Automobiles vary greatly in size, shape, color, type, available options… well you get the idea. That can make it really difficult to find which one of thousands of cars is best for you.
Thankfully, we’re here to make it easier for everyone!
We’re going to break down some of the letters and numbers to try and explain what they all mean. Before we do that, we have to make it even a little simpler than that by explaining the basic types of vehicles that are out there.
Types of Automobiles:
At their most basic level, automobiles can be broken down into four separate categories: Cars, Trucks, Vans, and SUVs.
Cars:
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“Car” is the most universal term for a street-legal vehicle with four wheels. Cars are more specifically broken down further into coupes, sedans, and station wagons or hatchbacks. Cars are usually two-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicles with 2-5 seats.
Some distinction has been lost between cars and other types of vehicles in recent years due to design changes and an overall move toward better fuel efficiency. A car usually has a lower roofline, lower towing capacity, less off-road capability, and lower ground clearance than other automobiles.
Trucks:
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When we say “truck”, we usually mean pickup truck or tractor trailer. Most people don’t drive big rigs on a daily basis so a pickup truck will be the vehicle on which we focus.
It’s generally easy to distinguish a truck or pickup from another vehicle as it has a bed. Some vehicles like the Chevy Avalanche and Honda Ridgeline have tried to be both an SUV and pickup. The Chevy El Camino, Ford Ranchero, and Chevy SSR have all tried to throw “sports car” in with the pickup recipe. Some have succeeded in cross-breeding vehicles, but most hybrids aren’t in production any longer.
Vans:
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Vans are the friendliest automobiles on the road. They can do just about everything a family would need. Practicality is better than trucks, SUVs, and Cars, so a van strikes a great balance between all three.
Vans are larger than cars and SUVs, they can be just as tall as trucks, and can haul more people in better comfort than all three. The SUV craze has popularized third-row-seating in SUVs, but Vans can still do it better. Many vans are now available in all-wheel drive for added usability.
SUVs:
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We like to keep it simple. An SUV is basically a station wagon or hatchback with added ground clearance. They provide practicality and a commanding view of the road as they sit higher than most cars. Most all SUVs are available with all or four-wheel-drive.
There are a dizzying variety of SUVs, most of which attempt to spotlight a different aspect of “Utility Vehicle” never been thought of before. The most common of these is the Crossover SUV. It attempts to combine the size and height of a typical truck or SUV with the driving characteristics of a traditional car. It must be working because the SUV is the hottest vehicle you can buy right now.
Now that we’ve got that covered, on to some other important distinctions…
What is Make?
You have probably seen this online when looking for a car. Make is any brand of automobile you can buy. Toyota, Ford, and Lamborghini are all makes of vehicles.
What is Model?
Model is the kind of vehicle that one can buy within a make. For Toyota, the Corolla, Camry, and Highlander are all models they sell. Models can be broken down further into trim level.
Understanding Trim Levels:
Trim levels are essentially packages featuring varying levels of equipment on each model of vehicle. Each has a designated letter or name, and each manufacturer has a different schema when it comes to trim levels.
A good example to use is Honda. Generally speaking, the trim levels that Honda offers on their vehicles are as follows: LX, EX, EX-L, Touring. There are a few exceptions to these within the Honda lineup. The Accord and Civic offer the Sport trim. The Odyssey and Pilot offer the Elite, which is a level higher than the Touring.
If you haven’t guessed already, I have listed these from the lowest to highest trim level. What do I mean by that?
For Honda, any LX trim would offer the fewest amenities to the buyer. It is considered the “base” model. An Accord LX would be the most inexpensive Accord model available. Most LX models will offer things like cloth upholstery, steel wheels with plastic wheel covers, and may even offer a manual transmission.
The EX trim would offer more features than the LX, and the EX-L still more than the EX. The Touring trim level, being the “top-of-the-line” trim level will offer things like leather seating, a sunroof, and a larger engine than other trims. Of course, the Touring is more expensive than other trims as well.
Honda does offer more trim levels than just the four mentioned above. The Civic and Accord insert the Sport trim, which is little more than an appearance package. The Elite trim is offered on some models and it on- ups the Touring trim by having the most luxurious and priciest equipment available in any Honda.
To confuse you just a little more, manufacturers also offer different trim levels for different vehicles within their own brand. Most Honda vehicles follow the schema we’ve mentioned, but if you take a look at the Ridgeline, you will see that it is offered in R, Sport, RTL, RTL-T, RTL-E, and Black Edition. This isn’t confusing at all…
Every manufacturer has their own way of naming their cars. Nissan has the S, SV, SR, and SL. Each of the four correspond nicely with the Honda trim levels mentioned above. Toyota offers the L, LE, SE, XLE, and XSE for many of their models.
Manufacturers like Chevrolet and Ford offer a dizzying array of trim levels with even more sub-packages available within each trim level. Our best advice to you is to look on the window sticker or ask your sales consultant to find the trim level that’s right for you.
Putting everything together:
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To recap, trim levels are confusing, and you may be even more confused now than you were before. Hopefully that isn’t the case. You may have a better understanding of what a trim level is, but all the letters may still be a mystery. We get it.
Your goal should be to not overthink everything. It’s more important to just take the letter designation at face value and understand what the car itself offers than trying to figure out what each letter stands for. However, they usually aren’t super difficult to figure out.
You can generally take a pretty good guess at what each trim level designation means:
L – Luxury
T – Touring
S – Sport
Special
G – Grade
GT – Grand Touring
T – Technology
E – Extra
Edition
X – Extra
D – Deluxe
You get the idea. Putting two designations together presumably gives you a little more than one by itself. The Toyota Camry XSE – Extra Special Edition – is the highest trim level Camry you can buy. The naming seems to follow logically, and you can put it all together for yourself.
Your salesman will always be able to help you further if you have any questions, but the window sticker will always tell you what’s really being offered.
Package Options:
There is still more to all of this, though. Most models come with available packages. Essentially, they are add-ons that pair with certain trim levels so the customer can be flexible with what they want.
Package options give even further customizability to a vehicle you want. Think of it this way:
You could buy a $100,000 house and install a pool in the backyard, or you could buy a $200,000 house, most likely with more space, more land, and possibly a pool already installed. If you don’t need space or land, adding a pool to the cheaper house gives you what you want without taking on the cost of the additional extras.
Packages just add some extra items, without adding features you don’t want or need. They can even add features to an already loaded vehicle.
Every manufacturer is different and each model is different. Available packages with included features will be very different from vehicle to vehicle. Here are some of the most common packages you can get from various manufacturers:
Technology Package:
This package is more commonly added to middle or top trim level vehicles. Cars usually have enough technology additions as you move up to a higher price bracket, but if that just doesn’t cut it or your budget can’t take it, adding a technology package is the way to go.
Technology packages usually include things like additional infotainment features, LED headlights, and remote engine start.
Sport Package:
Sport packages can usually be added to all trim levels but is also the easiest package to equip with a base model car. Sport packages are usually little more than cosmetic enhancements. If you want your car to look great and “go faster” because of it, this one is for you.
Sport package options usually include black wheels, spoilers and side skirts, and painted trim.
Convenience/Comfort Package:
Features added by convenience or comfort packages aren’t very common anymore. Usually that’s just because most of the features offered can be had by upgrading your trim level. Still, there are some manufacturers that offer these.
Options for these types of packages can include, remote start, leather seating, and heated or cooled seating.
Safety Package:
Most models simply add more safety features as you pay more for your car. As safety improves, these should become more popular as an add-on to lower-priced vehicles. Offering a safety package will give people the option to drive a safer car without paying for all the extras.
Safety packages add safety equipment to a vehicle, just as you’d expect. Automatic braking, blind spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert.
All this talk of trim levels, package options, and vehicle types can be confusing. It was never meant to be that way, but regulations and modern design have made standing out from the crowd especially important.
You won’t usually need to know all the ins and outs of exactly what everything means when it’s time for your next vehicle purchase, but isn’t it nice that you know a little more now than you did before?
