Trail vs SR5 - ride, accel and handling

[stevemitchell]

I just bought a new 2011 Trail with KDSS last week, and have been driving it a lot since then. Most all of my driving has been city.

I took it in today for some upgrades and such to the dealer, and got a 2011 SR5 as a loaner car.

I was shocked at how much more responsive the throttle seems in the SR5 - I am hoping this is just something that will "wear in" on my Trail since the SR5 has 3500+ miles on it. Not really sure though. The pedal itself and the curve of when you apply the throttle just seem a lot better tuned in the SR5.

I wasn't surprised at the handling on the SR5 - doesn't seem to be as stiff or as responsive as the Trail. I figure that's probably the lack of KDSS in the SR5. Additionally, the road noise in the SR5 seemed quite a bit louder than the Trail.

Anyhow, just some impressions after having driven both right close to eachother. I'll have the SR5 for another couple days while they work on mine.

 

[SeattleMike]

That's interesting. Which dealer is installing your stuff?

 

[stevemitchell]

That's interesting. Which dealer is installing your stuff?

Michael's Toyota of Bellevue. Just having things like heated seats, WeatherTech mats, and paint protection installed/applied. Not terribly interesting

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

Is the SR5 2wd or 4wd? The Trail with all the extra weight of the Transfer Case and front Differential could explain why its a tad less responsive vs the SR5.

 

[stevemitchell]

Is the SR5 2wd or 4wd? The Trail with all the extra weight of the Transfer Case and front Differential could explain why its a tad less responsive vs the SR5.

The SR5 is 4WD. I was thinking of that as well, but it definitely has 4WD. Good idea though!

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

You got me then. Maybe the Carbon Fiber looking instrument panel makes it feel faster. :lookout:

 

[BeelzeBuck]

Just curious how much they charged for heated seats?

 

[stevemitchell]

Just curious how much they charged for heated seats?

I don't have the paperwork in front of me, but I will look in about an hour. I don't remember it being terribly expensive, but you could definitely do it yourself and save a lot. I didn't want to deal with that since it's brand new, and would rather have the factory system. They are invaluable around the Seattle area with all of our rain

 

[oldsweng]

I noticed the throttle response on my TE has improved dramatically over time. I've crossed 11K miles and I think I noticed the improvement at around 7k miles.

Something else I have started doing to improve response at highway speed when climbing hills is shifting to Sport manually rather than waiting for the transmission to downshift. The surprising result is a slight (0.5mpg) increase in gas mileage (hand calculated at every fill up). I have several places on my commute where this technique is used so I probably spend 15% of my commute in Sport mode.

 

[Canadian144]

I noticed the throttle response on my TE has improved dramatically over time. I've crossed 11K miles and I think I noticed the improvement at around 7k miles.

Something else I have started doing to improve response at highway speed when climbing hills is shifting to Sport manually rather than waiting for the transmission to downshift. The surprising result is a slight (0.5mpg) increase in gas mileage (hand calculated at every fill up). I have several places on my commute where this technique is used so I probably spend 15% of my commute in Sport mode.

+1 on both points. The more it breaks in, the better the throttle response seems to be. I as well use Sport mode (4th gear max) when climbing hills and overtaking on the highway. Haven't thought to check the MPGs, I would figure they would be worse (higher RPMS) but it's nice to know that the opposite is true!

 

[zdr93523]

I'm definitely interested in how much the heated seats cost from the dealer!

 

[stevemitchell]

Hi folks - I'm out of the country right now, and before I left I tried to find the paperwork with the cost. I'll email the dealer and ask them for the price...

 

[p0pe]

Probably due to the engine being broken in. Mine felt much better after a few thousand miles.

 

[robby818]

How do others feel about the Trail Edition vs. SR5 with regard to on-road ride quality?

I am looking to buy a Trail Edition, but all my dealer had was SR5's and Limiteds so I took a 2WD SR5 for a test drive. I was really impressed with how well it rode on the city roads. I am not expecting acceleration to be as peppy on the Trail Edition due to the extra weight of its 4WD system, but is the overall ride quality about the same? Trail Editions seem really tough to find right now and I doubt I will even be able to test drive one in the near future.

 

[Grape Ape]

The Trail seems to handle better on the road than the SR5. KDSS is the reason.

 

[tjnaples]

My TE handles GREAT w/KDSS! Remember KDSS is not standard on Trails though, but rather an upgraded model Trail. I test drove an SR5 way back in January however cannot recall how it drives compared to my baby. On another note because I have the TE I have begun searching out off road locations and the handling and KDSS performance make it a no brainer for me. The only thing more rare than a TE w/KDSS in the color you want is a unicorn So Gay. Good luck in your decision making!

 

[Ryan F.]

The Trail seems to handle better on the road than the SR5. KDSS is the reason.

Bigger sway bar = better handling.

 

[mole]

I'll offer my services to break your TE in for you so you don't have to be inconvenienced by the responsiveness issue...

 

[tjnaples]

Add bigger sway bar and add KDSS to that and it is a different level of performance.