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Comment by soared | Hacker News Reader

Agreed - check out for example a Toyota rav4 le. This is the base model with effectively zero modern “subscription-esque” fancy features. It’s got a touchscreen and power windows, but otherwise it’s all the reliability/etc of Toyota and that’s it. About half the price of what most rav4s are listed at and $20k+ cheaper than a 4Runner.

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It has a Data Communication Module - it spies on you. If you try to remove that, you lose audio in the front right speaker.

Oh no, across the line Toyota still tries to sell you a subscription service that's required for things like remote start.

So? Why would people buying the cheapest possible model care?

Remote start is a luxury feature. Just ignore the subscription offer like a luxury trim option.

It depends. What else is included in that subscription? Mirror and seat heating by any chance?

Can you buy a Toyota that isn't always online? Because having remote start available, subscription or not, sounds like you can't.

My point was you can buy a car that is primarily safety+capability and not luxury+subscription. My rav4 has a touchscreen and power windows but that’s literally it as far as convenience/luxury. ~28k a couple years ago, no subscription.

Anything heated, remote, touch to start, etc is in the luxury category what gp was asking about avoiding.

Depending on the weather, heated mirrors may be a safety feature. I'd very much like that for rain/foggy days for example.

This comment section went from “I don’t understand why car makers don’t sell a cheap stripped down car without luxuries” to “Heated mirrors and seats are very important” very quickly.

HN comments discovering in real time why the stripped-down base model vehicles don’t actually sell. People like those luxury features and they choose to pay extra for them.

Same procedure as every year, James.

But which ones are luxury? I don’t want a fucking infotainment system that has the fucking a/c controls on the fucking touch screen for example.

And I’m not willing to pay 30% extra for electric and then wonder if it’s safe to rent a cabin in the woods for the new year’s.

> It depends. What else is included in that subscription? Mirror and seat heating by any chance?

Are you saying it is? Or is this a rhetorical question?

Either way, those are again luxury features. If someone is in the market for those features they’re not really looking for the base model any more.

> Are you saying it is? Or is this a rhetorical question?

i don't know. I'm not in the market for a new car atm. And considering how enthittified new cars are, I shouldn't be at all.

Remote start isn't a luxury feature unless you also classify remote unlock as a feature. Toyota (and many manufacturers) used to use the key fob to also start the car but they disabled that so they could charge for it as part of the subscription.

In the United States (USD, MSRP):

* 2026 Toyota RAV4 LE (base trim) - $31,900

* 2026 Toyota RAV4 Limited (top trim) - $43,300

* 2026 Toyota 4Runner SR5 (base trim) - $41,570

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