Looking for some direction - Offroad or Sport

This looks like a fabulous forum based on lurking for a few days. We were skiing yesterday and our 17yr old Saab 9-5 battery died so we had to get a jump start. Great car but time to pass it on to my son who will be 16 this year. Still runs great but need something new. Looking at a 2018 TRD Sport or Offroad. My brother has an 2008 Offroad and loves it for hunting, skiing, fishing.

The primary use is daily driving. Will use it for skiing and as a shuttle for mountain biking. And typical homeowner stuff. We have no intention of off roading, that's what mountain bikes are for. LOL. Also looking at getting a travel trailer in a few years (17-20 ft). No extreme offroad camping, primarily national parks, ski areas, and rv parks. The only real differences that I can see between the two are the shocks for off road use, smaller rim diameters on the off road, locking rear diff, and inclinometer, hill descent/ascent control.

Based on my intended use, do I need the offroad or will the sport be more than adequate.

Thanks for the assistance!

Regards

TacoManOne.

 

Buy the Sport or an SR5 and save cash. Do not buy an OR if you arent going to OffRoad.

 

Welcome!

Sport or SR5 would probably meet all your needs. If going with a TRD, personally I would go with the off-road. I feel like you get more for your money with the locker and crawl control.

 

Why would he buy something with locker or crawl control if he is never going to use it? Dont buy the OR, save it for someone who will use an OR for its intended purposes.

 

Because at dealers around me, the Sport and Off-road are the same price. If I’m spending the money, I at least want to feel like I am getting something for it. I know the sport comes with a hood scoop, but I would rather have a locker.

 

Faced this same decision when I bought my Taco. I test drove both of them back to back and after discussing it with the wife, she liked the Sport better, so we went with that one. My planned use pretty much mirrors what yours will be, and any off roading would be mild in nature, so the locker and crawl control weren't driving factors.

Overall, its been a great truck and you can't go wrong with either. I personally like the way the Sport looks over the OR, but hated the stock Sport wheels so I swapped them out:

 

Irayfz6 - that's part of the dilemma. No real price difference.

 

NovaTacoma - I like the sport looks better too. Going to test drive then both and see what we like better. My wife also likes the sport better too

 

then why buy something with major drivetrain components that will never get used, and if they fail for any reason you will have to foot the bill for repair later?

 

I still think there’s a value of an off road model if you go to the mountains to hit the slopes. There’s been rare cases where crawl control has helped in a bad snow storm when even a rear lock didn’t help. I know people can argue to get better tires, learn to drive bettter , etc, but I’m not a professional driver so I need the crawl control help.

I swapped to a sport hood for free, so I feel like I have best of both worlds.

 

You had me till save it for someone who will use it. But you're right that if you don't need the options and never will then it's wasted money.

 

Welcome to TW!!

 

Have you considered a 4Runner? Get a 2 1/4 tow hitch for the bike carrier.

 

Need a truck for Lowes/Home Depot runs and runs to the dump. Have a Saab 9-5 wagon with roof racks which is mostly adequate for that stiff but 17 years old.

 

When you get the new shiny truck it will be a long while before you fill it with stuff to to do dump trips.

 

Lol. Good point.

 

Welcome to TW!