I’ll admit it: there have been times I really didn’t get the appeal of the Toyota Tacoma. For some time, it was one of the only midsize trucks available. However, it got bigger and bigger to the point that I couldn’t see the rationale of buying one over the plethora of full-size trucks on the market. A few years ago, I spent some time with a TRD Pro version and was like, “Ah yeah, ok, I think I get it.” After an eight-year run, there is a brand new Tacoma, and I’ve been driving it. In TRD Pro trim!

Jeff already brought you some great content on the new Tacoma in TRD Off-Road guise, take a look at his video if you haven’t already.

2024 Toyota Tacoma Overview

As I tend to do in these reviews, let’s ensure we know what the 2024 Tacoma lineup looks like. There is quite a spread between the base and the best trim levels. The base SR will run you just under half the price of the top-spec TRD Pro. The $32,400 price differential is pretty significant, but there is a lot of good stuff in between. Greg already ran you through some of the technical specs, so be sure to take a look at that as well.

The PreRunner has high-speed desert pretensions, while the TRD Sport and TRD Off-Road start to ramp up their trail-driving capabilities. Naturally, the Limited gets most of the comfort and convenience stuff as standard, so it’s a go-to for daily driving duties for Tacoma owners who won’t really take their trucks off the paved roads.

In addition to unique styling, our TRD Pro tester comes loaded with tons of fun stuff, including 33-inch tires, Fox internal bypass suspension dampers, a performance exhaust, front swaybar disconnect, some trick “IsoDynamic” front seats (more on that later), and some prewired auxiliary switches. I’m excited to check out the new Trailhunter at some point, which seems aimed at the Overland crew and gets Old Man Emu suspension dampers, a cool ARB modular bed utility bar, and more.  

One of the other largest differences has to do with which four-cylinder engine you’ll get. The base SR gets a turbocharged 2.4L with 228 horsepower and 243 lb-ft of torque. The SR5 (and up) gets a more powerful version of the same engine as standard, in this case making 278 hp and 317 lb-ft with the automatic and 270 hp and 310 lb-ft with the six-speed manual transmission. Wherever you see i-Force MAX, that means it has a turbo engine paired with a hybrid battery pack and an electric motor for a total output of 326 hp and 465 lb-ft., which is pretty impressive. That engine is optional for the TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, and Limited trims but comes as standard on the TRD Pro and Trailhunter.

That’s a lot, I know. Let’s see how the new Tacoma does as a daily driver and as a weekend mud bogger.

2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Inside & Out

At least the last Tacoma’s eight-year run saw some mid-cycle updates here and there. By the end, it wasn’t a bad-looking truck, but it still felt a bit dated inside and out. The new Taco delivers the same vibe but looks like it’s clearly new. It emulates the recently updated Tundra and Sequoia with regard to front and rear styling, with similarly shaped headlights and grille up front. The lines are bold, but pretty clean overall, and the TRD Pro is downright beefy.

What’s interesting is seeing the new Tacoma compared to other vehicles for scale. It looks massive, at least in TRD Pro trim, especially parked like an asshole up on the curb. The one on the above left was intentional; it made my daughter laugh. The one in the top middle was the only way I could angle into the space on a rainy day, and I left it for a moment to take a pic. And by “moment” I mean while I was in the store. The others are just the TRD Pro parked next to other vehicles for size, including an older Tacoma, a Ridgeline, and a new Tundra TRD Off-Road.

Black is the only exterior color that doesn’t add $500 to the bottom line. The TRD Pro comes in “Terra” (sort of a reddish brown) with a black roof, “Ice” with a black roof (like our tester), and “Underground” with a black roof (grey). It will be interesting to see what fun TRD Pro-only colors come out over the next few years.

The TRD Pro’s interior is as bold as its exterior, particularly when equipped with “Cockpit Red” (the only other option is Black). In addition to the red seats with digital camo accents, there are red door panel inserts, a red glovebox, and some other red accents here and there. Like the other newly renovated Toyotas, the interior is a big upgrade from the previous iteration. You get a nice-and-large 14-inch touchscreen and enough creature comforts to make the $60K+ price tag a bit easier to swallow.

It’s all fairly comfortable. The front seats are wide but have a nice bolster. I even liked how many cupholders there were. There are three in each door, two in the middle up front, and more in the back. It made the four-hour round trip to the off-road trails a bit easier to handle. It is surprising that there aren’t any rails or mounting points for GoPros and such up on the dash similar to what you’ll find in various Wrangler and Bronco models. There is a nice deep pocket by the grab bar and plenty of places to stash smaller items on the go.

Open the back doors and the back of the seats is ridiculously cool—or at least the back of the front seats, not the actual back seats. That’s a bit of an issue and probably the biggest one when considering a new TRD Pro. The large IsoDynamic seats steal several inches of legroom from rear passengers. Even with the front seats moving forward significantly, humans don’t have enough room in the back which sort of negates the point of the DoubleCab.

Still, it looks pretty badass. Keep reading to see if it actually works.

I don’t get a ton of trucks to review. So, in most car and SUV reviews, I’d discuss the trunk or cargo area, so in this case, it’s bedtime. The XtraCab models get a six-foot bed, while the DoubleCab in the TRD Pro has a five-footer. It’s likely enough for most uses, and the power tailgate is pretty useful when your arms are full. Speaking of power, it also has some LED lighting with 12V and USB power options in the bed as well.

2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro: On (and Off) The Road

I’m already at a pretty significant word count here folks, and if you’re still with me, we appreciate it. It’s time to see how the TRD Pro performs on and off the pavement.

Overall, it’s a great first impression. It does feel pretty massive behind the wheel, and getting there requires a bit of a hop. Only the passenger has a grab bar to get in, maybe they assume the driver will use the steering wheel? The opening is a little narrow, so I made a note that it can be a little challenging to get occasionally. I did hit my head once or twice, but I assume owners will get used to it.

The hybrid engine is beefy to say the least. It takes off well and has a ton of passing power out on the highway. Sport mode really seems to wake up the exhaust sounds. Plus, it’s pretty cool how the center dial makes a satisfying click when you change modes. On the pavement it’s got a pretty solid ride, no worse than serious off-road options from Ford or Jeep.

Getting into 4H and 4L are pretty easy, and you have a host of driving modes to choose from. Naturally, it has Multi-Terrain Select (MTS), Crawl Control (CRAWL), and Downhill Assist Control (DAC), most of which I tried a various points on my trail drive through George Washington National Forest’s OHV trails.

Speaking of trails, the TRD Pro absolutely smashed them. We don’t have anything super technical near D.C., it’s a 2-hour drive just to get to some decent mud and rocks. This is where you’re likely wondering if the trick front seats do anything. The answer is “yes“, pretty sure they do. Toyota gives you a little air pump that screws onto the shocks in the back. I was able to pull over on the trail and add air to each seat pretty quickly. My girlfriend has some back issues and with the valves open (vs. highway mode) she said it was a noticeably better experience when things got rocky.

Plus, like I said, it looks really cool.

The Tacoma TRD Pro will likely tackle most of what you could throw at it, between the impressive power, trick suspension, and all the drive modes, it’s ready to rock. Pun…intended. Sorry.

Summary

Does the TRD Pro make sense as a daily driver? The front seats are wildly impractical, making the rear legroom almost laughable for a truck of this size. There are more practical trucks out there, including various trim levels of the Tacoma itself. However, I submit that none of this matters, and the reasons are twofold:

A) this is a sporty truck in the same way there are sporty cars. So, yeah it’s more of a 2+2, like a Mustang. Buyers will have to take that into account,

and, 2) I’m convinced most trucks are driven as daily drivers with only one person on-board at least 80% of the time. I made that number up, but honestly that number may even be higher, I’m trying to account for weekends. 

Therefore the ridiculous seats aren’t a big deal, and they are also ridiculously cool. I posted some pics on Facebook and some non-car folks were like “what the hell is that?” Upon the explanation, I got some “oh damn, that’s cool” responses. So, if you want a TRD Pro, don’t care about the reduced legroom, and are good with the price tag, it’s really, really, good.