off road vs sport

I don't go off-road unless I have to get somewhere on the other side of it. I needed to replace my deck and finish my basement, I needed a pickup and i wanted the sunroof and scoop. it looks cool. my deck is complete and now i have to work on the basement. I don't go to the mall unless dragged kicking and screaming.

 

I have not really taken it "off-road" yet as the truck is still NEW at ~5300 miles. This baby needs to last. I would like to in the near future, but it will never be lifted, cut, chop sueyed, etc.... I commute daily and haul material weekly. I have taken this truck through some deep snow to help/rescue a friend and for stock shoes, I was VERY impressed. I do not need the added features f the Off Road and when buying did not even give them a thought. The locker would be nice to have, but all the other electronic specialty buttons above my head kind of turns me off. Why is traction control on the upper consul anyway?

 

Thank you for the constructive replies. I did not intend this to be a sport vs off road thing. I know that both have their merits. I'm just trying to decide which one. I don't think anyone has answered about the springs. I know 2nd gen springs are different between the two (I have a 2nd gen off road 2wd). Looking at a 4wd and trying to decide. I'll make it to the dealership eventually I just don't want to deal with salesmen at the moment.

 

I have no idea weather or not they are linear or progressive but I know I hated the ride on the sport, I don't know about you, but having a truck that has a suspension that is so stiff that you can feel all the bumps on the road just doesn't seem right. I want to be able to hit an uneven pavement line and not even feel it. I love the ride feel on my OR, so much so that I dont want to lift my front with billsteins (or similar) because they will change the ride quality, I think im just going to une top plate spacers so I can keep the ride quality as close to stock as possible.

 

I test drove both a sport and off road model and I will agree the sport had a stiffer ride when you hit uneven parts of the pavement or a bump in the road. Maybe that's why I decided to buy an off road over the sport but the sport handles better and takes curves like a sports car.
Both models have their advantages and disadvantages. Many have argued that the off road offers more value for the money and the sport is just a dressed up SR5 with a non functional hood scoop, painted rear bumper, push button start, and the entune audio system w/ navigation. While the off road includes all those features along with better shocks/suspension, MTS, crawl, and brake booster.
If you never use the MTS, crawl control, and don't mind the stiff ride, then a sport is still a great model to buy because it's more attractive cosmetically.

It all depends on to buyers taste. Many like the rugged look of the off road but others like the aesthetic bueaty of the sport and that doesn't mean sport buyers just want a mall crawler. I'm sure many sport buyers off road their rig, tow, and haul stuff.

 

Most salesmen don't really know shit anyway...
you are between 1000 to 999000000 times better off asking all the questions here and then going to the dealer to teach those salesmen something about their product

 

Agreed. Salesman are just a puppet on a string agreeing to what the customer wants and when the customer says I only want to pay this price they take that number to their sales manager to see if they will agree to that price.

The salesman has no control over the sale but will lie through their teeth about what a vehicle does or what options you can't get to make a sale.

 

Thanks for the input. My 2nd gen is an OR but with 5100's and I like it both on and off road. I'm just trying to figure out what is next. It looks like I may have to talk to some salesmen for some seat time.

 

Take it for a test drive where you can hit highway speed and the same traffic you would experience during your daily commute to school or work. For me the 3.5 was awesome on the test drive in a smaller town with less traffic then the first time I drove it to work I hated it.

 

I've done a lot of four wheeling in my past and have owned lifted vehicles with full Detroit lockers. I think I've now come to an age where I realize that I'm never going to take this really nice truck I have here and put it through anything like I did those other vehicles. It's just not worth it on something that is too dependent on electronics and fiddly plastic activator doohickies. I spent too much money fixing those older rigs... I definitely don't want to do that on a 30k truck.

I saved a shit-ton of money by going with the truck that found me. It happens to lack all of the stuff I thought I needed when I was truck-shopping, including double cab and the rear locker. Now that I've gone through most of a winter with this Sport MT, I am glad I got this one and saved all that money. I also drive twisty canyon roads to get to town and back and I'm appreciating the "race car" feel of both the manual trans and the tighter suspension. I'm reserving my judgement of off-road/trail performance until everything thaws here and I can go higher into the mountains.

I say go with what you really need.

 

I say to each your own. It's your money so you need to be happy the way you spend it. For me, since I spend 99% of my time on pavement, the sport was the way to go. I want the handling and cornering capabilities of the Sport. It's been very handy here in NJ.

 

If you are an off road, cliff climbing junky then the OR is definitely for you....If you occasionally go off road, but also want the sexier look, then the Sport is your pick. Different strokes for different folks. With my taste aesthetics and driving habits the Sport was my choice and I couldn't be happier. Either option you have a SOLID truck that will give you a fun ride....#justmytwocents

 

No too mention they will probably oxidize over the years and then you can buy that BS they sell on TV infomercials...

 

I also found out that the plastic fender pieces are extremely soft. I was climbing into the side of the bed with snowboarding boots and my boa adjustment knobs made a scratch/gash onto the fenders. I don't know how much tougher the sport versions are, but I am pretty disappointed in the durability of any of the plastic pieces on this Tacoma. Both inside and outside.

 

X2

 

I got the sport because my wife told me too! I drove both and the OR shifted like crap. The sport shifted great. Every truck feels different !

 

That's a little harsh don't you think. Lol. Since when did we start bashing each others trucks?

 

Oh you must be new here :lol:

 

What do you mean, he's been here 8 days. Shouldn't have taken that long to figure out how loving TW is.

 

If the shoe fits... I was trying to talk the dude out of wasting his money for asthetics.