2025 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro - Review by Bruce Hotchkiss +VIDEO

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Well built, but too big?

Bruce Hotchkiss

By Bruce Hotchkiss
Special Correspondent, West Coast Bureau
THE AUTO CHANNEL

If you are familiar with Dr. Who, you know that the T.A.R.D.I.S. (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) is much bigger on the inside than it is outside. The 2025 Tacoma TRD Pro 4X4 Double Cab Hybrid is the opposite. Despite its size there is still only seating for four (by my count, five in modern auto-speak), and the bed is still only 5' long.

The truck itself, a mid-size pickup, is 213" (17.75') long, almost 80" wide, and up to 75.8" tall. Trust me folks, this isn't the Tacoma of old.

If any truck ever cried out for a running board - steps - it was this Tacoma. The floor is about 24" high. On the driver's side, the grab handle is the steering wheel; on the passenger side, and in the back seat area, the grab handles are up high, almost too high for my wife to reach.

The truck looks like it could take on the toughest off-roading you could throw at it. And maybe it could. As long as there weren't any tight turns. Where I live, when I pull out of the driveway, I turn right, and then immediately into a left turn lane to make a u-turn. With every other vehicle I've driven since I moved here, the u-turn was easy peasy. With the Tacoma TRD Pro not so much. It has a 22.2' turning radius, so even with two lanes to turn into, it was up over the curb. Maybe leave your off-roading to desert running?

Toyota's Isodymanic Performance Seat seems like overkill to me. But then I'm not out there running an off-road race. To get a full understanding of how it works, you can watch this YouTube video:

It's amusing to me that the vast majority of these trucks will never see real off-roading. People pay good money to look like they can go anywhere when, in fact, they go to work, the store, out for dinner, whatever. They do not run the Baja 1000.

I've seen power tailgates before and they didn't make much sense to me. Today's tailgates are not very heavy, so why bother with all the stuff needed to make it go up and down by pushing a button?

It may seem strange that this big, mountain-climbing truck is powered by a 4-cylinder. But it isn't just a four, it is a turbo four coupled with an electric motor. Combined output is 326 hp, and 465 lb-ft of torque.

Power goes through an 8-speed automatic (with 3 settings - Sport, Eco, Normal), out to all four wheels if 4WD is selected. Car and Driver tested the 278 hp, non-hybrid version and clocked it at 7.8 seconds for 0-60 mph. I'd expect to knock a second or two off that for this version, even though it weighs around 5,100 lbs. The truck tested has a payload capacity of 1,680 lbs., and can tow up to 6,000 lbs.

As you can see, I averaged just over 18 mpg of mixed driving. That's not bad but below the EPA figures of 22/24/23 (city/highway/combined).

The controls were pretty easy to use (thank you), and there is a real gear shift lever (thank you again). There are buttons on the very left of the steering column.

The bed, despite being short, has some good features.

There are the tie-down rails, tie-down hooks on the floor, a couple of cubbies, bed lighting, and a power outlet.

There are tow hooks front and rear, which should come in handy if you live in snow country and have to yank someone out of a snowbank. In fact, snow country is about the only place I'd have a use for the 2025 Tacoma TRD Pro.

Yes I'm negative on the Tacoma TRD Pro, it really isn't for me. That doesn't mean I think it's a bad vehicle. I think it is overbuilt for the majority of people who would buy one, but I have no doubt about its ruggedness. If you want to take it out and get it all scratched and muddy, go for it. It won't strand you.

If you are in the minority that will actually take the Tacoma TRD Pro off-roading, remember to tread lightly! Four-wheeling shouldn't be about bashing Mother Earth, it should be about enjoying the great outdoors. It isn't man against nature, but man in nature. Check out Tread Lightly.org.

Size does matter, and bigger isn't always better. I don't consider the Tacoma a mid-size truck, and it isn't alone. I know I'm not the only person who wishes "compact" trucks would come back.

Now comes the tough part, the price. Without options the 2025 Tacoma TRD Pro is $65,730. There are $1,895 in options on the test truck, and a $1,495 delivery fee. With tax and license a 2025 Tacoma TRD Pro like this is well over $70,000.