Wo dering what's the cause of cargo floor to be higher in a regular 5th gen XLE compared to LE; its not that it has AWD traction motor or added batteries under there. The XLE and LTD loses 3.5 cu ft of space to what?
The higher trims get an ABS foam cargo tray with a floor deck covering that is level with the hatch threshold. The LE doesn't, so the cargo floor is sunken. There are illustrations of the different configurations in the manual. The tray and deck cen be removed if you need the total hatch space.
My LE also has a foam tray (see photo) and the floor covering on top. Why the higher trims have thicker ones cutting short cargo volume.
They really went the extra mile with the styrofoam inserts! Leaving them white was a nice touch /s Hopefully they aren’t as cheap and flimsy as they look.
The benefit is the flat load area when the seats are folded. Who knows why they decided that should be standard for higher trims outside Japan. In Japan the lower floor is standard across trims, and the higher floor is a (dealer?) option.
The others also get more usable cubbies for stashing stuff out of sight. In markets that get a spare tire, that also raises the rear floor up higher. It is ABS; same foam used in the bumpers. So it is tougher that styrofoam And it isn't like carbon black is an expensive additive. Toyota is looking cheap to save pennies.
It is EPP, expanded PP, the same material used in helmets, child car seats and some other life-saving equipments.
I get that it's not the most popular opinion, but I actually like the white. Makes it easier to see what's in the different compartments and how big/deep they are. Since the area is often in shadow, a dark object in a dark container in shadow is not the most fun to deal with. And the whole area is covered with the floorboard, so it's not like I'm constantly looking at white. But this is absolutely a matter of taste, and it's clear I'm very much in the minority.
