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TRD All The Things!

Adam Allen Writer - Carpages.ca

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We take a close look at two TRD off-road offerings

Words by: Adam Allen

Toyota has gone on record as saying that they are done with making boring cars. There is evidence that suggests they are taking this mandate seriously- the Lexus LF-A of a few years ago and the playful GT86 got the ball rolling and we are starting to see a trickle of seriously interesting cars continue to emerge from that promise. As of this writing, Toyota has lavished the TRD treatment on no less than seven different products- and to show that the engineers have a sense of humor, you can actually by a Toyota Avalon TRD. But today, we’re looking at a couple of TRD off-roaders, which can trace their roots back the days of Ivan “Ironman” Stewart’s incredible stadium racing successes.

You may think of TRD as the answer to BMW’s M division, Mercedes AMG skunkworks and FCA’s SRT program. The idea is universally the same- take a current model and make it better/faster using in-house developed parts and know how. TRD is, at this stage in the game, is closer to an aftermarket supplier than full on performance sub brand- you shop their catalogue to your heart’s content for things like mild exhaust and intake upgrades as well as cosmetic dress up bits, but the days of bespoke engines and specially focused chassis tuning have yet to materialize.

But hey, TRD models are interesting, right? They certainly are not boring, and while this appears to be the dawn of TRD becoming more prevalent- not to mention relevant- and so we decided that we should take a look a couple of models that play a part in this genesis.

Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro

Stepping inside this truck is a blast from the past. It has been updated over the years, but it draws a clear line to the types of interiors you would have found ten years ago. If that has you bent you shape, blame the people who keep buying this truck. Sales continue to be quite strong despite the anachronistic nature of the 4Runner- so why change? Plus, it's Toyota, so the fact that it's very well built and extremely durable continues to be a motivating factor. Some things never change, but thankfully others do, and you will be happy that Toyota has at least seen fit to upgrade the touchscreen infotainment to one of its best and that they elected to throw in a pretty amazing stereo.

Driving it is a bit of a throwback too. This is not, ladies and gentlemen, what you would call a precise SUV. The steering is sloppy but has great on center behavior and the brake pedal is like stepping on a ball of wet socks. Handling and braking charitably described as deliberate and the wheezy 4.0 litre V6 provides commendably good urge yet doesn’t sound happy doing it.

At this point, you might be thinking that the 4Runner TRD Pro is going to be unmercifully panned by the Carpages crew. We thought the same early on in our Road Test too. But after we got to drive it more and got to know it better, we began to understand it…and even began to love it.

We’ll start with the colour. Army Green is an epic hue. It looks just about perfect on the 4Runner and would do wonders for pretty much any car imaginable. Army Green Corolla? Yes please. The paint is a nice contrast to the blacked out trim and wheels, and we love the discreet TRD badges near the C pillars and on the rear hatch. The roof rack doesn’t do anything to help with aerodynamics but it sure looks cool, and next time we are going to use it as basecamp- literally- and pitch a tent right there on the roof in a remote part of the woods. The aftermarket is chock a block with cool gear and accessories to make your next trek into the bush a memorable one.

And you can get far, far off the grid in one of these. Aside from the off-road tires and massive skid plate protecting the undercarriage hardware, the 4Runner TRD Pro has incredible Fox shocks and a whole suite of electronic driving assistance tech meant strictly for off pavement work mean that this rig is vividly capable of taking you far off the beaten path. Now, the 4Runner won’t be able to keep pace with a jeep Wrangler when you are very far away from civilization but it will not embarrass itself whatsoever. Its greatest party trick? When the day is over and it’s time to go home, the Wrangler’s occupants will be jostled and beat up as if they were on still on the trails, while those in the 4Runner are treated to almost decadent comfort once back on the tarmac.

The ride quality is actually kind of amazing. You would never expect that an SUV so focused on off-road capability would be so comfortable but it is. The TRD tuned 4Runner feels like a 70’s Caddy but without the wallow and nautical body roll. Witness Toyota’s development and engineering might on full display in making all these heavy duty bits play nice when on pavement.

There are a few things that might take some adjusting to, like turning up the stereo to drown out the highway drone of the TRD exhaust. At this price point, you might be expecting cooled seats, a heated steering wheel and LED headlights but they aren’t on the menu. The steering wheel looks like it could have come from Toyota’s Hino truck subsidiary because its sheer size seems almost comical.

Focus on those niggles and you might miss the point of this unique SUV. There is nothing like it on sale today save for serious hardcore off roaders like the Ford Raptor and Chevy Colorado ZR2. If you plan to use a 4Runner TRD Pro just for errands and school runs, you’re doing it wrong. This is not an SUV you buy unless you plan on using it as it was intended. With everyone feeling mighty cooped up over these last few months, don’t be surprised of many interests are piqued by this very cool truck that can easily take you away from it all (and back) in comfort.

Toyota RAV4 Trail AWD TRD Off-Road

Once you get past the mouthful of a name, the cool factor of this RAV4 begins to come into focus.
Bu first- do you remember the first generation RAV4? Yeah, it's come a long way from the 1996 debut of the XA10 generation. Anyone else remember when you'd follow one from behind you would see those spindly little fragile looking rear control arms, just one jutting tree stump away from being unceremoniously ripped apart? And while it was admirable that they provided independent rear suspension when most SUVs did not, it wasn’t what you’d call robust. Fast forward to today and you have this new off-road geared RAV4 that can do what that first generation could only dream of while remaining fully in one piece along the way. And yet it's still not a hardcore off-roader which means its actually enjoyable to drive on tarmac. How’s that for 23 years of progress folks?

As we did in our discussion of the 4Runner TRD Pro, we’ll begin with the RAV4’s colour, unique to the TRD models. Magnetic Grey Metallic with Ice Edge Roof definitely offers up some welcome flair whereas before Toyotas might have simply added some metallic flake to their signature Beige and called it a day. With the black wheels and rugged off-road tires it actually kinda-sorta gives it a butchy element. Yes, we just used the word ‘butch’ to describe a RAV4. We found the whole package fetching, and in TRD Off-Road trim you see here you’ll be empowered to go out to fetch firewood much deeper in the bush than Johnny Neighbor’s Hybrid or Limited models could ever dream of.

We are not kidding around about this, either. Our friends at Car and Driver did something that would seem incredibly ill advised on the surface- they brought a RAV4 TRD and a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon to an off-road park to see if the Toyota could even remotely hang with the mighty Jeep, possibly the best vehicle you can buy for hardcore off-road antics. Guess what? Not only did the RAV not utterly embarrass itself, but it actually was able to navigate the kind of stuff beyond the wildest expectations of anyone who was watching in awe. While it might not boast goodies like a locking diff or even a tow hook, the TRD proved itself to be remarkably capable. We didn’t test this out for ourselves- we decided bringing the RAV4 back undamaged would have been preferable to any fact finding missions that could potentially result in serious damage- it still felt like we were entitle to exercise some bragging rights while showing it off to the neighbors.

Perhaps the most compelling virtue of the RAV4 TRD isn’t its surprising off-road prowess but how well it behaves on the blacktop. This is Toyota’s best selling model in Canada, and it needs to be comfortable and livable doing mundane stuff like picking up groceries and taking the kids to the park. At this, too, the RAAV4 TRD excels. Somehow Toyota has gifted the little SUV with a huge amount of refinement, even feeling Lexus-like at times. The rough and tumble off-road rubber isn’t noisy and the RAV doesn’t squirm around on those aggressive tread sipes. It is quiet and handles predictably and the ride quality is appreciably tuned to be cushy but also taut. If you need an example of a vehicle that can truly excel at two vastly different missions, look no further.

We expected the 4Runner TRD Pro to perform, well, like a Pro. What we didn’t expect was that the RAV4 TRD would be such a pleasant surprise. Yet here we are singing the praises of a cookie cutter SUV, albeit a remarkably interesting one.

So, Toyota- TRD all the things!

2020 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro – Specifications