Automatic Sport vs Manual TRD

Hi all -

Kinda new here; I am SURE MT vs AT has been discussed but I am considering selling my 19 Tacoma TRD Sport AT and buying a Tacoma TRD Pro 2022 manual. Money Math works out ok - I realize I am spending cash to upgrade some parts and get an MT

But would ~~~ $7,000 be a ‘reasonable’ amount that i would have to spend to get the sport to where the TRD Pro would be? (Tires, wheels, skid plates, suspension, labor etc?)….

All thoughts welcome - I have think skin (and various fat layers)

Many thanks on advance!!

 

Welcome to TW. It's your money so do what makes you happy.

 

If you can buy the truck in a financially responsible fashion and you want it go for it.
A manual Pro would be a sweet ride.
And welcome to Tacoma World
Full disclosure: Around here we always advise the most expensive option, we like !

 

I personally like to splurge. Then worry about the consequences later. You do you though.

 

It is sounding like you really want a Pro manual. Go with what your heart desires and can afford.

 

Get what would make you happy and have no remorse. I have a MT off-road and I love having control of when it shifts.

 

the general opinion is that if you plan to upgrade the suspension and wheels. there is no point in paining extra for for a pro.

 

I think if you want features just get the tech package upgrades and stick with and off-road otherwise the pro is useless if you are just gonna lift it anyways. Minus an air box an exhaust that are apparently just noise. If you want to sell you rims off a pro I’ll call dibs. But the manual is the way to go.

 

If mt is what you want and you can find 1 get it now. Only 5% of new Tacomas were mt, very soon that number will be 0. They are phazing them out because folks need auto everything. Like riding a train, its not for me

 

Perhaps the better question is: What can the Pro do that the Sport can't.
Do you really want to take a $55k truck off road?

 

Well sometimes there is gravel parking lots.

 

I love my Sport AT, it is the nicest vehicle I have ever owned. Having said that, I like these things about the PRO (and TRD):

• Sport ABS valves are up in the passenger side firewall, unlike the TRD OR and Pro which means as a sport owner I cannot do a dual battery setup on the passenger firewall - I can only do a side by side dual battery in the factory location. Not a huge deal but something I wish I knew when I bought my Sport.
• The Pro and TRD OR have the dash interface with pitch and roll indicators and, I believe both have front and side cameras (or maybe it is just the Pro). I like that it comes stock. I will be upgrading my Sport with the anytime front and rear camera but it would have been a nice option on the sport.
• Skid plates/ rock armor on the Pro are sweet - another thing I will be upgrading
• The interior on the Pro puts the sport to shame... I would have gladly paid another 2 or 3 grand for leather in the sport but it wasn't an option
• The Pro headlights are sick, they just look damn cool - that and the grill
• My own bias is to MTs, having owned a '68 Chevy 10 with 3 on the tree, an '04 Pontiac GTO (Holden Monaro) M/T, a '13 JKU Rubicon M/T, a '13 Ducati Multistrada, and a '20 KTM 1050 Superadventure R. Manuals just rock. I do like my AT Sport for long trips but I miss a M/T just because I'm an active driver and love the control of an M/T.

1. Consider what you want to tow with the Pro as your Sport AT has the trans cooler within the radiator (I know I know, it is lame but it still is an ATF oil cooler).
2. The used market is HOT and in the colder months people don't usually shop for new cars so this may be the ideal time for you to move on a new vehicle.
3. Consider your climate and if remote start is needed, I could be wrong but I don't think remote start is available on manual transmissions from the factory. I believe they can be installed as long as there is a neutral switch to wire into. Related thread. That may be a feature you have and love on your sport that you will not have on an MT PRO. Worth considering.

I don't think you can go wrong either way - keeping what you have and upgrading what you want, or going for the Pro. It never hurts to have the top trim level of the best selling light pickup in its class.

 

In search of my next Tacoma, I saw the Pro and its specs. I need a vehicle NOW, but if I had the ability to wait, I would have gotten the Pro.

But just know this, and it's been alluded to by someone in this thread, a Pro M/T is a "rare bird" as the Toyota salesman told me. It's already rare because of the new car shortage, but it is extra rare because of the M/T. So, if you get, I will vicariously live through you.

 

just do it

 

I've had an auto sport and now a manual offroad. Much happier with the manual. I went with an offroad over the pro because I want to build it with stuff I want and didn't want to remove a bunch of expensive pro parts. That being said if you plan to leave the pro alone it would be awesome to have. Plus the resale value is much higher on a pro

 

Same truck with the same engine and same transfer case. The only real difference would be the manual transmission.

 

After a certain point it becomes irrelevant. If I'm going to take a $30,000 truck off road then another $25,000 doesn't matter.

 

I was looking at the same $$$ when I was looking - nicely equipped OR vs PRO
That made it a non issue… Lunar rock sealed the deal.

I was lucky - I did do a lot of legwork towards getting exactly that even while still down under - but Lady Luck was what largely delivered in the end.

The MT was the primary consideration for me. Not because of any particulars of the taco Auto - I just did not want any automatic.

Since few MT’s are available in this country - my choices were limited.

i’ve never seen a third generation Tacoma ever… until I landed in the US.

But I have lots of experience with Toyota (Land cruiser, vans, Hilux) and I liked the look of the taco, the ‘midsize’ truck concept and the off-road capability.

(It is the biggest vehicle I’ve ever owned)

I don’t think I’d have a taco without an MT.

 

.... and a locker, 4.30's vice 3.91's, different brake booster, ATRAC, no pushbutton start, oh.. and a cubby for your shades lol!

 

Pro MT FTW.