I hate when you guys are right - My old SR5 versus my new Off-road

I joined the forums when I got my 2019 Tacoma SR5. Loved my truck. Told myself I would never off-road so there was no reason to get a higher trim. Also didn't need a scoop so no Sport. I started mountain biking around the time and found myself venturing out to harder to get places. Slowly the TRD Off-Road started to make some more sense.

New versus old:


The dealership was able to buy my 2019 SR5 for what I paid for it. I got a fully loaded 2021 Off-road for less money a month. Was a win-win.

Here are some things I noticed before and after. Hopefully these help some SR5 or Off-road owners understand their trucks better:

1. First I always disagreed about the transmission with everyone on here. I thought it felt good and I understood the reasoning behind the low shift points. I never had a stumble or noticeable stutter... but after getting the 2021 it feels entirely different. Most likely as a result of the transmission software updates. Wife noticed it immediately.
2. Everyone poo pooed on the Hitachis on the Sport, SRs, and Limited. They had their purpose and were definitely stiffer than the Bilsteins. One weird contradictory thing I noticed though is the Bilsteins seem better at handling a bump around a fast turn. With the Hitachis I'd bounce a foot over.
3. The Hill Assist gave me a heart attack. I'm still trying to convince what I felt in the Off-Road is normal. The SR5 held on a hill. The Off-Road gave me a light show and tons of beeping. Still might be user error.

Anyway... sorry for the thread. New truck excitement made me do it.

 

Congratulations!

 

Thanks man.

I still loved the SR5. I think there's certain people that it fits perfectly.

Sadly I drank too much of the TacomaWorld kool-aid. You'll be seeing a "will this rub?" and a "which tires should I get?" threads from me sometime soon.

 

Make sure to wait until Friday.

 

Congrats! I too struggled at first with the off-road figuring out how everything worked and what all the lights meant. Definitely read up on the user manual, it explains how to do everything and what the lights mean. This off-road was my first Tacoma so the learning curve was high but I quickly learned everything. Don’t be scared haha. And TOTALLY agree the OR takes bumps WAY better than the sport, but it’s supposed to. Stiff sport suspensions handle flat surface better but introducing a bump changes the situation and the OR “feels” better. I still don’t know what the stutter is, never felt it, but again I have no other Tacoma to compare it to. Only had it hunting gears when driving through mountains. Anyway, glad ya got what ya wanted for what sounds like a good dea for ya!

 

Should I change my oil at 5k?

 

Was your SR5 not 4 wheel drive? If it was there really isn’t a huge difference. Minus the crawl control but most people never use it anyway. Does the SR5 have a locking diff? If that then that’s probably the biggest difference. Still not sure it’s worth the difference you probably paid.

 

I should clarify, I didn't buy it solely for the offroad-iness. The Bilsteins are a huge upgrade on the suspension though.

I really wanted LED headlights, Apple Car play, and Blind spot/Cross traffic. I drive to the office twice a week. So these were some things that meant alot to me.

 

Nice upgrade! I have a 2020 SR5 and its perfect for me and I like to mod my vehicles so its way beyond a factory SR5 anyways. In fact I was going to get an SR and had one on hold while waiting for delivery. But when another dealership offered me a long bed double cab SR5 for like $1k more I jumped at the chance. I don't off road much but we like to go snowboarding and drive on the beach, etc so the basic 4x4 is fine for me.

 

Yeah I think crawl control and locking diff are the only big things missing from an SR5. I know OP mentioned the suspension but for < $1k you can rip out the old SR5 suspension and have a way better setup that comes factory on any of the off road models. And carplay came standard on any 2020 model and up. Even the cheapest SR. I get it though some people don't like to mod their vehicles and just drive it.

 

100% agree with everything you said. I don't have time to mod. I had some Off-road bilsteins in my saved items on Ebay. Didn't pull the trigger on them. I bought an SR5 knowing I could mod it and make it perform better than any Tacoma trim. But not for me.

And I loved the SR5. This is not a thread to dump on SRs and SR5s. Awesome trucks. My points were more about the transmission behavior and addressing the numerous threads on suspension differences.

 

Beautiful truck, but i'd have a real hard time taking a $40k+ truck in the woods here. It would be just a matter of when you'd put a scratch, or dent in it at best.
It's even hard for me to drive on this crappy dirt road i live off during various times of the year with a fairly new sr5 taco. Sometimes i wish i had a 4wd beater.

 

Open diff wheeling takes more skill. Lol. Congrats

 

I don't dispute that and I don't intend on wheeling. I don't have off-roading skills.

 

You should change it at 2,500 miles than again at 5,000 for a piece of mind.

 

You are underestimating the off-road traction control (mts/atrac) on the OR and Pro. I use it way more than my locker because I can leave it on without affecting steering. It does have its limitations though mostly because it reacts after wheel slip has ready started.

 

I followed a similar path, OP. I traded in my 2016 SR5 for a 2020 OR. I don’t have hill assist (6mt) but I’m guessing you are hearing the ABS brake system doing it’s job. It’s a lot louder and aggressive on the OR/Pro vs the SR5. In combination with the rear locker and a/t tires it is part of the functional differences with the other trims.

 

Totally unnecessary imo. Engines are not like they were built back in the day. 5k miles is fine for the first change.

 

Love my OR, but have deep respect for a SR5!

 

SR5 doesn’t have ATRAC?