Premium package comes with lots of bells and whistles, but is it really worth it?
I mean it's almost 6K more and as far as I can see the main upgrade you get over XSE bare-bone is a better sound system, panoramic sunroof, and 360 degree camera.
I live in Texas and heated seats and steering wheel don't really matter to me.
Am I missing anything?
I'd appreciate some advice as I am pre-ordering a RAV4 prime XSE.

Short answer is yes, especially if you plan on using it for highway driving.

HUD, cooled seats, nice stereo, faster 6.6 kW onboard charger, quieter tires, adaptive cruise controlto name a few. We have had ours since January, and it is definitely a long-haul, high-speed, high economy SUV.

 

Short answer is yes, especially if you plan on using it for highway driving.

HUD, cooled seats, nice stereo, 6.6 kW charger, bigger tires to name a few. We have had ours since January, and it is definitely a long-haul, high-speed, high economy SUV.

Thanks, tires are the same (XSE trim), cooled seats might be nice as I never had it.
Panoramic sunroof is nice, but still is it worth the hefty price?
I'm more of a city driver and not every day.

 

You probably can't find one without the Premium package. IF you can find one at all. I live in Texas and am driving to commiefornia next week to get ours.

 

Enjoy your drive back to Texass. Lucky for you, California's environmental policies exist or you wouldn't be buying a plug in hybrid vehicle. Be sure to say a thanks to all the liberals each time you drive it :-D

 

I have owned one with premium package. The faster charger was really handy with 220. Everything else I could take or leave. Your choice. I did not buy the second time around. I don’t regret my decision.

 

The 6.6kW charger was my main motivation to getting the XSE w/Premium package. If I wanted to be cheap, I would have just kept driving my 21 year old honda.

 

Yes, buying all three packages was worth it for me.

I could not afford … regret.

 

Same here - Didn't want to regret anything as I will keep the car in the family for 10 Years.

I would have regretted not having the HUD, I love it. Have it on my Rav4 Prime and my Prius Prime.

I drive 300 to 600 miles a week. Sometimes 2 hours or more a day in the R4P.

 

With a Tesla, you can get more EV range when you pay more. If you get extra EV range (i.e., 10 extra miles) with XSE PP, I would be more than happy to pay more for it. I think EV range of ~45 (less in winter) is okay but not great. An EV range of 70+ miles on XSE would have been really nice.

 

Premium package comes with lots of bells and whistles, but is it really worth it?
I mean it's almost 6K more and as far as I can see the main upgrade you get over XSE bare-bone is a better sound system, panoramic sunroof, and 360 degree camera.
I live in Texas and heated seats and steering wheel don't really matter to me.
Am I missing anything?
I'd appreciate some advice as I am pre-ordering a RAV4 prime XSE.

We own 2 Rav 4 Primes in SE

We paid $41k and $41,700

The loaded XSE is $9k more or $50k

Multiply that by 2 Primes and now we are looking at about $18k.

The faster charger would be nice but I drive to work plug it in and in 4 hours unplug it.

If I drove it during the work day the quicker charge would be nice but for my job it sits for 10 hours before I drive it home and the slower charger is fine.

At home it charges while I am sleeping so a fast charge is not necessary.

We don’t eat in our cars so fake leather is not necessary.

I don’t listen to music and my wife listens to talk radio so a premium sound system is not necessary.

It comes down to lifestyle and the extra bells and whistles for our needs are not justified. I hate car payments and we paid off the first in 10 months and the second will be paid off next April or 9 months. Add another $18k for the XSE and we would be adding more months to the loan.

Each to their own and if you want the bells and whistles go for it, but if it stresses your budget it is not worth it.

 

I hate car payments and we paid off the first in 10 months and the second will be paid off next April or 9 months. Add another $18k for the XSE and we would be adding more months to the loan.

Just make more money and you don't have to worry about getting any loans for whatever you buy. Most people who are buying XSE have money and they are not making XSE PP decision based on loan payments like you. I am willing to pay more if I can get extra EV miles.

 

Premium package comes with lots of bells and whistles, but is it really worth it?

Are the various features worth it to you or the various people who bought the XSE? That is the question.

If you can afford it, then get it. Retrofitting the 6.6kW charger and kick sensor is $2k in Toyota OEM parts.

For me, these are the only differences that I care about on the XSE:
*6.6kW charger (retrofitting a base SE or non Premium XSE will cost at lest $1789 for the 6.6kW charger alone. Other parts may be required too. No guarantee it will work, but it should).
*Kick Sensor on rear hatch (At least $250 to retrofit; see the part lists.)
*Smart Key rear door handles.
*Dynamic rear back-up gridlines.
*Front driver power memory seat.
*Front passenger power seat [4way adjustment only though ]
*Birds Eye View

Indifferent w/ these features:
*panoramic moonroof
*1500W inverter in trunk (this will probably appeal to campers)
*Heated & Ventilated FRONT seats (Driver & Passenger)
*Parking assist
*HATE the JBL!!!
*Two-tone paint.
*19in wheels.

 

I don't believe anyone mentioned the adaptive headlights. I have an older Lexus with them and they're a very useful safety feature when you travel on dimly lit roads that you aren't familiar with. It's one of the things I miss having on my rav4.

 

We got the base SE (no options) and have the adaptive headlights and adaptive cruise control -- so those things appear standard on all RAV4 Primes (not options unique to XSE trim or Premium package)...

People mention the 6.6-kW charger, but we find that the 3.3-kW base charger is plenty fine for such a small battery pack ("small" compared to BEV packs); we charge fine every night on 120 volts and have almost never lacked the battery charge that we needed for our daily driving, in over a year of ownership of our SE. (That said, would I like a 30-kWh battery pack in a RAV4 Prime? You betcha! If that were the case, we'd simply upgrade to a 240-volt outlet in our garage; I'm guessing that a 30-kWh Prime would have an onboard 6.6-kW charging converter standard anyway.)

 

ya like has been said this is more of a personal choice . id like to have the hud and overhead cam i think they would be cool . being in Canada we get the 6.6 charger and heated seats on the SE. many reviewers list the sound system upgrade as disappointing . really dont like moon roof hate bigger wheels to the point i would have to buy wheel and tires to replace costing extra once again. wish i could get an SE with hud and overhead cam .

 

Premium package comes with lots of bells and whistles, but is it really worth it?

Like anything else, value is very subjective. Most people could easily make do with a regular RAV4 or Prius Prime or Nissan Leaf and save even more money. Others have no issue loading up an X3 30e or Q5e or XC60 Recharge or Model Y and spend much more and have zero regrets. There's always a car that's greener or cheaper or better in some way to someone else. I had a choice and I liked the PP features and I could afford it, so I decided to go for it. Was it worth the investments that could have made 10% or more since June? Maybe not, but I don't regret it at all. Heck, right now I could sell it for over 10% more than what I paid if I wanted to trade out.

I mostly charge overnight and never really need to use public chargers, but it's handy to get extra miles from the 6.6kW system when using a free Volta. The front ventilated seats aren't great, but still better than unventilated, sweaty black pleather. I thought the overhead camera systems were just OK, but I really appreciate it more than I thought. The JBL system is a nice upgrade if you aren't planning to go aftermarket. The 120V AC outlet is handy, but not essential.

I think the main features for me are the Heads-Up Display, adaptive headlights and the rear cross traffic alert/braking system. The digital rear-view mirror also has a wider angle of view and is unobstructed by head restraints or cargo. For me, that more than offsets the fact that it is subject to glare and low contrast. If you have teen drivers or anyone prone to being distracted in your family, you could easily justify the cost for these features alone.

All that said, I'd have been very happy with an SE, too. Don't listen to any naysayers- enjoy whatever you buy and don't look back ;-)

 

pretty sure he meant 4 bucks a gallon . could be wrong.

 

Yup...pretty sure you're right!

 

OP, I’m in Texas and have had the XSE PP since April, love it. All the extra features were worth for me. I have found everything useful, even the heated seats.

 

While I got the XSE PP I think I could take it or leave it... after driving it for 3,000 miles I think the driving experience would be pretty much identical. I do really like the 6.6Kw charger -- it's what sold me on the PP. Otherwise I would have gotten the barebones SE.

Item by item

• Toyota app -- I don't use it and it's poorly executed
• Wireless charger -- useless
• Two tone paint -- don't care
• LED front accent lights -- fog lights are probably more useful
• Heated steering wheel -- I live in the northeast and have many pairs of gloves
• Ventilated seats -- haven't used them yet
• LDA -- goes off frequently when used
• adaptive cruise control -- nice but regular cruise works fine for me, which I use 75% of the time vs. adaptive.
• pano roof -- will use it maybe once or twice in the car's lifetime.
• HUD -- nice but I'm so used to looking at the dashboard
• Kick to open lift gate -- sort of lost it when I installed an aftermarket hitch. It would be faster to open / close if was completely manual.
• Digital mirror -- I don't use it. I wear glasses and it takes a second or so to refocus.

Things I like

• Faster charger
• Electric range
• Cargo space
• CarPlay
• fake leather seats (but could have gotten them aftermarket)
• all four doors unlock upon touch
• Homelink (again, could have installed it aftermarket)
• the 360 camera is sort of cool. Helps me in tight parallel parking spots.

 

Premium package comes with lots of bells and whistles, but is it really worth it?
I mean it's almost 6K more and as far as I can see the main upgrade you get over XSE bare-bone is a better sound system, panoramic sunroof, and 360 degree camera.
I live in Texas and heated seats and steering wheel don't really matter to me.
Am I missing anything?
I'd appreciate some advice as I am pre-ordering a RAV4 prime XSE.

In general I would never get what they call "looser edition" aka base models just not worth it for me but the fully loaded XSE premium when I looked at it didn't make sense after I owned hybrid limited for a year. Most "premium" features either were useless or plain bad.

Audio package nothing special
panoramic moonroof - useless, just heats up cabin and brings more noise
bird’s eye view camera - terrible low resolution for side view though front camera does help
heads-up display - I have it in my other car and I don't use it much
adaptive front lighting - don't have need for it
ventilated front seats - weak, wish for cooled ones
Digital mirror - found it difficult on the eyes to use

faster charging is probably the only worthy feature but just for this I wouldn't want to overpay for premium

 

In general I would never get what they call "looser edition" aka base models just not worth it for me

Are you saying the base model is loose and not tight?

 

Premium package comes with lots of bells and whistles, but is it really worth it?
I mean it's almost 6K more and as far as I can see the main upgrade you get over XSE bare-bone is a better sound system, panoramic sunroof, and 360 degree camera.
I live in Texas and heated seats and steering wheel don't really matter to me.
Am I missing anything?
I'd appreciate some advice as I am pre-ordering a RAV4 prime XSE.

As other people have mentioned - HUD, HUD, HUD! I know it may seem strange, but think about its value because it keeps you looking forward all the time vs even quick glances at the standard instrument panel. Convenience, safety, etc.

The upgraded sound system is good but not excellent - I've experienced better upgraded sound systems. Panoramic roof, solid. 360 degree camera, good. Air conditioned seats, good - again, I've experienced better.

 

As other people have mentioned - HUD, HUD, HUD! I know it may seem strange, but think about its value because it keeps you looking forward all the time vs even quick glances at the standard instrument panel. Convenience, safety, etc.

HUD really? I have it in my Ford and it has more info then Toyota HUD but it's not something I can't live without or overpay 6k. You can get external HUD for $20. Sure it's not as good as OEM but I am sure there more expensive better options too

HUD Display Head-Up Display Car-styling Overspeed Warning Windshield Projector | eBay

 

I wonder - if you flip this question around a little, does it still work? IE: would the depreciation on the Premium Package make it worth enjoying if you turn over your car every 5 years or so? In other words, would you possibly get to enjoy all those features for "free" because you recoup the pricing premium at trade-in?

I've always wondered how that stacks up...

 

You can check KBB.com value to get your answer. In short you will not recoup the price premium

 

Look at the used vehicle prices on Carvana. The XSE and Limited sell for at least $2 to $4 thousand more.
And the higher the trim makes the R4P more desirable if you have to sell it.

 

You will recover some cost of the package but not all of the package.

 

^^^ this.

It's not reasonable to assume that the cost of any option/package will be fully recovered 5 (or 3, or 6, etc...) years down the road. It is reasonable to assume that the more options, the higher the future resale value will be. It will also likely attract a larger audience of interested buyers... those who simply must have option x or option y, and those who do not particularly care.

 

The cost of adding the Premium Package is somewhat dependent upon how you would order the XSE without it but the incentives can really increase it dramatically because you get the same federal incentive regardless of how you order it. And in some states (like where I live in Washington) the PP puts you over the limit for state incentives (in Washington you get $2K off sales tax on a R4P under $45k). That can increase the overall cost of ownership of the premium package itself by a lot.

 

.

 

I could have bought either, and decided against Premium as most of the features in it, especially the panoramic sunroof and the 6.6 charger as I'll never ever need it, the kick sensor was overkill and only has to be removed or diverted if you install the OEM hitch receiver, the 120v A/C outlet we had on a Ford Escape Hybrid and never used it once in 10y, and a HUD is something I don't need and I'm very familiar with what they are and how they work, though I assumed my XSE came with it but alas it doesn't. I did opt for the Premium Audio/Dynamic Nav & Weather Packages as those are valued for us. It's an exceedingly simple matter w/ XSE's rear view wide angle camera, the cross traffic alert, the mirrors, the AVAS running over anything behind you would take some genuine inattention. With the nearly $4K we saved we decided to put it into something that we really needed which is the OEM hitch and wiring harness.

 

I honestly don't know why Toyota doesn't just offer just a single trim level, single color, no options RAV4 Prime.

As evidenced by this thread, it's quite obvious that we all have identical needs and priorities.

 

Is anyone actually getting the Prem to charge up in 2.5 hours? I have the amp settings on the car set to "max" and a 40amp level 2 charger connected and it still says 3.5 hours to fully charge.

 

Yes, it's about 2.5 hours give or take for me with the battery nearly drained. Have you checked the charge settings via the dashboard menus? It can be set to charge at a lower rate than maximum (although I don't understand why you're getting 3.5 hrs). Is it actually taking that long to charge? Check owner's manual page 570.

 

The Premium package was worth it to me. I like the options and don’t really care what others feel. They can do what’s right for them.

• Love the 6.6 KW charger. Takes between 2.5 and 3 hours for full charge depending on temp.
• Love the Hud
• Love the VIDEO Mirror
• Love the heated and cooled seats
• Love the adaptive headlights.

and it’s still almost $20000 cheaper than a Tesla Model Y with Tax credit.

Best part. Toyota reliability 😊

 

Premium package comes with lots of bells and whistles, but is it really worth it?

As others have stated, this is such a subjective question. To me it was absolutely worth the extra $ spent! Obviously no one upgrade would be worth the upcharge but the combination of features that the PP offers were well worth the price.