When looking in the small pickup truck segment, it’s only natural to take a look at the Toyota Tacoma. Recently, it’s had a lot of competition between the Chevrolet Colorado and the Ford Ranger. To keep up, it was time for the Tacoma to get a full update. Next year, we anticipate a complete refresh of the lineup, including the 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro. Let’s get a closer look at this fun truck.
Trims & Pricing
We don’t know the pricing yet for the 2020 TRD Pro but assume it will be relative to the 2019 model at $42,960 for the manual and $45,665 for the automatic.
Exterior & Interior Design
The Tacoma TRD comes with an updated exterior for 2020. It features black taillight inserts, Rigid Industry LED fog lights, 16-inch wheels, LED daytime running lights and sequential LED headlights. You can choose from some exclusive colors such as Army Green, Magnetic Gray Metallic and Midnight Black Metallic.
The interior hasn’t changed much for the new year, but one significant difference is the infotainment screen. This new eight-inch screen has connectivity for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as well as Amazon Alexa. It also comes standard with navigation. Other features inside the cabin include wireless charging, automatic climate control and a Panoramic View Monitor.
For this year, the TRD Pro also comes standard with a ten-way power driver’s seat and black leather complete with red contrast stitching. You can only get the Tacoma TRD Pro as a Double Cab. This features four full doors with room for five, while the regular Tacoma models also have the option to get an Access Cab.
Power & Capability
You have two bed options with a 2020 Tacoma, but just one with the TRD Pro. The Double Cab comes with a five-foot bed complete with plastic composite, so you don’t need a bed liner. It also comes with tie-down cleats, a removable, locking tailgate and available modular bed extender.
Power is produced with the 3.5-liter V6 that pumps out 278 horsepower plus 265 lb-ft of torque. This is routed either through the six-speed manual or automatic transmission. All TRD Pro models also feature four-wheel drive with low-range.
This Tacoma model also features a standard Tow Package. This includes an automatic transmission fluid cooler, power steering cooler and engine oil cooler as well. The Class IV hitch, four and seven-pin connector with converter and larger alternator also give this truck its capability. The Tacoma tows up to 6,800 pounds which is less than the Jeep Gladiator and the Chevy Colorado.
This Tacoma truck really shines off-road. It has Kevlar-reinforced all-terrain tires on the 16-inch wheels. It also comes with Fox 2.5-inch internal bypass shocks featuring updated tuning. On the four-wheel drive system, drivers have an electronically controlled transfer case plus an electronically controlled locking rear differential. Automatic transmissions have some extra off-road gear such as Crawl Control and Multi-Terrain Select.
Safety Features
You get standard Toyota Safety Sense P. This driver assistance suite comes with forward collision warning and avoidance, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning plus automatic high beams.
How Does the 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Stack Up?
Looking at other trucks in the same segment, you can see that many of the safety features are also available on those trucks. The Chevy Colorado has many of them, but the Frontier doesn’t come with many at all. On the other hand, the Gladiator has some, but they tend to be optional instead of standard.
In other terms, the Colorado ZR2 comes with hill descent control, a revised front bumper complete with recovery hooks and a raised ride height. The new Frontier PRO-4X is a more affordable option, but severely out of date. It comes with a raised suspension, Bilstein shocks, a locking rear differential and additional skid plates.
Obviously, the most popular competitor is the 2020 Jeep Gladiator. This Wrangler pickup has a five-foot bed, removable roof, removable doors, fold-down windshield and plenty of style.
We don’t know when the new Tacoma will arrive at dealers but will keep you posted when we find out.
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