How bad is a stock TRD offroad?

Hello TacomaWorld!

I've been reading and keeping up with threads on this site for about a year now and thought I was going to join the Taco family but ran into a small dilemma. To start, I don't want to make this a pro vs. off road thread (I feel like I've read literally every single one on here), just trying to get answers from the folks who actually own Tacomas!

I weighed the pros and cons and had my mind set on picking up a magnetic gray TRD Pro. My reasoning for selecting the Pro over the offroad is I saw the general consensus seemed to be to buy a Pro if you don't plan on making modifications (or alternatively, buy a SR5 or offroad if you plan on changing out the suspension, wheels, tires, etc.) I've modified every vehicle that I've owned in the past but this time, I wanted a nice daily driver that I dont have to turn a bolt on.

My initial impression of the pro in person wowed me. I don't see them in person very often and as a package, everything just seems to go together very well. Driving wise, I was impressed with how it drove and handled on the road but there were a few things that kept me from signing the dotted line today.

1) According to the salesman, it's not possible to get a TRD Pro without a sunroof. Is this true? I hadn't paid as much attention to it as I should because I dont seem to see Tacomas with sunroofs riding around. This is a thing for me because one of my previous trucks (a 2013 F150 5.0) had a sunroof that shattered while I was driving. It scared the mess out of me and to this day, I still dont know exactly how it happened (the engine was far from stock but no reason for the sunroof to shatter randomly like it did which could have went very differently on a crowded street.)

2) Maybe it's just my ears will have to adjust to a 6 cylinder but I hated the sound of the TRD exhaust. It was my first time hearing it in person and to me, was very quiet at idle but under load, gave the truck a ricer drone/sound. I wasn't expecting it to sound like my 5.0 obviously but if anything, I felt like the sound took away from the truck. This would be an easy fix in my garage to weld up a new muffler but didnt want to go that route for warranty purposes on a brand new truck.

While doing some thinking, I asked my salesman if I could test drive an offroad as well just to compare and honestly, I liked the offroad as much (if not more) than the pro. The pro did have a few things going for it such as the hood scoop as well as I think the factory offroad wheels leave a little to be desired but in running numbers, its a sizeable price difference (to the tune of around $9k.)

My question though is how does the offroad do offroad vs the pro? Can the pro really do that much more and go that many more places than the offroad can't in STOCK form? I understand the suspension is different (fox vs bilstein) and the pro sits an inch higher but in the real world, does that really translate to much offroad performance? I definitely won't be going through any rivers or hardcore trails with the truck (I dont want to get any battle scars on it with it being brand new plus it will only get driven about 10k miles a year if that so plan on keeping it forever.) The main thing is I dont want to have remorse of going offroad one day and wishing I had a pro. Money isnt a factor and if the pro didnt have a sunroof, I could have lived with the exhaust for a bit but now I'm wondering if it's really worth it for my purposes and intent in leaving it 100% stock? The salesman went over the offroad thoroughly and it has alot of what the pro has mechanically.

Again, please no pro vs off road necessarily. Wanting to get opinions of those with stock offroads and how they felt about it? There are some amazing builds on this site and I understand most of you probably wont even remember a 100% stock truck lol but hopefully someone can give me an insight. Dealership is closed tomorrow but planning on making a move on Monday morning as I left a deposit on the pro but honestly leaning towards the offroad at this point.

 

It’s pretty much the same truck. Sorry if this isn’t the long explanation you were expecting but there are very similar so don’t expect them to handle differently off-road. I also agree on the exhaust, it has a bit of drone, but isn’t terrible (I don’t like loud exhaust). I’m pretty sure you have to get the sunroof, as the only differences between the off-road and pro are these luxury features & slightly different suspension. I don’t think the price tag justifies the difference between the two trims, but some either don’t care about the difference (me) or upgrade to a better system than the pro for cheaper.

Id say get the pro. You probably don’t need the extra features or can add them later. Personally, I’m 6’2 and found the lower roof caused by the sunroof to be a deal breaker as well. With whatever you go with, good luck! Hopefully whatever truck you put a deposit on will actually be their when you go and pick it up.

 

Interesting I love my TRD exhaust on my '18, as many love theirs. IT's not loud (if that's what you are wanting) but provides a nice deep high performance tone and NO DRONE.
Certainly doesn't sound as good as my C7 Corvette Grandsport but I don't expect it to considering it's a V6 truck.

 

OR can go anywhere a Pro can go just a little slower.

I went with a OR and ran trails with modified tacomas and wranglers and was always able to follow. Just couldn't keep up cause the suspension bounces too much but none the less I still made it to the end.

After 4 years with a stock Tacoma TRD OR. Its all I'll ever need. I'm more into overlanding then wheeling now a days anyways. Its it's long fire roads, and amazing views for me now.

 

The off-road can go wherever a pro can go. It's the driver not the vehicle most of the time. If you want rock crawling then you'll realize that neither is adequate. If your definition of offroading is fire roads or mild to moderate trails then even a stock taco can do it. I enjoyed my stock height dclb off road with just the bigger duratrac tires . If you want rock crawling, then even the fox suspension on the pro is not adequate if you add after market heavy bumpers,winch,steel plates etc.

 

There is definitely a slight drone at idle and when it down shifts going up a hill or towing. I agree with the rest, the platform is not designed for rock crawling but can handle slightly more than what most trucks are capable of.

 

Might as well get a Pro based on that.

But in all honesty, money really does play a "slight" difference, in regards to the upgrade options you may or may not be looking at (tech package, etc.). I was in a similar boat, and with the tech package and what not, it wasn't far off the Pro. And I didn't want to mod anything for quite some time, so it was an easier choice for me. However, a "bare bones" OR is tremendously cheaper than a Pro, especially with today's markup on Pro's.

In terms of capability, yeah sure, you get an inch up front and some better suspension. But I've seen a decent amount of stock ORs tackle some technical terrain. A driver mod will do plenty more than upgrading to a Pro. That said, an OR is "just as" capable IMO.

 

There are so many words in this thread.

 

Honestly as far as capability off road. The Pro (which I own) may handle high speed dirt off road driving a bit better. But in every other off road scenario, they are a tie. What it comes down to is features and price. Some areas, the Pro's charge a significant markup just for being a "Pro" model. So add that on top of the added price sticker. You can option an off-road model and save quite some bucks. but you can also option it somewhat close to a Pro in cost. So it depends on if all the features that are standard on the Pro are really important to you. If they are and you are going to option out an off-road fully, you may want to go with a Pro. They may hold their value better in the future, who knows. Some people just have money to burn and for them, why not get top of the line. Others have to be a bit more choosey. If I was restrained to a budget money wise, i would of gotten the Off-road for sure. I don't "need" the sun roof or the leather and have already changed out the wheels and tires. The off-road model would of suited me just fine. I was just lucky enough to get a good deal and had the cash.

 

I'm not gonna read all that but don't make the mistake so many have by getting a pro, it's a badged out OR. If you're telling yourself you're gonna keep it stock, it's a lie. If you have a TW account you will mod your truck; it's just the law. So eventually all that pro stuff you payed 10k for will end up on craigslist for a quarter of what you paid.

 

It depends on the driver, not the truck. Seriously.

 

A TRD Pro is no more capable than a TRD Offroad. Same axles, same locker, same traction control. The main differences are the hood scoop, some interior things, and marginally better shocks (a fairly common thing to upgrade anyway).

 

100%. You see that guy tackle Hells Revenge in a Geo Tracker? Lol

 

Nothing wrong with any Tacoma. Even the 2ndRateGen Tacoma's are ok.

 

I have a 2020 TRD OR 4wd. In terms of capability, I have taken it on several trails and through deep sand, mud, some snow and ice in completely stock form. I think the truck is far more capable than people give it credit for sometimes. That being said I recently upgraded the suspension. Because I wanted a smoother ride off road, and I needed more weight capacity in the back, and honestly, I just thought it would be a fun project.

But depending on what your needs are a stock OR is quite capable as is. Just my 2 cents.

 

I’ve had absolutely no complaints about my OR’s off road performance, yes the shocks are softer but I see it as an advantage on washboard dirt roads. Just finished up a little romp around eastern Oregon driving a lot of miles of dirt at up to 55mph depending on the conditions.

 

I finally got my lunar rock pro in a manual transmission. It was the ONLY configuration I wanted. If you're going to keep it forever like I am, get the one where when you walk away after parking your truck, you'll turn back and look. The one you keep eying is the one you want. Performance wise, they'll be comparable.

The little aesthetic things on my pro make a difference to me. "TRD" and "PRO" on the headlights, heritage grill, skid plate, badging, even glimpses of the shocks, rims, hood scoop, all of those little things I love and they add up for me.

Good luck with your decision and no matter what, congrats on your new Tacoma!

 

Most of the time the people telling you the Off Road and the Pro are almost the same trucks are the people driving an Off Road.

I bought the Pro and couldn't be happier. The leather seats, the Fox suspension, the LED driving lights, yes the sunroof and all the other bells/whistles are worth it to me.

With that said, I did swap out that stupid trd exhaust soon after my purchase. My truck is quiet just like I like it.

Buy the Pro you wont be sorry.

 

I wanted a pro but ended up with an OR and couldn't have been happier.

The price difference was one thing, but mostly the fact I knew how easy modifications are to make is why I chose what I did.

I do wish the hood was scooped but that is something I'll do later or just learn to get over it. Suspension wise, I upgraded that as I wanted the truck a little higher than stock. Now it rides way better than a pro ever could. Exhaust, I put an MBRP on and hated the ricer sound and drone. Kept the dual out, installed a flowmaster 70 and Hedman resonator exhaust tips. The drone is gone and I have a WONDERFUL deep tone to the exhaust.

LED Lights are easy to put in. I'm running OEM headlights and aftermarket LED bulbs. My buddy has a pro and I light up the road way more than he does. I tend to lead on trails when it gets dark...

I've purchased a hard tri fold cover, now I have a softopper and will be selling the tri fold. I've tuned the truck to my liking as well.

All in, I'm just under $2700 in modifications and didn't pay a premium for a sunroof and some badges. (I've had sunroofs leak in every vehicle I've had with them. One was totaled by insurance for a few drops on the center console, set me back thousands).

 

Does the PRO have the TRD Exhaust and TRD Intake, or just the exhaust?