I am looking at vehicles like the Toyota RAV4 (Adventure/Trail edition, dependent on your market) for something a little more rugged and rough-road capable. I am torn between the low KMS and lower interest rates for a 2019+ unit, but being stuck with all of the superfluous, and annoying electronic nanny-gear that I just do not want, and an older 2006-12 V6 model.

About all that I would miss in buying the older car, would be the backup camera (which could always be added aftermarket). Even the bluetooth connectivity, while nice for hands-free calls, can be binned as I can just wait for when I am not driving to have that conversation. Having said that, these vehicles are already 10+ years old now :/

All of the safety stuff people say they want (and all manufacturers are stuffing in now), is almost solely there to compensate for poor driving skills.