Upwards, Downwards: The Prices of Two Very Different Toyotas Head in Opposite Directions for 2019

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

It’ll be a sad day when Toyota parts ways with the 4Runner SUV, but at the present moment there’s no plan to strike the long-running, body-on-frame model from the lineup. You will, however, pay more to get behind the wheel of the 2019 4Runner’s ballsiest variant.

At the extreme opposite end of the size scale, Toyota wants to make it cheaper to bring home a Toyota that’s actually a Mazda.

Let’s start out with the 4Runner — or more specifically, the 4Runner TRD Pro. Toyota’s burly, family-friendly off-roader sees a significant price jump for 2019, indicative of extra equipment added to the trim for the coming model year.

According to order guides seen by CarsDirect, the 2019 4Runner TRD Pro stickers for $47,460 after a destination fee, or $3,340 more than the 2018 model. Elsewhere in the 4Runner range, prices only climb by $100. For that added dough, buyers see added capability. Toyota gave its TRD Pro models upgraded kit for 2019, with the 4Runner riding an inch higher and boasting improved suspension components. (Read a full run-down here.)

The 4Runner remains a very important product for Toyota, selling 12,444 examples in the U.S. in July alone. As one of the last “true” SUVs, the model, despite growing increasingly long in the tooth, saw its volume grow this year. Sales rose 26 percent in July, year over year, while volume over the first seven months of 2018 climbing 5.3 percent.

The diminutive Yaris Sedan, known until this coming model year as the Yaris iA (except in Canada, where it was always the Yaris Sedan), is a rebadged and mildly reworked Mazda 2 once sold under the Scion banner. It’s a complex lineage. For 2019, Toyota decided to grace the little car with a design refresh so mild, it’s almost identical to the 2018 model. (Some might say it is.)

Pricing most certainly is not the same as 2018, as the base Yaris L Sedan drops $500, stickering for $15,370 after destination. That makes it the cheapest Toyota in the stable. Toss in an automatic transmission for another $1,100 should you find manuals confusing and scary. Why the price drop? Well, the value proposition is an age-old thing, but those buyers stand to see last year’s standard alloys replaced with 15-inch steelies. Moving up a grand in price nets you an LE, which returns the alloys and adds other niceties like smart key and push-button ignition.

Higher up the trim and content ladder (there’s now a ladder — unlike before), the top-flight XLE model commands a price of $19,470, or just $150 less than the base Corolla L. You’d have to be a big Mazda fan to spring for the smaller car in this comparo.

[Images: Toyota]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Mikey Mikey on Aug 12, 2018

    I'm a 36+ years GM Canada retiree . Presently I own two Fords... These days with ferrying my grandchildren around, Ive entertained the thought of an SUV/CUV. I did take out a former daily rental Tahoe out for a drive. Very nice, but reluctant to buy a daily rental. I have driven my daughters Grand Cherokee extensively. The G.C. is a beautiful vehicle. My friend drives a loaded Acadia.. There again absolutely gorgeous vehicle.. IMHO, and only IMHO...The BOF Tahoe/Yukon is by far the most superior SUV..bar none.

    • Gtem Gtem on Aug 13, 2018

      "The BOF Tahoe/Yukon is by far the most superior SUV..bar none." They're good, no doubt, but that's quite a claim. On the lower end of the price scale I'd pick an Armada over a Tahoe, the 5.6L Nissan walks all over Chevy's 5.3L, and has much better ground clearance/angles compared to anything that's not a pricey Z71 variant. On the higher end, the new 10 speed Expedition with the latest iteration of the Ecoboost is damn impressive in terms of performance and interior comfort/design, although I'll always be leery of putting a ton of tongue weight on an independent rear suspension for serious towing.

  • Carroll Prescott Carroll Prescott on Aug 13, 2018

    Oddly enough, the sales of Honduh and Toyoduh cars are not as positive as one is being led to believe here. I believe all YTD sales of these branded cars are now trending negative. The reality may be that both companies are looking at the world through rose colored glasses - sadly the CUV/SUV infection continues with only the hope that $5 per gallon gasoline will cure the disease.

  • Rochester "better than Vinfast" is a pretty low bar.
  • TheMrFreeze That new Ferrari looks nice but other than that, nothing.And VW having to put an air-cooled Beetle in its display to try and make the ID.Buzz look cool makes this classic VW owner sad 😢
  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
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