TRD Pro VS Off Road

A lot of it has to do with your butt in the seat. Go drive a couple of each and see which one you like the most. Drive a new F150. Go look at a used GX 460 that is a phenomenal vehicle that a lot of people overlook. You wanna go offroad check out used Raptor trucks. The older V8 ones go basically forever a friend of mine has one with 260k on it. Go look at Jeeps. Chevy wise the Colorado ZR2 I see them used with 20-30k on them for the price of a new Tacoma and it's a fantastic little offroad truck. Good engine/transmission, good shocks, front/rear locking diffs. Stuff is expensive right now so take your time and look at everything on the market.

 

Like others have mentioned, if you are planning to upgrade the suspension, I see no reason to get the PRO.

Otherwise they are pretty much same trucks besides some creature comforts, skid plate, better fog lights and aesthetics.

 

I may be the odd one out but I couldn't live with the 4Runner. Had a TRDOR, Icon lift. It is no more comfortable than the Tacoma for the driver. Yes, the back seat is bigger. But man that thing was underpowered and completely boring to drive. Admittedly, I came from a heavily modified JKUR, but I very quickly found the limits of the 4Runner off road. That said, I suspect the limits of the Tacoma are not much different. I sold the 4Runner and built up a JLUR. Wheeled great, but one day I felt like Forrest Gump... "I think I'm gonna go home now.". Hung up the rock crawling hat. I don't know what happened, but hung that hat up and traded the Jeep in for a "free" Tacoma and residual check.
At this point, the 4Runner is so extremely dated, interior is a hodge podge of finishes, underpowered, lacking newer technology, cumbersome, I'd wait to see what the new offering will be.

These days, I'm running a 3" lift and tuned. The Tacoma is a blast to drive. (yes, stock is not great at all). I went 4x4OR and not Pro because I knew I would be changing the suspension and wanted aftermarket wheels. Maybe the heavy off road bug will bite again, but for now, trail rides and exploring. Done with beating the pulp out of my stuff.

 

You should get one or the other. Or a 4 runner. or nothing if you dont want to.

 

Depends really. I use my truck bed a pretty good bit. That's a real factor for me. It does just fine running around locally and on road trips, but it's a truck. Gas mileage isn't good, but that's my fault for all the mods.

 

It would cost you "a lot less money" if you bought the O.R. with the OEM 2/1" TRD (Bilstein 5100) Lift thrown in. Only upgrade I would recommend is bigger tires, like a 265/75/16. This applies to both models.

Good luck Joey

 

This was why I went ahead and got my Pro. I know for my use I'd be more than happy with an OR but figured I'd swap out the wheels and suspension anyways so the Pro made sense to me.

If you don't care for leather, sunroof, LED headlights then the OR is the way to go.

 

Regarding the comparisons between the Tacoma of your choice or a 4Runner, there is one huge difference for many of us, the Tacoma TRD models can be had with three pedals under the dash, not so for any model of the 4Runner.

 

Off Road Tundra, by the time you pay for the Tacoma Pro you could probably get a nicely equipped SR5 Tundra.

 

If your really aren't going to touch the suspension, get the Pro. It's much better than the OR. I bought an OR because I knew I wanted to upgrade the suspension beyond what the Pro has. Depending on where you are, availability may play a role as well.

 

If you can get a Pro at MSRP that's the route I would go, and did. Wouldn't get one if there is markups. It's around $6-7k more in the USA market compared to OR with leather/LEDs etc? You will more than recover that when you go sell, making the Pro likely less to own overall than an OR. (Unless something happens where they make way more of them in the near future).

My previous Tacoma was an OR and you can't really go wrong either way.

 

Exactly the reason why I ended up in a Tacoma. Came very close to a 4 runner. Sometimes I look for 3rd gen 4Runners manual trans. But everything has 200k +. I would be fine thinking that I knew they were my abusive miles.

 

If you're looking at Tacomas get the OR in the color you want and a 6 foot bed, either DCLB or AC. That short bed configuration keeps me from ever looking at the Pro. The color choices on the Pro have been pretty lackluster also. With an OR you can get it in almost any color available.

I also have a 5th gen 4runner that the wife daily drives. It's a better vehicle than my Tacoma in almost every way except for not having the bed. The only gripe I have with the 4runner is the crappy gas mileage.

 

This will boil down to personal preference and how many goodies you want in the truck. I just went through the same process, so I would suggest deciding what features are must have items for you. If you are willing to add the packages you can get just about everything a Pro has that isn't badging/cosmetic with the exception of the Fox suspension and the Pro color on that model year. This is where it becomes personal preference and long term goal oriented. If you have ANY plans to mod the wheels or suspension, or may be convinced to do so, I would recommend the TRD Off Road. However, if, like me, you've been down the mod path and actively plan to avoid anything but minor cosmetic mods I would go for the Pro.

Off Road is a better bang for your buck if you want a more utilitarian truck, or if you plan to mod the heck out of it. If you just want it with stock luxuries, the Pro will save you time, and time has a value as well.

Toyota is generally about 5 years behind every other company when it comes to tech. Their stuff works, but it's never cutting edge.

 

This analysis of the suspension is accurate. But there are other things that make the PRO different then the Offroad. It's all up to you, but if you don't plan on changing the suspension then the PRO is detailed better then the offroad. To build an offroad with all the "features" of a PRO you will end up paying the same.

 

Get the Pro, you only live once, no regrets

 

Assuming sticker for both I'd get the Pro. I wanted the Pro but I was able to get 6K off sticker on an OR. They wouldn't deal at all on the Pro. It made the gap too big IMO to get the Pro. But sticker to sticker Pro it is for me.

 

The only difference between pro and offroad is the hood scoop, fox shocks and faux leather.

 

Bed stamp, floor mats, shift knob, LED headlights, Rigid fog lights, and resale/trade value too. Personally, the only reason resale/trade matters to me is in the event of an accident that totals it.