fuel economy. I test drove a LTD2WD for two days prior to purchasing and it got better mileage. I love the smart key too (now that I am used to it). It is real nice when you have your hands full! Xreas is good too, but I am not sure it would be a deal breaker.

Even though I like it as much as I do, I hope that one day they will come out with a runner that has TE trim and KDSS, Smart Key system, Nav, Leather, switchable FTAWD, etc. That would be dope.
 
Things I wanted, smart key, full time awd, kdss, locking rear diff. Just didn't have an option to get all so I ended up with a TE. Damn, I really wanted the smart key too. Hate having to fish for my keys with my hands full, or taking off gloves to fish for my keys in my pocket.
 
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