I'm sure many have seen this on the facebook group, but I just saw this post, and it's concerning. Wondering if anyone has had similar experiences to this. Please comment.
He're's an excerpt explaining his reasoning:
Bottom line, it was two main things: It did not make me happy and it did not seem like a good trade for $60K.
A little background. I am financially stable. I live an active lifestyle and engage in outdoor sports/activities often. I am tech savvy and like automation when it makes sense and is useful. I came from a 2020 T4R OR. I am the target market for the LC and planned to use it as intended, as a family fun vehicle. On paper, the LC seemed like the perfect candidate.
Things I greatly disliked:
1. The TSS 3.0 stuff is very intrusive and annoying to deal with. Pulling into my garage it would still autobrake when I got close to the wall. Yes, even with PDA off. Yes, even with collision detection off. It is all poorly executed and I would rather not have 90% of it. It slowly ate away at my ownership experience. I was often wondering what was going to intrude on me or annoy me next.
2. Needless complexity. The manual is almost 1000 pages. The quick reference guide is 300 pages. If you need 1000 pages to explain how all the stuff in your SUV works, you have a complexity problem. If you have to have a manual specifically for the infotainment, you have a complexity problem. If even your quick reference guide is 300 pages, you have a complexity problem. Most features should be intuitive and self-explanatory. Many other vehicles are able to pull this off without needing 1000 page manuals.
Try going from station 1 to 20 on Sirius XM with your steering wheel controls. You can’t. You have to use the - + control on the infotainment screen. So maybe save every station 1-50 as a preset? Nope. Sorry. 20 preset limit. This problem has endured for something like 12 years. My 2012 Corvette was the same way. My 2020 T4R OR was the same. Incredibly annoying. There is literally no way to simply browse the stations one by one without taking your hand off the steering wheel.
No reason to go over the dash menu system. It is a train wreck and needlessly complicated, as I am sure most people already know.
3. Aesthetics and low budget feel. I do not like the Prado association. The Prado is a lower market vehicle. The dash and infotainment screens of the 1958 do not match what a $60K vehicle should have. A Camry gives you a bigger infotainment screen at half the price. I get it, they are trying to push you to the LC trim, but it is still a $60K vehicle. The rear compartment has vents and USB-C ports indicating they did not prepare for or plan for having a separate rear interior for the markets with no third row. Feels like they did not finish development or just said “screw it.” The mirror and gizmo pod blocks a large portion of an already small windshield.
4. Stuff that did not work right. The dash would display “window open” when my DS door was open. No, the window was not cracked. Somehow, that magically fixed itself after a month of ownership. The infotainment ambient light brightness control is completely nonfunctional. Even when it is dark out, the screen is blindingly bright. The ambient light control is simply nonfunctional. In a strange twist, two days ago, my infotainment and all controls/settings randomly reset themselves. The screen went back to the daytime theme and supernova brightness. All electronic nannies were back on to annoy me. For some reason when using apple carplay the volume is half as loud as all the other sources. You have to crank it up to hear it. The cruise control icon is always on. It never goes away, regardless of whether I am using cruise or not. Even in park. Regardless of the settings or amount of times I push the steering wheel button.
5. The hybrid driveline system is clunky. There is an obvious jerk when the engine kicks in. The hybrid system seems to do nothing at low speeds where it is likely the most useful (stop and go traffic) because the engine kicks on at anything over “idle speed.” There is a delay when you hit the gas from a stop. When pulling out in traffic you have to floor it to get to traffic speed fast enough to not hold everyone else up.
6. Aside from the vehicle itself, another thing I do not like is the general path/direction of Toyota. Between the Tundra and GX engine recall, forcing everyone into hybrids if you want a Camry, and increasing data collection practices, I just do not want to be a part of it. There has been a departure from their company values and culture and it is costing them a lot.
Things I liked about it.
1. Distinctive style and heritage. Nothing else looks like it. Everyone wants to know what it is and wants to talk about it.
2. The hybrid system. It saves gas and when it is assisting the gas engine, you can definitely feel it…as long as you are already moving. Having a built-in 2400W inverter at your disposal is fantastic and a huge asset for campers.
3. Spacious interior. Plenty of room, but still did not feel like a “huge” vehicle.
4. Off-road capability/suspension. On light off-road, it does not even feel like you are off-road at all; it feels like you are still on pavement. On road, it is easy to get around and comfortable to drive. Toyota got this right.
He're's an excerpt explaining his reasoning:
Bottom line, it was two main things: It did not make me happy and it did not seem like a good trade for $60K.
A little background. I am financially stable. I live an active lifestyle and engage in outdoor sports/activities often. I am tech savvy and like automation when it makes sense and is useful. I came from a 2020 T4R OR. I am the target market for the LC and planned to use it as intended, as a family fun vehicle. On paper, the LC seemed like the perfect candidate.
Things I greatly disliked:
1. The TSS 3.0 stuff is very intrusive and annoying to deal with. Pulling into my garage it would still autobrake when I got close to the wall. Yes, even with PDA off. Yes, even with collision detection off. It is all poorly executed and I would rather not have 90% of it. It slowly ate away at my ownership experience. I was often wondering what was going to intrude on me or annoy me next.
2. Needless complexity. The manual is almost 1000 pages. The quick reference guide is 300 pages. If you need 1000 pages to explain how all the stuff in your SUV works, you have a complexity problem. If you have to have a manual specifically for the infotainment, you have a complexity problem. If even your quick reference guide is 300 pages, you have a complexity problem. Most features should be intuitive and self-explanatory. Many other vehicles are able to pull this off without needing 1000 page manuals.
Try going from station 1 to 20 on Sirius XM with your steering wheel controls. You can’t. You have to use the - + control on the infotainment screen. So maybe save every station 1-50 as a preset? Nope. Sorry. 20 preset limit. This problem has endured for something like 12 years. My 2012 Corvette was the same way. My 2020 T4R OR was the same. Incredibly annoying. There is literally no way to simply browse the stations one by one without taking your hand off the steering wheel.
No reason to go over the dash menu system. It is a train wreck and needlessly complicated, as I am sure most people already know.
3. Aesthetics and low budget feel. I do not like the Prado association. The Prado is a lower market vehicle. The dash and infotainment screens of the 1958 do not match what a $60K vehicle should have. A Camry gives you a bigger infotainment screen at half the price. I get it, they are trying to push you to the LC trim, but it is still a $60K vehicle. The rear compartment has vents and USB-C ports indicating they did not prepare for or plan for having a separate rear interior for the markets with no third row. Feels like they did not finish development or just said “screw it.” The mirror and gizmo pod blocks a large portion of an already small windshield.
4. Stuff that did not work right. The dash would display “window open” when my DS door was open. No, the window was not cracked. Somehow, that magically fixed itself after a month of ownership. The infotainment ambient light brightness control is completely nonfunctional. Even when it is dark out, the screen is blindingly bright. The ambient light control is simply nonfunctional. In a strange twist, two days ago, my infotainment and all controls/settings randomly reset themselves. The screen went back to the daytime theme and supernova brightness. All electronic nannies were back on to annoy me. For some reason when using apple carplay the volume is half as loud as all the other sources. You have to crank it up to hear it. The cruise control icon is always on. It never goes away, regardless of whether I am using cruise or not. Even in park. Regardless of the settings or amount of times I push the steering wheel button.
5. The hybrid driveline system is clunky. There is an obvious jerk when the engine kicks in. The hybrid system seems to do nothing at low speeds where it is likely the most useful (stop and go traffic) because the engine kicks on at anything over “idle speed.” There is a delay when you hit the gas from a stop. When pulling out in traffic you have to floor it to get to traffic speed fast enough to not hold everyone else up.
6. Aside from the vehicle itself, another thing I do not like is the general path/direction of Toyota. Between the Tundra and GX engine recall, forcing everyone into hybrids if you want a Camry, and increasing data collection practices, I just do not want to be a part of it. There has been a departure from their company values and culture and it is costing them a lot.
Things I liked about it.
1. Distinctive style and heritage. Nothing else looks like it. Everyone wants to know what it is and wants to talk about it.
2. The hybrid system. It saves gas and when it is assisting the gas engine, you can definitely feel it…as long as you are already moving. Having a built-in 2400W inverter at your disposal is fantastic and a huge asset for campers.
3. Spacious interior. Plenty of room, but still did not feel like a “huge” vehicle.
4. Off-road capability/suspension. On light off-road, it does not even feel like you are off-road at all; it feels like you are still on pavement. On road, it is easy to get around and comfortable to drive. Toyota got this right.
) This 250, for some reason, is one of the most fun i’ve driven on and off road. That said, i can totally appreciate the disappointment of those coming from 4runners thinking they were stepping up to JLR and G-Wagen lvl luxury. Sorry, but even the $110k LC sold before the break wasn’t that luxurious. You still knew immediately that you were in a Toyota. Anyway, i’m sure JLR is waiting with open arms to part him from $100k for the air-bagged Defender of his dreams. And good for him, for it 
