The 2025 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro is the off-road racer in the lineup, blending a bold design with serious trail capability plus hybrid power.
I spent a week with the truck, driving it around and doing a small towing job. I found a lot of things I liked especially over the prior generation and several head scratchers I still haven’t figure out.
2025 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Rocks A Striking New Shade
Toyota’s annual TRD Pro special color is part of the fun, and for 2025 that shade is Mud Bath — a tan, earth-inspired tone that pops in early morning light.
During golden hour, the hour before sunrise and hour after sunset, it glows warm and rich. During midday light, it looks more subdued, almost military desert color.
Either way, it looks great with the glossy black fender flares looking like broad shoulders ready to do work.
Off-Road Armor Combined with Aggressive Exterior Styling
The front fascia sports an aggressive-looking front bumper with integrated Rigid LED fog lights, a TRD Pro grille with an embedded badge, a TRD LED light bar activated with the high beams on via a button inside the cabin and red-painted recovery hooks tucked behind a skid plate.
The truck rides on TRD alloy wheels wrapped in Wrangler all-terrain tires.
Along the side, rock rails protect the body from damage.
The rear has a steel ARB bumper, a popular off-road brand, shaped in a way to give increased departure angle when leaving a trail with rounded glossy black accent trim pieces on top wrapping the bumper and the tailgate into one piece. I’m not a big fan of the lose of a foot step to be honest.
The tailgate has the Toyota Tundra trick with the driver-side push button on the side and adds this feature for the passenger side as well. It is powered down and up.
The bed is the same composite bed Tacoma fans have had for years that doesn’t rust and holds up well to heavy cargo. It can get a little slick in the winter and that’s where a bed mat is a simple solution.
Along the bed are sliding tie downs on a rail.
The one thing that catches everyone’s attention is the three shark fin antennas on top of the cabin. They are for GPS, satellite radio and two are for a towing camera setup you can purchase separately.
Cabin Comfort and Upgrades
One of my biggest past complaints on prior-generation Tacomas was how awkward it could be to enter, especially for taller drivers or anyone with mobility issues. Toyota fixed this. The roofline is slightly higher, the door openings are wider, and you no longer have to duck and contort just to climb in.
Also, the old “bathtub” seating posture — low seat base, knees sticking out — is gone. The TRD Pro and all Tacoma models offers a more upright, natural position with better visibility over the dash. Seat height is adjustable and long drives are far more comfortable.
The infotainment screen and center controls integrate better than the slightly disconnected feel in the current Tundra. Pre-wired auxiliary switches and TRD lighting controls are ready for accessories, and a head-up display and digital rearview mirror add modern convenience.
On-Road Performance
Under the hood, the i-Force Max hybrid pairs a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with an electric motor for 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque. Power delivery is instant and smooth, with no hesitation merging onto highways or climbing steep grades.
An 8-speed automatic keeps the truck in the right gear without hunting and the hybrid assist shines off-road where instant torque helps in low-speed crawling.
Fuel economy lands at 23 mpg combined (22 city / 24 highway) — solid for a capable 4WD off-road package.
The TRD Pro retains Toyota’s serious off-road credibility:
- Bilstein shocks tuned for high-speed off-road control
- Skid plates protecting vital components
- Crawl Control and Multi-Terrain Select drive modes
- Rock rails for side protection
I’ve driven this truck off-road many times and didn’t have a need to experience this thrill ride again.
Things I Didn’t Like – IsoDynamic Seats in the Rear
Toyota’s new IsoDynamic Performance Seats — designed to absorb bumps by floating on shocks — are innovative. You can tune firmness for on-road or off-road use with a small digital pump and Schrader valves.
Cool? Absolutely. But in the Tacoma’s smaller cabin, they eat into rear legroom. With the driver’s seat set all the way back for my 5’7” frame, you can’t sit behind me. In a Tundra, they make perfect sense; in a Tacoma, they feel like a forced fit. I wish they were optional.
Hitch Receiver Hassles
The TRD Pro’s tow receiver is double-walled for added strength. Unfortunately, this means a standard hitch pin won’t fit — you need a longer one that Toyota provides with the truck. My press vehicle didn’t come with it, and discovering that while in a rush was not a highlight of my week. Yes, there are workarounds, but it’s an avoidable headache.
And then there’s the mysterious second hole further back which is a fake hole.
Many people pointed out I should be able to make the cotter pin work coming in from the back. It doesn’t work due to the extra steel welding. You could make it work if you modified the pin, but why should you have to do that?
In a midsize truck, towing isn’t my top priority and I just found it unnecessary and searching to fix a problem that didn’t exist.
Price Tag Shock
My test truck stickered at $65,000. That’s a lot for a mid-size pickup — especially when the Ford Ranger Raptor, a direct rival with a 3.0-liter V6 with a better exhaust note, comes in around $55,000.
While the Tacoma is extremely capable, $10K more for similar off-road performance is a tough sell.
The Bottom Line
The 2025 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro is a huge leap forward in comfort, technology, and powertrain sophistication. It’s genuinely enjoyable to drive, highly capable off-road and finished with thoughtful touches like pre-wired auxiliary switches and improved ergonomics.
However, the IsoDynamic seats feel better suited to larger trucks, the hitch receiver design is unnecessarily fussy and the price tag is eye-watering. If money is no object and you want the most advanced Tacoma ever built, the TRD Pro is the pinnacle. But value-conscious buyers might find better balance in a lower TRD trim — or in a rival like the Ranger Raptor.
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