TRD Offroad or Sport?

First time poster here gents and have been researching a bit on this site since I'm considering buying a new Tacoma. Looking at either the OffRoad or the Sport, and am asking for some feedback/advice on which I should choose. Me, I'm a 53 yr old retired Marine and the truck would be used as a daily driver to/from work (40 miles round trip) and occasionally off the beaten path in Big Bend National Park. I'm not planning on doing any rock crawling or getting into anything (intentionally) really nasty. I test drove the OffRoad this past weekend on city streets, loved it, but to me it felt a bit spongy in cornering with it's set-up (Bilsteins etc). Is the Sport Model more street oriented with a tighter feel? I love the OffRoad model but since 90% of my driving will be on road, I'm curious if the Sports on road handling is substantially better enough to make it a better choice for my needs. Appreciate your thoughts.

 

Off-Road hands down. Very similar trucks essentially but you get better shocks and rear locker with the Off-Road. You get a hoop scoop and 17” rims with a Sport instead of 16” on the Off-Road, but no rear locker. I say Off-Road.

You should know the old saying, “Better to have it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it”. I’m a US Army vet myself. Drive both and see which you like better on the road.

 

I was dead set on getting an Off Road until I test drove it. I couldn’t stand the soft suspension, especially in turns.

I tend to drive a little... aggressively. For me the Sport suspension was perfect. It holds perfectly in turns, and doesn’t give up any stability in acceleration and braking. I gave up having the locking rear differential, but to me it was still a no brainer. I drive much more on highways than dirt roads.

Very happy with the Sport 4x4. No regrets at all.

 

If you get the off-road model you won't be judged by sport owners. If you get the sport model you definitely will be judged by some off road owners.

Sport suites my needs and personal choice to have a truck that looks good to me. Do I rock crawl? Nope. Would a rear locker be helpful in sand? Probably. Will I ever go in the sand? Nope. Do I have two feet capable of pressing pedals? Yup. Would off road auto pilot be a cool feature to have, maybe. Do I love my skewp more than my 1 year old son? Nope. But it's a close second. Lol

If you love the scoop, just do what some off-road owners do and spend the extra grand after you buy the off-road.

 

17" rims

 

Ah... I stand corrected. I meant 17” since the OR has 16”

 

Yeah you. No harm no foul. Just figured he should have the correct info

 

I probably could have been satisfied with the Sport over the Off Road that I ended up with, but I'm happy with my choice. Make sure you actually drive the Sport first. Even though it wasn't the final factor in my decision, there's no way I could live with that scoop. The 3rd gen Tacoma hood limits forward visibility when off roading as it is, and the scoop just makes it that much worse.

Bottom line though? You can't go wrong either way.

 

All of this...


It really depends on what your needs are. The sport is better for every day commute and going around town. It’s also more than capable of holding its own for off roaring...plus the truck itself looks better in my opinion. Now if you are into extreme off roading and rock crawling, go for the trd off road. Just keep in mind, a lot of people who get the off-road still think it needs some fairly substantial upgrades to “meet their needs”. Most sport owns seems to stay pretty stock except for the cosmetic stuff.


I also see people talk about visibility with the scoop and I just don’t get it. I’m 6’1 and I can see just fine...my wife his 5’1 and can see just fine as well.

 

Take it out on some dirt and tell us what you think about that scoop. It's certainly a matter of personal preference.

 

Precisely why I love the scoop. Makes the truck "feel" bigger than it is which to me is a great feature to have on a small truck.

To the OP, your going to get a lot of sport "haters" on here but I was in the same boat when I bought mine and generally liked the over all on the sport better than the offroad. Sure you are giving up some functional features but for me the aesthetics were worth it to get the sport. Personally I think it's just a better looking truck and still has all the nice bells and whistles. If your driving 90% on pavement, then I'd go sport. But that's just me, it's a great truck either way!

 

As mentioned earlier, drive both before buying. Preferably on the same day, same route, and back to back while the previous drive is fresh in your mind. I did that, and found the sport’s ride a bit harsh on rough pavement. The off road is a bit spongy, I’ll give you that. I ended up buying neither, lol. I love the pro, because it is more controlled in corners like the sport, and plush riding like the off road. But you can tweak either model’s suspension, if you’re planning on modding.

 

Main reason I got an OR over the Sport was that hood scoop and the wheels. Don't like either of them

 

I don't either Booger. Appreciate ya'lls feedback thus far.

 

If you don’t like the look of the sport model then I’d say go for the off-road. Sport is all for looks so I think you’ve already made your decision.

 

Appreciate the feedback so far gents. One more thing. I tend to keep vehicles a long time, that's why I'm looking at Toyota's since I see ALOT of old Tacoma's running around. The last truck I purchased was in 2000, a Ford F250 7.3 diesel. Been a good one, and still have it, but I no longer need the additional towing capacity, or want to spend 60K plus on a new one. Downsizing to my needs if you might say.

 

I'm not a big fan of bling, non-functional hood scoops or anything non-functional for that matter.

 

Always off road not a question. unless you are getting a RWD only and are never ever going off road or live in place with bad weather conditions then if you save money by getting sport than go for it other than that off road all the way!

 

I purchased a Sport. . .reason being is 99% of my miles are going to be freeway/street driving, and it just seemed to drive better on the roads (I test drove both), I am happy with the 4x4 that the sport comes with, I have used it at Fiesta Island (Mission Bay in San Diego), where my 2010 TRD Sport 2WD has been stuck, so that was nice that I could get out of it; I have taken my truck out to Anza Borrega and have had zero issues. I never planned on doing serious offroading (i.e. rock climbing, places where I am going to scratch the living hell out of my truck), I just want to be able to go to some cool spots to camp in the desert, and with the Sport model, it fit my needs. Just pick out what works best for you!! No one is going to judge you!!

 

ngsx468 is 100% right what ever you get no one is going to judge you