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Leith Cars Blog

This Is Hard-Core Truckin’! The Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro

Some trucks are good for daily transportation, some for light weekend jobs or maybe a tailgate party and a select few are great for exploring the sub-freezing edges of the Arctic Circle as well as the hot, humid, muddy, rocky and unforgiving tropical terrain of Vietnam. We’d like to introduce you to the truck that’s more than capable of taking-on all those tasks and then some, Toyota’s Tacoma TRD Pro.

First, let’s start with what that “TRD Pro” lettering found on the side of the forward doors stands for. It’s kind of like finishing school for trucks and other performance vehicles inside Toyota’s engineering department. Toyota Racing Development is how Toyota makes an outward statement to the rough and ready capability of the Tacoma and then adds an even higher level of specialization with their “Pro” designation.

Need more convincing of the Tacoma TRD Pro’s capabilities? Checkout this partial high-performance parts list of standard off-road essentials.

TRD-tuned high-performance FOX 2.5 Internal Bypass shocks
Rigid Industries^®LED fog lights
TRD Pro skid plate
TRD Pro cat-back exhaust
16-in. TRD Pro black alloy wheels with P265/70R16 All-Terrain tires
Fiber-reinforced Sheet-Molded Composite inner bed with steel outer panels
TRD Pro front skid plate
TRD Pro engine and transmission skid plates

Toyota’s bulletproof 3.5-Liter V6 DOHC 24-Valve direct-injection Atkinson-cycle engine with Variable Valve Timing-intelligent Wide intake and Variable Valve Timing with intelligence exhaust is standard on Tacoma TRD Pro. It gives you plenty of pull with 278 horses on tap at 6000 rpm and a robust 265 lb.-ft. of torque at 4600 rpm. A six-speed manual transmission is standard but you can choose to opt for the 6-speed automatic if you’d rather not row your own gears. Both transmissions feature 4WDemand part-time Four-Wheel Drive making the TRD Pro perfect for climbing your favorite off-road trail or hauling your boat to the lake.

Hard-core trucks like the Tacoma TRD Pro demand high-performance parts and engineering as witnessed by the standard FOX-patented Internal Bypass shocks tuned by Toyota Racing Development. These special shocks are built to provide comfort and control when you’re traversing North Carolina’s Dismal Swamp or crawling over a steep grade in the Smokies by providing more ground clearance, increased suspension travel and improved damping.

It should be obvious by now that when Toyota says this Tacoma TRD Pro is the truck to go “way, way off road” in, they’re serious! While the very capable base Tacoma starts at $24,320 MSRP, the uber “Taco” TRD Pro begins at $40,960 MSRP.

All this extra off-road capability doesn’t end with Tacoma, however. If the full-size Tundra truck or 4Runner SUV are more your style, each one is available in the TRD Pro line. Go see Leith Toyota on Capital Blvd. in Raleigh, N.C. or online at LeithToyota.com.