First Drive Review
With a tail-out slide here and a bit of air there, we’re channeling our inner Ivan “Ironman” Stewart as we bound through a rocky river wash deep in the Nevada desert at about 60 mph in the new 2015 Tacoma TRD Pro. It’s confident and stable over the dusty, rocky terrain, and as we dart between shrubs and slalom through the Joshua trees, a certain giddiness arises when we remember the vehicle we’re driving comes from the same company that churns out Corollas in Mississippi.
The Tacoma TRD Pro, affectionately dubbed the “Taco Supreme” by its maker, doesn’t exactly rewrite the rules of off-roading (most of its specific modifications have been available on the Tacoma TRD T|X Baja Series package since 2012), but it is arguably the roughest-and-tumblest compact pickup Toyota has ever offered. It starts with all the goodies found on the TRD Off-Road package (including an electronically locking rear differential, hill-start assist, and downhill-assist control) and adds one-and-three-quarters inches of lift to the front suspension, large Bilstein 2.5-inch front shocks and 2.0-inch rear shocks with remote reservoirs, and increased wheel travel (1.5 inches up front and 1.0 inch in back). Other mods include red Eibach springs with softer spring rates, a sweet set of 16-inch black and silver bead-lock-style wheels wrapped in BFGoodrich all-terrain tires, and a throaty TRD cat-back exhaust system said to add some low-end torque and up to eight horsepower to the Tacoma’s otherwise stock 4.0-liter V-6 that’s still officially rated at 236 horsepower.
The Pro Series Tacoma looks the part, too, with blackout lighting elements, a matte-black grille with FJ40-inspired TOYOTA lettering, and sundry TRD interior bits. Oh, and you’d better like black, white, or a charismatic orange called Inferno, because those are the only colors you’ll be able to get on this 2015 Tacoma. The Tacoma Access Cab with rear-hinged rear “suicide” doors and the Tacoma double cab with four conventional doors can be upgraded to TRD Pro Series status.
Baja Fresh
Knowing we have such massive front-axle ground clearance—and a quarter-inch-thick front skid plate—we confidently straddle certain obstacles we might otherwise have to steer around in lesser trucks, lest havoc be wreaked on their vital organs. The added wheel travel and the high-capacity shocks let us leap and bound with less risk of bottoming out, and like that of any good Baja-grade truck, the ride actually gets smoother the faster you go. The slow-off-center steering keeps us busy in the wash, and the ride—on- and off-road—is pretty brittle overall (thank you, stiff-walled light-truck tires), but in general, the jounce and rebound properties of the suspension and the grip level of the tires are exactly what they need to be for grin-inducing romps on fast trails like this.
Sadly, although the chassis twists up the fun dial to 10, the ancient V-6 and five-speed-automatic powertrain in our test vehicle remains locked in at about four. Fortunately, there’s a fix in the form of an available TRD supercharger that Toyota says adds another 59 horses and 52 lb-ft of torque. If it were our money, we’d save our pennies for that and pair it with the cheaper six-speed manual. Even better, all of that can be done without voiding the Taco’s three-year/36,000-mile warranty.
When the Tacoma TRD Pro goes on sale this fall, it will be the most exclusive of the three new TRD Pro Series models that Toyota is launching as part of a concerted effort to breathe new life into the TRD brand. Only 1500 TRD Pro Tacomas will be made during the first year. Pricing will be released closer to the on-sale date, but don’t be surprised to see it come in a bit higher than the $34,525 Toyota asks for its cheapest 2014 Tacoma TRD T|X Baja Series.
