Leather (or that leather like stuff which cleans easily), a 2" lift (not spacers but real thing), and of course bigger tires/wheels.

Later if I can convince her a roof rack and off road cool stuff.

We go to Colorado often as well as other semi-off road places so I want something that can handle that. I figure for semi aggressive off roading a base SR5 can be modded enough.

What I want to see is if the cost to upgrade all that is X and the cost of just having it when bought is Y, what is that delta cost? If it's marginal then it might make sense to have it factory.

Well I believe the Trail has rear diff lock and SR5 doesn't so that would be one reason to go Trail. Also, you can get bilstein 5100s and rear AAL for ~$500 so that would be pretty capable for relatively cheap.

have a 2014 SRS Premium Runner and love it.

agree the premium is likely the better bang for the buck for options when compared against the limited.

my wife is in a crossover SUV and thinks the Runner drives like a truck...to which I responded GOOD!

she's short, so as much as I want to get rid of her crossover and get her into a Runner need an auto/power lift gate for her.

My wife is 5'3.5"....she'll figure it out!

Nobody mentioned a Bravada as a choice?

If you're already looking at a 4Runner, go all in and get a Land Cruiser.

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Leather (or that leather like stuff which cleans easily), a 2" lift (not spacers but real thing), and of course bigger tires/wheels.

Later if I can convince her a roof rack and off road cool stuff.

We go to Colorado often as well as other semi-off road places so I want something that can handle that. I figure for semi aggressive off roading a base SR5 can be modded enough.

What I want to see is if the cost to upgrade all that is X and the cost of just having it when bought is Y, what is that delta cost? If it's marginal then it might make sense to have it factory.

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I have a 2014 4Runner SR5 with 4wd and I love it. Mine is fairly stock, but have been able to do everything I wanted to with it. I don't do serious off-roading, but I've driven the entire Alpine Loop, including the hairy portion down to Ouray, and down to Animas Forks, as well as the 25 mile trail to the top of Bristol Head. Those aren't a big deal for a serious off-road vehicle, but I did it in a stock 4Runner with crappy stock 17 inch tires. I was impressed.

There are a couple of things you can get with the Trail that you can't easily get on an SR5:
- Trail has a diff lock - the SR5 does not, and compensates with atrac. That will be a dealbreaker for some people - for me, it didn't matter, and atrac is good enough for normal stuff. Rock crawling or sand would be very different.
- KDSS is only on the Trail. You could probably put in a pretty nice suspension for the price difference though
- Can't get the 3rd row on the trail. That only mattered to me because I've got little kids I wanted to be able to throw in the back when family was in town. Don't expect to use the 3rd row for adults - it works for the kids, but its just fine for them (mine are 3 and 7).

Thank you sir. That really helps.

Think we are leaning SR5 because third row would be nice for future kids. We can then upgrade things as we go. Our off-roading will never be extreme enough to need the locking diff.

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Thank you sir. That really helps.

Think we are leaning SR5 because third row would be nice for future kids. We can then upgrade things as we go. Our off-roading will never be extreme enough to need the locking diff.

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Good luck. At least in 2014, 3rd row with 4wd was extremely hard to find. After getting quotes from five different dealerships, I finally figured out they were all quoting me the same vehicle that was out of state. I picked a dealer and he sent a driver to get it.

You'll see a lot of people saying the 3rd row is useless. The leg room is really, really bad (but again, ok for kids under 10 or so). When the seats are up, you have no cargo space. For the way I wanted to use it it works for me, but go look at one before you commit.

On the test drive do a full panic stop from a higher speed. My buddy's 2015 rattle buggy almost put him into a barrier last night while standing on the brake. (Massive pull to the right.)

It's going back to the dealer again.

So upgrade the brakes when I do the suspension to? Added to the list.

gx470

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So upgrade the brakes when I do the suspension to? Added to the list.

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Stock brakes are heavy duty - they have to be to make the atrac system work. They have 4 piston calipers in the front, so that's an expensive upgrade. I haven't had any trouble with mine, and I haven't heard of any wide-spread issues with others - maybe p_bubel's buddy drove a lemon.

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gx470

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Easily the ugliest vehicle on the roads today. I don't care if it's capable and reliable, Lexus needs to start over with their entire lineup of vehicles.

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gx470

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Easily the ugliest vehicle on the roads today. I don't care if it's capable and reliable, Lexus needs to start over with their entire lineup of vehicles.

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It's pretty ugly, but the Civic wins hands down.

Staying on topic... There's a beautiful brand new 4-Runner in bright red with black wheels that drives by my office every morning. When I see it, it takes some serious self control to not drive to the 'yota dealership at Buckner and I-30 and trade-in my VeeDub.

Ford Expedition Platinum with 3.5L Boost 4x4 with bigger after market AT tires.

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Ford Expedition Platinum with 3.5L Boost 4x4 with bigger after market AT tires.

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With a price tag of $66k msrp before the rebates.