We saw it coming, but that doesn't soften the blow much now that it's here. Toyota announced this week that prices for its 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD, an off-roading pickup powerhouse, will start at $41,700, including destination.
That's the entry price for a 6-speed manual transmission pickup with all the skid-plating, kevlar-tire-reinforcing, Fox-shocks-having, rock-crawling goodness baked in to the sturdy off-roader. Adding an automatic transmission costs $2,000 more.
Since it was announced this year at the Chicago Auto Show, we've had a long look at the upgrades Toyota was going to throw at the Tacoma TRD Pro, and we don't doubt its off-road credentials one bit.
What takes the starch out of our shirts a little is how closely the mid-size Tacoma TRD Pro is priced to the all-new Ford Raptor, which sports a twin-turbocharged V-6 somewhere around 450 horsepower, 10-speed automatic, and sophisticated chassis wizardry. The new Raptor will start at $49,520 for a Super Cab, $52,505 for the double cab.
It's also worth noting that those two models compete with the Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock off-roader, which starts at $42,790, and can go anywhere on the planet too.
The Tacoma TRD Pro will go on sale later this month, and probably crawl up a mountain soon after.
