Tell me how the LC250 1958 will survive after this

[MRego]

My local dealer has 8 available (1958) online all under $60K

This one at $54,455

durangomotorcompany.com - New Vehicles Durango Colorado

Durango Motor Company

www.durangomotorcompany.com

I’ll take the LC over the 4R for the AWD alone.

Yep. My point exactly. Close to me the same happens. All dealers have at least 8 or 10 sitting in the lots. Apparently, they can't give them away. At $50k it starts to make sense.

 

[MRego]

Cloth seats are a feature.

The cloth seats in my 06 Corolla look and have aged 10x better than the leather seats in my 05 LC.

Seriously? I get some have nostalgia for it, but a feature is a bit much. Otherwise, they would offer as an option in the higher trims.

Have you seen the softex in 10-year-old 4Runners? Looks like new.

 

[Corbet]

Yep. My point exactly. Close to me the same happens. All dealers have at least 8 or 10 sitting in the lots. Apparently, they can't give them away. At $50k it starts to make sense.

My understanding is that the production numbers are 1958 heavy right now. High trim level LC’s are still moving quickly and at MSRP here in Durango.

It will be interesting if the 1958 trim returns in 2026 with 4R out in the mix. I feel like there is a market for 1958, generally for the former 55/60/80 series owner wanting to trade into little to no maintenance later in life. That might be a niche market for a full production vehicle.

 

[bj70bc]

58 should have a solid axle in the front and no one would be saying anything else about it, just, yes please

 

[Corbet]

58 should have a solid axle in the front and no one would be saying anything else about it, just, yes please

He’s not wrong.

 

[rexington14]

Seriously? I get some have nostalgia for it, but a feature is a bit much. Otherwise, they would offer as an option in the higher trims.

Have you seen the softex in 10-year-old 4Runners? Looks like new.

Softex is just vinyl. Not breathable, not comfortable, gets hot, and still creases and wears over time. Looks cheap, similar to laminate flooring.

Cloth seats offered at a lower price point where I'm not defaulted into paying (way) more for leather or synthetic is definitely a feature - especially in a stripper model. Heck, I wouldn't mind cloth seats as an option on the higher trims too - with the appropriate price reduction of course.

It's no different than (sadly, mostly in the past) being able to option a manual transmission in a car - saving yourself $2k over the exact same model with an automatic - and getting all of the benefits of rowing your own gears to boot.

 

[Jetboy]

Softex is an upgrade from leather. No question as someone who's had it for a long term vehicle. I would pay more for it over leather. I currently have real leather in all of my cars except my FJ40. But I'd swap all of them for softex given the option. Even my Lexus with the perforated leather. It's just a better product IMO. Especially for an SUV that is going to get wet and dirty, have dogs in it, haul firewood, tools, and sharp or abrasive things.

Cloth is a fine base to put seat covers over. It's too hard to clean for dogs, kids, oil and grease, mud - all the things that I expect to have on them in this type of vehcile. Can you imagine cloth seats in a side by side? Or on a Tractor? Me either.

 

[Jetboy]

58 should have a solid axle in the front and no one would be saying anything else about it, just, yes please

I think the biggest problem would be how to keep the LC70 alive if there was an LC250 with the same running gear and more comfortabl interior. Maybe the two should have been consolidated?

 

[bj70bc]

same way the 70 and 80 co existed

 

[Catching Neutral]

My initial plan was to buy a 1958, put leather on at the dealer and rock on. Bummer the 1958 doesn’t have the moon roof. That is a deal breaker for me. Bonus that the upper trim level has more color options however I think toyota should expand and have available on both trim options

 

[TWILLY]

Seriously? I get some have nostalgia for it, but a feature is a bit much. Otherwise, they would offer as an option in the higher trims.

Have you seen the softex in 10-year-old 4Runners? Looks like new.

Cloth is absolutely a feature.

Softex's comfort doesn't really compare to good Toyota cloth, and Toyota's crappy leather isn't even worth discussing.

Meanwhile, the cloth in our 34 year old J80, which has been a touring truck, literally still looks like new. That is absolutely a feature, and in my opinion one of the best features of the 58.

 

[MRego]

Softex's comfort doesn't really compare to good Toyota cloth, and Toyota's crappy leather isn't even worth discussing.

Depending on the leather, I agree it will be crappy after several years. To me, the softex is great when compared to some of the leather and not uncomfortable at all. This new one in the 6thgen might even be better because it is perforated, having also the cooling feature, which was not present in the previous version that only had heating. I have had multiple 4runners in the past and all softex seats were pretty much the same when I sell as when I bought them. I did not babied it, on the contrary was pretty rough with it exactly because I knew of their (great) reputation.

 

[Jstawgn]

The new Passport would canibalize a lot of 4Runner sales. Most people don't off road new vehicles and they ride much nicer on the road. The non turbo/non hybid might attract more traditional buyer.

 

[bj70bc]

cloths always better unless you have kids that are making wet messes that need wiping up

 

[rexington14]

cloths always better unless you have kids that are making wet messes that need wiping up

Limit the kids to "water only" in the car and it's better there too.

Toyota Softex just feels and screams "rental car interior". (it's perfect for this use case)

Once the car doors open Toyota softex can be spotted from multiple parking spaces away. Even more so when it wears differently with seat usage (changes color, becomes shiny, etc.) It really doesn't resemble quality genuine leather, at all. Years ago the earlier synthetics / vinyl were the cheap stuff, and you had to pay more for cloth. Yet today Toyota has everyone fooled that softex is worth "upgrading" and paying thousands more for.

Give me the option of lesser or equivalent cost cloth seats vs. Toyota softex and I'm choosing cloth every time. Comfort and longevity is night and day. Softex is guaranteed swamp ass in anything other than freezing weather. It feels like my fly fishing waders.

FWIW, a couple of the other manufacturers like Mercedes have a slightly higher quality synthetic option (MBTex). Toyota softex however is not that.

 

[MRego]

We have such widely different experiences with softex. In one of our previous 4runners, that light beige interior was super nice, and nothing shine after several years of use. My wife's current 5th gen Pro is brand new and the black softex feels very good too. You can clean anything that spills on it with easy. I guess to each their own. Anyway, back to the 6th gen, I can only imagine Toyota improved the softex now that it is perforated and ventilated, so it solves your issue with swamp ass.

 

[Jetboy]

The anti softex is odd. After owning it, is hard to imagine someone owning it long term and not thinking it's pretty great. Synthetic materials have come a long way since the basic vinyl seats. Fabric is also synthetic, but having any spilled liquid flow through to the foam means liquid and dirt will inevitably deposit in the foam and under the fabric.

I'm not sure i would want perforated softex either as my top choice. But it at least has a decent shot at staying breathable. Perforated leather foam is plugged with conditioner within a year or two and it might a well be solid.

Everyone fishes differently, but I can't imagine getting into a cloth interior after cleaning 20 or 30 salmon on the beach. The fabric will smell like fish for weeks.

 

[rexington14]

I don’t think it’s odd. These are pretty common complaints and drawbacks versus cloth seats.

Toyota has put their softex into pretty much every one of their models by now. I’ve driven and ridden shotgun long distance in multiple of them (and left ass and lower back sweat marks when I got out). I've also seen some seats appear shinier than others depending on how often they are sat in over time.

I know you’re up in AK so you might feel different, but here in the south with hot and humid weather the complete lack of breathability is a massive drawback. It’s even worse for the wife who wears short shorts / skirts , and has direct skin contact with that softex. Some manufacturers have addressed this issue directly with two tone seating: cloth in the middle where you sit and softex (or leather) trimmed on the edges and headrest (which IMO is a decent option).

Perforated softex sounds net negative to me as you’ve taken the biggest benefit to softex over cloth and thrown that out the window as now your soda, French fry grease and salmon guts are going to seep into the perforations.

Bottom line is I prioritize and find that the comfort, breathability and how well it wears over time (since I keep my vehicles long term) is superior with cloth. I can control how dirty I allow them to get though behavior modification. Rules on eating / drinking in the car, and cleaning up before getting in instead of just jumping in with salmon guts all over me. The fact that cloth is (significantly) more inexpensive is just icing on the cake.

 

[Jetboy]

I had was in Utah for 17 years. It gets kinda warm. I've only had leather in vehicles here in AK, only been here 2 years - probably leaving this coming summer. But cooling isn't really an issue, that's for sure. Alaska is 3 things: cold , dark, and wet. Cleanability is pretty important here Everything's wet. Always. Mud is a constant. And it doesn't dry easily because it's coastal humid. But cloth isnt great in the desert either. It's fine if you put a cover on it, or don't get it dirty or wet I guess.

I'm not totally sure what the issue with cooling is TBH. We're talking about vehicles with climate control and remote start. What's happening in your car that you need to absorb and evaporate liters of sweat through the seats? That's not an issue I've ever had. I think maybe 110F is the hottest I've seen out adventuring in my 4R. Seemed to be the same 72 degrees inside as normal.

Obviously there's a group with a preference for cloth and one for softex. I'm not sure there's a big demand for leather. But Toyota makes all 3 already. So why not offer them in any configuration? Everyone can get what they want. Pretty much every other manufacturer will build it the way you want. Why not Toyota??

 

[rexington14]

Cleanability benefits of softex over cloth seats is clear. This is why I've seen it in multiple Toyota car rentals that I’ve been in. A quick wipe down of the seats by the staff and they are good to go for the next renter.

As far as the cooling problem man I’m not really sure what else to say. Certainly worse in summers but I think it’s simply due to the fact softex isn't breathable. Even with A/C on it eventually gets hot uncomfortable and sweaty wherever you are in most contact with the material. There's just no airflow to fairly large surface areas of the body. Resulting in swamp ass (and back). Maybe some are more sensitive to this? But I am confident I am not alone with this issue with softex.

It does seems like seating material should be one of the easier things to implement customization on across trims.