IMHO, it is definitely worth the price of admission. When I bought my XLE in March, the dealer had several on the lot, all without the Convenience Package. I could have purchased one of those, for less money, and been out the door in an hour or so. However, I had them locate an XLE with the Convenience Package (and in the color I wanted, Barcelona Red) a bit over a hundred miles away. They had to do a dealer exchange (one RAV4 for the one I wanted) and the wife-half and I had to wait four or so extra hours -- long enough to take in a movie and go to dinner -- but it was worth the wait to get the features and the color we wanted! Of course, whether it's worth it to you or not is a personal decision!

 

Absolutely worth it. I just purchased my XLE Hybrid. Did the same thing actually as the other guy, only I drove a hour out of town to purchase the one that had the convenience pkg.

 

How much money is it now?

Personally I got my XLE without it. I didn't think it was worth it.

I didn't need Blind Spot Monitor because I look. Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, again looking and camera. Front and rear parking sonar, I find the backup camera to be enough. Entune Premium Audio with Integrated Navigation and App Suite, I use my phone for all that. And height-adjustable power liftgate with jam protection, this is the only thing that might have been convenient on occasion, but it's also another thing to potentially break. And from what I remember it was a couple grand, so not worth it IMO.

 

I have it standard on my 2016 SE AWD and it is definitely worth the extra money.

Regarding the Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, the system works, it ALWAYS works and it works faster than your brain does. It works when your spouse is nagging you over something, it works when the kids are screaming in the back, it works when you're fiddling with the audio. The system never gets distracted, it's always on it's game.

I always turn my head when I back up, but as soon as my bumper leaves the driveway and enters the road, the sensors senses cars way before I can see them coming. Usually I would have to back up a few more inches before I can see the cross traffic coming. All the while I'm looking back, looking to the right, looking to the left, looking straight back again. I still do that, but not as intently as the combo of the sensors and the rear camera catches EVERYTHING. The extra second or two will definitely prevent accidents.

If you don't get the package, you will never know and you will say that you never needed it as c7aea said, but if you can afford the extra $2215, I would definitely get it. I got the SE financed for 5 yrs with 0% interest, so it's only an extra $40 a month for safety. Well worth it.

 

The price is $2060.00. I personally feel it is worth every dime. I have noticed twice already pulling out of a parking space looking at the camera, and then looking away to see if cars were coming, and the cross traffic alerted me a pedestrian was coming my way, that I didn't see way before you can actually see them or a car. . And I definitely find the front parking sensors a big benefit as it is hard to judge how close you are to a pole or object pulling into a space. The extra safety outweighs the cost hands down!

 

Isn't the Convenience Package the whole Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) system?

All Toyotas, and probably all cars, going forward will have it standard. Selling a RAV4 at some point in the future will put it at a serious disadvantage against cars with safety systems.

From what I understand the Convenience Package also includes the wireless key system with push button start. Dynamic cruise control and auto high beams.

These 3 features are honestly the whole reason why I would get a new car in the first place. Without them it's no different from something that's a decade old.

 

No, the Convenience Package adds:

Blind Spot Monitor and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA), front and rear parking sonar, and Entune Premium Audio with Integrated Navigation and App Suite

 

Cross traffic alert has been awesome for me. I park in a large parade daily at work and often end up with a big truck beside me. I can't see **** until I'm way out in the lane. Many people drive way too fast in the parkade as well so the CTA has helped me many times when I can't see a thing. It has been 100% reliable and even alerts me when a person is walking by.

 

I have a 2016 XLE and I did not get the convenience package. I did pay for the upgraded audio/nav though (mainly to get the bigger touchscreen, I just thought it looked better on the dash). Personally I still love my XLE without the convenience package. However, I wasn't really even thinking about it when I made my purchase. At the amount I already spent, I don't think I would have been willing to add another 2K onto my purchase price as I already went over my budget. If it is something you were already heavily considering, it sounds like you may miss not having it.

Personally I'm not over the moon about all of the driving safety features yet. I am only 25, I don't want to become overly reliant on safety features. Plus I have done well so far without these features, but I do see the appeal. I will say I was in a very tight parking lot last week, and the parking sonar would have come in handy then. Luckily I had a friend in the car who could direct me just to be sure I didn't hit a wall or another car. I think the built-in blind spots on the Rav4's mirrors are effective. Thus far they haven't caused me to switch lanes while someone was in my blind spot. I do still tend to check, but when I haven't, the mirror has been correct. I can see how the cross traffic alert is useful, but as long as I back out slowly, even if another car or pedestrian snuck back there, I tend to spot them before any incident occurs.

So anyway this all sounds like a personal preference thing. Based on user feedback here, I don't think you'd regret the feature. However, as someone who doesn't have the package, I don't find myself missing anything it had to offer. Of course I did pay for the feature I wanted- the 550 for built-in nav/audio upgrade that makes the touchscreen bigger. For what the convenience package offers though, I think if you have the money to spend on it and it isn't really going over your budget, you should probably go for it.

 

I don't have the choice of any upgrade when I bought my XLE hybrid. Have to go to Limited. Figure I don't really need it.

 

That's good information about the 2017 model.

So the Convenience Package is still a $2000 options, except in 2016 it added:

• Front view camera under the rear view mirror + image processing hardware
• Front radar for adaptive cruise and collision avoidance
• Smart key system

Those are some very expensive components. So the Convenience Package was either way under-priced in 2016, or is way overpriced in 2017. :surprise

 

That's good information about the 2017 model.

So the Convenience Package is still a $2000 options, except in 2016 it added:

• 
  Front view camera under the rear view mirror + image processing hardware
  Front radar for adaptive cruise and collision avoidance
  Smart key system

Those are some very expensive components. So the Convenience Package was either way under-priced in 2016, or is way overpriced in 2017.

For my 2016 SE, the TSSP and radar cruise control were under the Advanced Technology package, but the Convenience Package was standard on the SE.

All in all the 2017s cost just a few hundred dollars more ($400ish???) than the 2016s if you compare options side by side. So nobody got charged more for 2016s. A 2016 XLE AWD with TSSP and power lift gate cost $28,610 while a 2017 with the same features cost $29,025.

It appears that the 2017 LEs got the TSSP package for free as it's the same price for 2016, but the Convenience Package is not available at all for it. So there are some trade offs on what you choose.

 

There have been two times where I was exiting a parking spot in reverse when the
pedestrian alert started beeping. It gave me plenty of time to break before the pedestrian was near colliding with
my car. I looked around after stopping to see the pedestrian about 10-15 feet away. This feature works very well.

 

I'm up for the TSSP stuff, it will likely soon become standard on all new cars. Glad to see it available on the 2017 RAVs. Just seems strange they ever would have put it under the "Convenience" package in 2016 and make it part on an expensive upgrade. A power lift gate? That's a 'convenience'. (Lame and unnecessary, IMO, but convenient for some.) The rear traffic and pedestrian alert? That's legitimate safety stuff. You can (almost) never overplay the 'safety card.'

Overall, the TSSP also comes as a way to counteract the scourge of distracted driving due to texting, phoning, nav, etc. Now there's a batch more safety nannies do the real driving, lol. Good for the common denominator driver, and part of the march toward driver-less cars.

 

I have the XLE and did not want the convenience package.

The problem here is that I drive 4 different cars. The other three cars do not have the blind spot sensors etc as they are older cars. Sensors like this can lead to laziness. You don't need to turn your head and look before changing lanes because the sensor will warn you, right? Of course, people will always say that you should also turn your head and look. But human nature is what it is and, over time, with a system like this, you will look less and less. When you have a convenience like this, laziness eventually takes over as you rely on the system to always work.

If I am in one of my other cars without the sensor and I momentarily forget which car I am in and I make the lane change without looking, I could be in an accident. IOW, if I forget that I'm not in the RAV4, it could be bad. It only takes once.

So if I only owned and drive one car--the RAV4, I would have been more inclined to get the convenience package, but since I drive multiple cars without the system, I don't want to get it mixed up which car I am in and get into an accident because I've gotten lazy and rely on the blind spot sensor too much.

 

I check the blind spot monitor to know when I can safely return to non-passing lane.
This is useful after passing slow trucks/semis/bigrigs/18wheelers on the freeway.

 

The only real feature (not sure if it's convenience package or not)
is the auto high beam which I don't use too much.
see this thread: http://www.rav4world.com/forums/125-4-4-exterior/242329-auto-high-beam-issues.html

 

is the auto high beam which I don't use too much

Everyone lives in different places. Palo Alto is very different from most places in this country. Which are mostly 2 lane roads, largely unlit, sparsely populated, and with lots of wild life. This is a top 3 features why I want a 2016+.

 

The real concern is the wild life that can total a car. Or go through the windshield in a collision. Like deer.

 

Do those whistles you put on bumpers help?
I heard that deer can hear those and avoid them.

 

Overall I'm very satisfied with the convenience package.
It has proved useful many times.