Trim Level Pricing has me Confused

[4C4Runner]

Just came back from the dealer and am a little surprised at who ever is responsible for picking the body work on the 2010 line-up...reason I say this is the 4 cylinder SR5 in black looked amazing, it looked like a Trail Edition except the bumper parts were painted, too bad its the 4cyl and rwd only. Then I got to thinking, the only appearance difference between the SR5 and Limited that stands out are the wheels and both run the same engines and trannys, yet have a large price gap for mostly cosmetic things (I know I will get torn a new one on this but I am thinking in terms of daily driver use), I believe the Trail Edition is fantastic and I love it but I don't get the pricing considering it has the same body work as the 4 cylinder except with the hood scoop although the body work isn't all painted...in some weird calculation, it should actually be cheaper than the SR5...on top of that, the dealer said his best offer for the 4 cylinder rwd SR5 was $24,500 and the best offer on a limited would be $38,400, plus or minus small changes....so roughly a $14,000 difference. And I know their 4wd systems work differently and leather can be expensive etc, but a 5 figure difference?

I am not complaining, just amazed at the price difference when the variations don't seem to me to be all that extraordinarily different.

I know BMW does the same thing with their cars except what you add on generally makes the car better and better, with the 4Runners it seems you choose the trim you think best suits your lifestyle rather than one model being more superior to the other etc. make sense? no matter and hope not insult anyone with this post...maybe someone can enlighten me.

 

[Ryan_S]

IMHO you're looking at the vehicles backwards. You're trying to compare vehicles based on appearance and price, when there are tons of other reasons that set the price. Of course there is a huge price difference between a 2wd 4 cyl and a full time 4wd with nav, xreas, leather, climate control, etc..…

 

[westwind77]

Then I got to thinking, the only appearance difference between the SR5 and Limited that stands out are the wheels and both run the same engines and trannys, yet have a large price gap for mostly cosmetic things (I know I will get torn a new one on this but I am thinking in terms of daily driver use)

Yes and No, they (SR5/TE vs LE) also have completely different 4WD systems, BIG difference as well. To me that is something you have to consider on 'daily drives' during the winter. As stated before, tons of other 'options' as well. All depends if you are comping a striped SR5 to a LE or a loaded SR5 to a LE. Tons of little things add up to big $$$$.

 

[qs933]

The questionable premium for the Limited trim isn't new by any means. When I was shopping in 2005, the difference between my '05 Sport Edition V6 and the '05 Limited V6 I was also looking at was about $6K. Both had the JBL system, side airbags, and X-REAS. If I remember correctly, the difference was leather, power seats, dual-zone climate control, illuminated running boards, and interior trim.

That being stated, I'll probably spring for the Limited for the 5th Gen when that time comes.

With my Venza, Toyota didn't create individual trims. There's a single trim level with packages that can be layered on (e.g. a "premium package" with leather, a "convenience package" with the Smart Key, etc.). This way, you don't need to buy the top-of-the-line just to get Smart Key or HIDs, which is nice.