I recently got my hands on the all-new TRD Pro for a full week. Toyota sent me this vehicle as a press loaner so I could develop my thoughts on it through real-world use rather than just driving it around an off-road test course. I won’t lie, having this truck as a daily driver versus bombing it down a hillside at 50 MPH and jumping it are two polar opposite experiences.
In this article, I will go over some issues that I found with this truck along with what I truly like about it. I also broke this down on my YouTube channel, embedded at the end of this post, so feel free to check that out!
Spoiler alert, this truck is meant to be off-road rather than on it.
Table Of Contents
Pros
Are you in the market for a new TRD Pro? If so, there is a lot to enjoy about this truck. I feel that this is the first offering from Toyota that truly warrants the “Pro” name. Tacomas of the past were honestly just some badging and semi-upgraded shocks over their TRD Off-Road counterparts. This truck, however, turns the dial up to 11 and separates itself from the pack. Here are three key standouts that I felt were worth the most mentioning.
Road Presence
This truck is thick, with three “C”s if you know what I mean. The overall aesthetics are a statement. The super-wide fenders, gloss black accents, light bar, ARB rear bumper, red recovery hooks, TRD skid plate, black accented roof, and bold cockpit red interior demand attention.
As Toyota enthusiasts, we know a Pro when we see one. With this all-new design, though, there’s no mistaking it for a TRD OR by anyone. When I saw it pull up to my driveway for the first time, I thought, damn, that is a freaking nice-looking truck. Even compared to my Off-Road, you could tell this truck meant business.
Hybrid Powertrain
The TRD Pro Tacoma comes standard with the i-FORCE MAX powertrain (326HP & 465 lb-ft torque) and holy smokes, this thing has some power. After living with it for a week, I’m sold on the hybrid powertrain. My next one will 100% have this hybrid engine setup. The normal 2.4L turbo is good, don’t get me wrong, but this hybrid has some serious chops.
I didn’t hyper-mile the truck and even floored it occasionally to gauge the power and somehow managed to get 21MPG with the standard 33″ tires. You can hate the 4-cylinder all you want, but this truck did not disappoint.
TRD Exhaust
I have no idea how Toyota did it, but they made a 4 cylinder sound shockingly good. I recently put a MagnaFlow exhaust on my 4G and while it sounds much better than stock, this TRD exhaust must have some magical fairies up in it. Somehow, it sounds better than my 2022 V6 TRD Pro Tacoma did, with a nice low raspy rumble at low RPMs and no droning. Granted, there is some augmented sound coming from the interior speakers.
Cons
As good as this truck looks and performs off-road, there are definitely some cons with using it as a daily driver.
Hood Rattle
This is something that I never noticed with the TRD Pro during the press release event. On my first drive with this truck, I noticed the fake hood vent vibrating like there was no tomorrow. I jumped on the forum and Facebook owner pages and saw several mentions about this while driving. Toyota needs to address this with some more internal hood bracing ASAP.
Goodyear Wrangler Tires
These tires are pretty loud and bouncy on the road. I wish Toyota used the same BFG tires as their TRD Off-Road model. I enjoyed those tires for the 4K miles I had them on my 4G. That said, 99% of owners will swap out their tires anyway.
ISO Dynamic Seats
As much as it kills me to say this (because I know how much Chief Engineer Sheldon Brown loves these), the ISO Dynamic Seats should be optional. They’re just too impractical for a daily driver and virtually eliminate rear-seat legroom. The seats are also extremely bolstered and have a fixed headrest, so if you are a huskier individual, they may be uncomfortable. Finally, they recline with a manual lever. I know, first-world problems.
These seats are amazing if you frequently take your truck off-road. But let’s be honest, the majority of this truck’s life will be spent on asphalt.
Final Thoughts
Despite the cons, I still really enjoyed my time with this truck. It may have been the powertrain or the fact that it just has that demanding on-road presence. I truly wish my week didn’t go by so fast. I can’t wait until I can drive this truck again in the future (maybe even own one)! But until then, I will enjoy the TRD Off-Road I currently have for a fraction of the cost.
