At the Chicago Auto Show, trucks stole all the limelight. Toyota was part of the deal as expected, showing us an all-new 2017 TRD Pro Tacoma pickup that joins the family of enthusiast oriented off-road trucks from the brand.
After taking a break for the 2016 model year as the redesigned Toyota Tacoma pickups got their foothold in the mid-size truck market, the ultra-offroad TRD Pro makes its long awaited return for those looking for more than just the TRD Off-Road model.
Like before it’s visually set apart from the others, only now with a more pronounced look starting with a retro heritage style black Toyota logo grille. Blacked out trims continue on the front fascia which includes LED fog lights from Rigid.
On the hood is a scoop with extra graphic to highlight it and the projector-beam headlights get blacked out trim as do the tail lights out back. And here the TRD-PRO gets Toyota’s standard array of graphic logos to tell the world you spent up just a little bit more.
Wheels are 16-inch black alloys with Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain tires with Kevlar reinforcement for extra protection out there. And extra protection comes underneath with a nice and visible 1/4-inch thick aluminum front skid plate.
While we don’t yet have a lot of imagery of the interior, there you will get a vast array of TRD-PRO extras like a shift knob, custom leather upholstery, logo floor mats and a premium touchscreen audio system among other things.
Suspension is completely made over from the last-generation Tacoma TRD-PRO, now with Fox branded internal-bypass shocks front and rear. Taller yet softer front TRD coil springs lift an additional inch and the rear gets TRD leaf-springs with a progressive rate.
Tractive hardware is brought over from the Tacoma TRD including a part-time 4WD transfer case and an automatic limited-slip differential front and rear. The rear differential has electronic locking capability as well.
You can option the TRD Pro with either a six-speed manual or an automatic. Taking the auto box gives you the Toyota Multi-terrain Select system which has all manner of off-road enhancing programs like crawl control in addition to modes for varying surfaces.
Powering the 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro is the same 3.5-Liter V6 that made its debut last year with its 278 horsepower and 265 pound feet of torque. Toyota tells us that all TRD Pros will be built in their San Antonio, Texas plant in three colors only, Cement, Barcelona Red Metallic, and Super White.
The Tacoma TRD Pro arrives at dealerships with the rest of the 2017 Tacoma pickups this fall, with pricing to come closer to that time. Though like before, expect it to be in the neighborhood of about $40,000 give or take.
