Help Me Decide: SR5 Premium or TRD Offroad Premium...

[Thrasher_S]

I would (and did, actually) get the Off Road Premium. I used this logic:

If I decide to do upgrades, I can make the SR5 more capable than the stock OR, however, I can never turn the SR5 into an OR.

 

[kaikaikai]

Honestly I feel like the $1750 price difference is worth it just for the locker. What's a ARB, compressor setup, and install go for? It's gotta be close to that.

SR5's are all over the place. I've been looking at listings for them online, and in my area it will be like 200 SR5's show up and 4 Off Road / Trails. I feel like the resale will be better than the SR5 (not just because of the higher initial purchase price, but the used demand), and will depreciate slightly less and at a slower rate than the other models.

Like the Jeep Rubicon. Looking at used prices of those, they seem to hold onto a higher percentage of their value than the other Wrangler models.

You're absolutely right, all good points that I agree with. I guess I was just looking at it from a purely pragmatic standpoint in that if the OP really wasn't gonna use ANY of the fancy OR features, then the $1750 price difference is just going to go to waste.

Personally I think it's a minor price bump and you get a better looking car with more capability for a negligible price increase. Heck, I paid a far higher premium for a TRD Pro basically just for the color and I have no regrets.

 

[MidnightOffRoad]

My advice would be this....

If you're going to modify it heavily, get the SR5. You get less than $.50 on the dollar back if you resell a modified vehicle. So why pay for things like upgraded wheels if you're just gonna chuck the wheels and buy something aftermarket.

I do NOT like the silver front and rear pieces on the OR, as they only look good on a couple of color schemes (like Red and Silver).

I tried to find a nice SR5P4X, but they're much tougher to come by in FL. So I went with the ORP.

If you're not planning on modding much, I'd go with ORP.

 

[KuhDunkADunk]

Get a black dog! lol

I have dark interior in my Volvo wagon, and my GF's Chocolate Lab spends lots of the time in there. I don't notice any hair.

Maybe in the future, but right now I have 2 dogs with brown fur. My lab sheds like crazy. Even in the house, we have to vacuum pretty much every other day otherwise we get fur bunnies everywhere. This in a black interior would drive me crazy.

 

[baldrik78]

If you ever decide you need the locker for the rear diff, the locker plus install is going to cost about the price difference between the 2.

 

[Thrasher_S]

I do NOT like the silver front and rear pieces on the OR, as they only look good on a couple of color schemes (like Red and Silver).

I plastidipped the side "TRD Off Road" badges, as well as the front and rear valences on my Barcelona Red. In my opinion, it was a massive improvement for about $25 and an afternoon of about 10% work, 90% drinking beer (lots of wait time between coats). If it starts to look bad or peel I'll buy the black versions or pull them off and do a real paint job. The plastidip is really just to test out the color, but it looks so good I'll just leave it for now.

 

[MidnightOffRoad]

I plastidipped the side "TRD Off Road" badges, as well as the front and rear valences on my Barcelona Red. In my opinion, it was a massive improvement for about $25 and an afternoon of about 10% work, 90% drinking beer (lots of wait time between coats). If it starts to look bad or peel I'll buy the black versions or pull them off and do a real paint job. The plastidip is really just to test out the color, but it looks so good I'll just leave it for now.

I bought the poly overlays for the emblems and replaced the rear and front valences with OEM black.

I plastidipped the rack bars, because they don't see a lot of mechanical action or wear.

Plastidip is fine for parts that don't get dirty or need repetitive washing. I considered it on the valences (to save costs) but on long trips, they get murdered with bugs and need to be scrubbed, usually scrubbed harshly.

I wanted to blackout my OR wheels, but powdercoating was more than simply buying new TRD wheels, so I went with the TRDs and the weight savings.

I really don't know which designer looked at the silver valences and said "man that looks awesome." On a black or grey 4runner, it looks terrible and sticks out.

Blacking them out has as much or more effect than tinting the front windows darker. Looks completely weird to have dark rear windows and virtually no tint on the front driver/passenger windows.

The only thing I haven't murdered out on my truck is the taillights and headlights.

 

[Rememberthecaptain]

Assuming there aren't any other differences in package (sliding cargo tray, floor mats, etc),

The differences are

1) SR5 has the automatic trans selector vs the manual gear lever on the OR and the Pro. I don't know WHY they opted for a manual lever on the Pro and the OR, but that's a difference.

2) ORP features little things like emblems in the seats, obviously the badges, the shift lever is TRD style, etc. None of these are significant, but they are differences.

3) Wheels. OR features the OR wheels, which in my opinion are not just better looking than the SR5 wheels, but they're functional (featuring protected stem openings).

4) KDSS. This is usually the biggest selling point when comparing the OR to other 4R models. You can do your own research about whether KDSS adds value for you. But the reader's digest version is that it allows for a more stiff ride when cornering on road, while relaxing the sway bar tension for more wheel travel at low speeds off road.

5) ATrac, Diff Locker, Etc. Again, if you're not offroading a lot, not sure this is valuable to you.

So are all or any of those things worth $1750? (again, assuming there aren't other trim or dealer options involved and it's truly apples/apples.)

While I battled with the same dilemma as the OP, I was happy to see that KDSS is only an option on the TRDs. So I opted out of KDSS with our ORP for easier time with modding the suspension.

 

[fsroader]

Okay folks, 2nd time around here for me...

after the deer strike and totaling of our brand spankin' new 2018 TRD Offroad Premium (a mere 11 days after taking delivery of it and with 500 miles on the odometer) and all the insurance bullshit that I've had to go through (http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/254361-2wd-versus-4wd-help-me-6.html#post3002496 ), it's time to pull the trigger once again but...

I've got two OTD prices this time on two different 4Runners and I've about driven myself nuts over splitting financial hairs.

Long story short, we made 3k over our price on the first 4Runner (because we got a very nice deal that first time) and as things got closer to being finished with our insurer my brain started going into "that's a nice little bit of money... I wonder if I could save even more by bumping down to a SR5 Premium 4x4?" followed by, "I don't know if I'll ever truly use all those bells & whistles on that first TRD Offroad Premium anyway, and really do I even care about the wheels, hood scoop, red stitching and badges?" -- a mind with too much time on its hands can be a very strange thing indeed, and I've had too much time lately for thinking.

Truthfully, we will -at most- drive the thing offroad (and then, mainly fire roads and forest trails -- no crawling) about 10% of its lifetime... and yes, we intend to keep it until end of life (hopefully no more deer are in my future).

So, I'll put it to you all...

#1. 2018 SR5 Premium 4x4 w/moonroof... OTD at $36,000.00

#2. 2018 TRD Offroad Premium 4x4 w/moonroof... OTD at $37,850.00

and why?

When you say "out the door" do you mean with all taxes and title? Those are some super prices if so. Where from and where in Ga?

 

[WNY PAT]

I honestly would have preferred if my wife went for the ORP, both for the styling (especially the wheels) and the e locker, but she didn’t like the hood scoop. The SR5 Premium and the ORP both have A Trac, and the SR5 Premium has Hill Descent Control but doesn’t have the other crawl modes that the ORP has. The SR5 Premium will do anything my wife will ever ask of it and happy wife = happy life. Someday I’ll probably sneak on the ORP rims with the black accents and some Duratracs.... with those tires and A Trac I can’t imagine there’s much that’ll stop it. But for $1480, I personally think the ORP is worth it. And as others have said, you’ll always get at least some your money back on resale should you choose to trade it in or sell it. For simplicity’s sake, we did not want the KDSS. We love the SR5 Premium, there’s no bad choice here, it’s win-win.

 

[RedSled]

I honestly would have preferred if my wife went for the ORP, both for the styling (especially the wheels) and the e locker, but she didn’t like the hood scoop. The SR5 Premium and the ORP both have A Trac, and the SR5 Premium has Hill Descent Control but doesn’t have the other crawl modes that the ORP has. The SR5 Premium will do anything my wife will ever ask of it and happy wife = happy life. Someday I’ll probably sneak on the ORP rims with the black accents and some Duratracs.... with those tires and A Trac I can’t imagine there’s much that’ll stop it. But for $1480, I personally think the ORP is worth it. And as others have said, you’ll always get at least some your money back on resale should you choose to trade it in or sell it. For simplicity’s sake, we did not want the KDSS. We love the SR5 Premium, there’s no bad choice here, it’s win-win.

This is our 17 SR-5 Premium i like it alot. I am not a dedicated rock dog, so this works for us just fine.

 

[mtnbiker49]

This is our 17 SR-5 Premium i like it alot. I am not a dedicated rock dog, so this works for us just fine.

Go SR5 imo. It has ATRAC. You don’t need crawl control or the hoodscoop. If you want an “easy button” later down the road, you can spend $2k to get an ARB locker installed and have OBA. Regardless of what people say, a stock rig can do pretty much anything one with a rear locker can do. Might take a different approach, but it is doable. A front locker is how you can get yourself to places you shouldn’t be. Plus I think the SR5 rides smoother with no shimmy.

 

[GearJunkie88]

No matter what anybody says, here’s the biggest and only decision maker: the SR5 has a sunglasses holder where the TRD Off-road has a couple of knobs that control gimmicky off-road features. I miss that sunglasses holder. I’ve never been in a spot where I needed crawl control or terrain select. I wish I had bought the SR5 premium. Oh, 1st world problems...

 

[RaefordWall]

Go with the SR5 Premium. You don't really seem to need the extra off-road capability of the ORP. If you plan to own the vehicle a long time, the long-term resale value between both is pretty insignificant assuming you end up selling it after 8-10 (or hopefully more!) years. Take that extra $1800 and throw it into a stock-based mutual fund or etf.

 

[Decipher]

You’re keeping it for life...$1,800 is less than $40 more per month. You’re not even going to feel that.

It’s better to have too much truck in case you need it than not have it and wish you did...and if sounds like you’ll wish you bought exactly what you wanted.

Again, you’re keeping this thing forever. Get into what you want.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[1000MPH]

I didn’t know the SR5’s did not have MTS. The Mud/Sand/Dirt selection is worth it to me right there. I drive trails that really benefit from the extra allowed wheelspin.

 

[PCRIDE4RUNNERORG]

I would get the Off Road for re-sale value. Even down the road 200k miles it will be more desired than the premium SR5

 

[off-road runner]

No matter what anybody says, here’s the biggest and only decision maker: the SR5 has a sunglasses holder where the TRD Off-road has a couple of knobs that control gimmicky off-road features. I miss that sunglasses holder. I’ve never been in a spot where I needed crawl control or terrain select. I wish I had bought the SR5 premium. Oh, 1st world problems...

You stole my thunder with the sunglasses holder. Dealer let me use an sr5 for a day and the holder brought me back to the 4th gen sport days. The visors are so thick it's hard to fit the clip holder. Although I have recently found a visor organizer with several elastic bands that hold sunglasses and pens etc. I have used that crawl control going down steep iced over woods roads during deer season. We wanted another 4runner with KDSS so needless to say we don't have sunglasses holder. Back to the OP question... if you get the OR you won't regret it, but you may 2nd guess yourself with an sr5 without locker, hood scoop, snazzy wheels, and the mud/sand, crawl control that you may need some day.

 

[WNY PAT]

This is our 17 SR-5 Premium i like it alot. I am not a dedicated rock dog, so this works for us just fine.

Great looking rig! Great color! Love the wheels and tires too!

 

[straitR]

I get that not everyone needs, wants, or would use a factory e-locker or crawl control, but calling them "gimmicky" is quite the stretch. The faux hood scoop, yeah, that's gimmicky.

If you could get away with owning a Highlander based on your needs, but just prefer the 4Runner, then by all means, buy the SR5P and save some money. But believe it or not, there are a lot of people who buy a 4Runner for it's off-road capabilities, and use it accordingly. As such, the TRD OR features are icing on the cake and well worth the money.