2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro seeks to raise the bar on factory offroad extremes

Toyota debuted a new Tacoma TRD Pro offroad pickup truck at the Chicago Auto Show on February 11. The pickup is the latest in the Toyota Racing Development line of offroad vehicles and comes with new performance equipment encased in three new paint colors.

The 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro starts as a 4×4 Double Cab Short Bed version Tacoma, and can be had in either a six-speed guide transmission or six-speed automatic.

Exterior upgrades include 16-inch TRD black alloy wheels with Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Kevlar-reinforced tires, a TRD Pro aluminum front skid plate, Rigid Industries LED fog lights, black bezels for the front and rear lighting, and TRD Pro badging. Several other exterior highlights indicative of the TRD Pro packaging can in addition be introduced. Three new colors are on the market: Cement, Barcelona Red Metallic, and Super White.

Inside, the 2017 Tacoma TRD Pro can showcase standard showcases like exclusive TRD Pro leather-trimmed front seating, Entune Premium Audio with navigation and apps, TRD Pro branded shift knob and floor mats, and blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. An integrated inclinometer and tilt gauge is in the instrument cluster’s Multi-Information Display screen.

Unders its skin, this new Tacoma TRD Pro comes with TRD-tuned FOX 2.5 Internal Bypass shock absorbers, TRD-tuned front springs with a 1-inch lift, and a progressive-rate offroad leaf spring for the TRD-tuned rear suspension. Part-time four-wheel drive and an automatic limited-slip and electronically-controlled locking rear differential are in addition standard equipment. The automatic has a transmission cooler, and all versions have an engine oil and power steering cooler. Integrated towing with trailer sway control and an upgraded 130-amp alternator are in addition included.

Tacoma TRD Pros equipped with an automatic transmission get Crawl Control to instantly modulate the throttle and brakes in low-speed offroad conditions with five presets on the market. This goes along with the Multi-terrain Select System which is in addition standard with the automatic trans. This moderates wheel spin and traction control systems to improve offroad performance in any of five specified terrain types. One showcase is roll-back control to store the vehicle of rolling backwards when traveling slowly up hills with the foot moving of brake to throttle and back.

The new Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro enters showrooms in North America late this summer. It can be seen in action, in the video at a lower place.