2,000+ mile review of 2024 TRD Offroad as my workhorse

Hi all,

So I’m the proud owner of a TRD Offroad. When I say proud, I mean it. I wash and wax it. Which is quite unusual for me to do for any vehicle.

Anyways, I’ve put just over 2,000 miles on it. So I thought I’d give a bit of a review.

First of all, this truck is not a toy for me. It’s a work horse. I don’t need it to run the Baja 1000 or scale massive boulder fields in Utah. I just need a truck that won’t get stuck at a construction site, or while I’m on my way to a camping, hiking, or fishing spot. The 5-foot bed is plenty for me to throw fire wood, wet dive gear, and muddy waders into.

Anyways, I will definitely say it’s the best ride I’ve ever owned. Coming from a 1986 Jeep CJ7 and 2011 Ford Ranger Sport (2wd), this new truck is MILES ahead when it comes to comfort and handling. Feels like a spacecraft when I drive it. It’s also quite torquey and powerful. Getting the turbo to wind up is kind of fun. The sound actually reminds me of a turbo diesel. The only complaint I have here is the accelerator is not super responsive. It takes a half a second to respond when I step on it. Not a huge deal, but something I had to get used to.

I took it through a big construction site the other day, and was able to test its ability to do some fairly steep climbs. Nothing super gnarly, but you definitely need a decent 4x4 to make it up some of those hills. It was a cake walk going up that stuff. So I was quite happy with that.

This truck has a lot of fancy features that I may or may not ever use. I started off being resistant to them, but I’ve convinced myself to take advantage of as many bells and whistles as I can. I’m paying for it, after all. And that price tag is not small! First thing I didn’t think I’d appreciate is the huge touch screen. But it sure is nice to get onto carplay and have a nice big display for navigating. And the backup camera is really useful. It’s a good wide-angle camera that I’m thankful to have because visibility is actually not great in this truck.

The reported MPG is pretty on point. On the highway, I can get it up to about 24-25 MPG if I’m driving conservatively. The sweet spot is about 65-75 mph. Once you go above that, the MPG suffers. I imagine wind resistance becomes a factor in this. I don’t believe Eco mode does a dang thing. But Sport mode definitely does. It stiffens the steering, and makes the gas a little more touchy. Not much, but it’s noticeable.

The interior is roomy and comfortable, especially compared to some other mid-sized trucks. The control area leaves a bit to be desired, though. That handle on the passenger side of the center console is cool, but kind of useless. And actually gets in the way of accessing the charge ports and storage. Could use a makeover there. Looks nice, though!

As far as looks, it’s definitely designed to look aggressive. But not “cat eye Chevy” or “Jeep angry eyes” aggressive, because those just look ridiculous. It definitely follows the trend of what most trucks look like these days. I used to not be a fan of the puffy truck look, but I’m coming around to it.

All things considered, I think this truck fits my uses quite well. I think most consumers are probably similar to me, where most driving is on the road (whether or not people are willing to admit that), but we need the ability to take it through some offroad areas when necessary. And this truck really feels like a good sweet spot. Can’t really speak for others, but I’m incredibly happy with it. I know there are some transmission issues for some VIN ranges, and people are questioning the longevity of a turbo 2.4L. So we’ll just have to see. I don’t expect it to go a million miles. The more bells and whistles, the more things that can fail. But the bells and whistles are nice. So I’ll keep enjoying this truck, and take things as they come. I don’t buy into all the youtube sensationalist “let’s test this truck” BS. Why is it so hard to just use a truck normally? Not everything needs to pass an abuse test. Anyways, I can go on and on. The point is I love my truck!

Spot on! I use mine almost the exact same way. Daily use to and from job sites with occasionally challenging conditions or steep climbs and always plenty of mud. The truck makes it all feel so easy. I will say, at least on the 6MT, ECO mode definitely puts a damper on the turbo spooling up, and this makes sense to me. The truck doesn't feel as "jumpy" as it does in Sport or even Normal mode. I was initially surprised by this because I'm not used to having drive modes available on a manual transmission in the first place, but I wasn't expecting it to have as much impact on the feel of the truck as it does. I do mostly city driving with some highway cruising, and I average roughly 20 mpg. I know I could squeeze a bit more mpg if I'd baby it a bit more, but I think both the truck and myself prefer to have some fun while cruising around. Can't say enough about this truck! Great review.

Great review Calvin! I have roughly 3500 mi on mine after purchasing it in mid-August and having traveled to Albuquerque recently.

My previous vehicle was a 2011 FJ 4x4, loved that thing. However, traveling in the mountains could be a pain as the truck would shift down a lot negotiating steep grades, due to the 5 speed automatic (even though the 6 cylinder had plenty of power). The new 8 speed automatic on the Tacoma is awesome, never noticed a loss in speed or gear changes while climbing the same mountains that gave the FJ problems.

Like the FJ, the Tacoma feels solid on the road. However, I would say the Tacoma is more refined, better seat comfort, quieter, and I can actually enjoy my music at freeway speeds.

So far, I have only used the 4x4 system on freshly plowed farmland with some steep hills. The Taco cut the hills up as easily as the FJ did before it.

The truck is a joy to drive!

Kdbradley85 said:

Spot on! I use mine almost the exact same way. Daily use to and from job sites with occasionally challenging conditions or steep climbs and always plenty of mud. The truck makes it all feel so easy. I will say, at least on the 6MT, ECO mode definitely puts a damper on the turbo spooling up, and this makes sense to me. The truck doesn't feel as "jumpy" as it does in Sport or even Normal mode. I was initially surprised by this because I'm not used to having drive modes available on a manual transmission in the first place, but I wasn't expecting it to have as much impact on the feel of the truck as it does. I do mostly city driving with some highway cruising, and I average roughly 20 mpg. I know I could squeeze a bit more mpg if I'd baby it a bit more, but I think both the truck and myself prefer to have some fun while cruising around. Can't say enough about this truck! Great review.

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Thanks. I hadn’t considered if the manual version would feel any different in eco mode. I’ve got the 8-speed auto on mine. Eco and normal mode feel pretty much the same on my setup. But the main thing was hoping for was some gas savings, which it doesn’t appear to help with.

Chance3 said:

Great review Calvin! I have roughly 3500 mi on mine after purchasing it in mid-August and having traveled to Albuquerque recently.

My previous vehicle was a 2011 FJ 4x4, loved that thing. However, traveling in the mountains could be a pain as the truck would shift down a lot negotiating steep grades, due to the 5 speed automatic (even though the 6 cylinder had plenty of power). The new 8 speed automatic on the Tacoma is awesome, never noticed a loss in speed or gear changes while climbing the same mountains that gave the FJ problems.

Like the FJ, the Tacoma feels solid on the road. However, I would say the Tacoma is more refined, better seat comfort, quieter, and I can actually enjoy my music at freeway speeds.

So far, I have only used the 4x4 system on freshly plowed farmland with some steep hills. The Taco cut the hills up as easily as the FJ did before it.

The truck is a joy to drive!

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Yup! It really does feel solid. Just something about the way the engine sounds and feels, the way it handles turns, the fit and finish, and just how it all goes together. Even closing the doors and hearing that nice clean thump. It’s smooth and quiet on the highway. I took a bit of a road trip a couple weeks ago (a few hundred miles). I feel like I could drive it across the country effortlessly!