One look at the 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro and anyone can easily see that it’s meant for some serious off-road duty. Although, I have seen that it’s great for moving an apartment as well. And while the TRD Pro trim level does carry some sticker shock as it’s priced right around $50,000, I will say that the added features do warrant some recognition. As such, here five of my favorite features on the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro.

Desert air intake

When I first received the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro, the first feature that I noticed right away was the large plastic snorkel that was routed out of the hood and up the A-pillar. The funny thing is that Toyota doesn’t want it to be called a “snorkel,” as they actually list it as a “Desert Air Intake.” And contrary to what many might believe, as well as myself, it’s not made to let truck breathe better when you’re driving through water either.

In actuality, it’s called a desert air intake because it’s made for “desert running” or driving through a desert. Because when you drive through a desert, the front of the truck (at the hood level) and air inlet could possibly suck in all the dirt, so the elongated air intake sucks in air from higher up and out of the pathway of any flying dirt and debris. It’s too bad because I was thinking that I could drive through my apartment pool with no issues.

Storage space

While the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro doesn’t have the biggest bed to haul things in, it at least has a couple of handy storage bins to keep some of your stuff. The rear seat area does have door pockets and adequate room for rear-seat passengers, but it surprisingly also has a couple of storage bins hidden under the rear seat cushion. Just flip them up to reveal the secret compartments.

Army Green paint

The Army Green paint job that our Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro came coated in fits really well with the overall off-road scheme. The black wheels and cladding contrast nicely and it looks especially nice in the sunlight. However, it’s hard not to look at it and be reminded of the Hot Wheels cars that I used to collect as a kid. But it’s a perfect fitting color nonetheless and it’s an exclusive color for the TRD Pro model for 2020.

Tuned FOX suspension

Toyota Racing Development has been historically known to churn out some of the best performance parts for the Toyota lineup and the Tacoma TRD Pro is no exception. The Tacoma TRD Pro is fitted with tuned front springs that give the truck a one-inch lift as well as a tuned rear suspension with progressive-rate leaf springs.

Rounding out the suspension setup is a set of FOX 2.5-inch internal bypass shocks that take care of all the damping duties on and off the road. If you think the suspension is great when going over gullies and rocks, just wait until you experience the smoothness as you drive over the speed bumps at your local grocery store parking lot.

Black TRD 16-inch wheels and TRD-tuned cat-back exhaust

And lastly, I’m a sucker for black wheels and the Tacoma TRD Pro doesn’t disappoint as it’s fitted with a set of black 16-inch TRD wheels that are each four pounds lighter than the wheels on the 2019 model. While you can’t really feel the difference, I’m sure it helps with the heavy truck’s performance. Also, the TRD-tuned cat-back exhaust gives the truck a nice rumble on startup and acceleration. If you’re looking for all-out performance in a reliable and rugged truck, the 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro could be the best way to go.