Suspension Test: Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro vs Trailhunter | Car and Driver

The third generation of the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro was always a tarted-up
version of the TRD Off-road. Sure, it had pretty trick Fox shocks and a skid
plate, but that was about it apart from badges and baubles. The tires were
the same, and the track width was nearly the same. OK, there was a 10 mm
difference in wheel offset, but you could get those wheels on a TRD Off-road
if you really wanted them.

But now there’s more to it. The fourth generation Tacoma TRD Pro still has
trick shocks, but it also has 33-inch tires and a wider track width to the
point where it needs wider fender flares. There’s also something going on at
the rear end with Fox bump stops, and it has a standard stabilizer bar
disconnect mechanism. It comes with the hybrid version of the 2.4-liter
inline-four engine and don’t get me started on those IsoDynamic seats. Point
is, there’s more real differences in the mix, more that might play a role in
the RTI score of the beast.

In addition to the TRD Pro, this year there’s a new model at the top end
called the Trailhunter. It has the big 33-inch tires and meatier flares of the
Pro, but instead of trick Fox shocks it has trick Old Man Emu shocks. The
point of these shocks is not the wide-open desert running of TRD Pro, its
more of an Overlanding play. These shocks are made for technical rock
crawling, simple washboard roads and load carrying. If fact the Trailhunter
is available as a crew-cab short box or the long box. It does away with the
IsoDynamic seats and replaces them with a snorkel and a Sport Bar. Point
is, we could not ignore this truck either, and its revised shock gave us a
reason the measure its RTI score, as well.

In this video, I’ll show the similarities and differences between the two
trucks’ suspension, and I’ll also drive both of them up the ramp for a close
look at their RTI performance. Which one will do better? Will it be a tie?
Inquiring minds want to know

Subscribe to Car and Driver http://bit.ly/SUBSCRIBEtoCARandDRIVER

00:00 Intro
01:00 Front suspension
05:55 Rear suspension
09:34 RTI test overview
10:33 RTI test results