The Toyota TRD Pro lineup has always been a rapidly evolving lineup of off-road ready vehicles. With 2020 focusing on not only adding Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability to the lineup but also recruiting the full-size Sequoia SUV to the mix, TRD engineers were keen on maintaining the TRD Pro lineup’s winning ways. For 2021, a new color as well as substantial tweaks to the Toyota 4Runner aims to continue this winning formula.
A key change is the addition of an all new hue to the TRD Pro color pallet. Dubbed Lunar Rock, it replaces Army Green, and it certainly does a good job of making us imagine going through moon craters or even vast lunar wastelands behind the wheel of a TRD Pro offering. While Army Green always managed to be the perfect compliment to some of the optional accessories that could be equipped to certain models, the images that Toyota attached to their press release reveal a hue that still looks handsome, especially when paired with certain contrast colors.
In addition to the new color, the 4Runner TRD Pro also benefits from a suite of upgrades for the 2021 model year. Toyota was quick to point out that the eyes can be the window to the soul, and that analogy can be used to describe the new LED headlights that will make their way to the 4-Runner. This will be the first time that the technology has been used on the 4-Runner, and they will be standard issue on all 4-Runner models. Buyers that opt for the Limited, Nightshade and TRD Pro models will also benefit from LED high beams, with LED fog lights being standard across the board. In the case of the TRD Pro, it will retain its current RIGID sourced units which have been a mainstay item for a few years now.
Along with the new lighting, the 4Runner TRD Pro also benefits from some upgrades designed to help improve its composure when out on the trail. The 2021 model adds all new TRD alloy flow form wheels that are shod in Nitto Terra Grappler tires. Toyota claims that the rims are stronger and more rigid than before, but they still retain the basic styling DNA which allows them to conform with the family look.
The switch to flow form wheels also allowed TRD engineers to make adjustments in other areas of the suspension to improve ride and handling characteristics. This included the addition of retuned 2.5 inch Fox Internal Bypass shocks to help enhance what the 4-Runner TRD Pro brings to the table for trail focused customers.
Designed to deliver the best of both worlds, the reworked shocks are designed to enhance off-road performance, but without sacrificing on-road comfort and steering feedback. The front shocks are paired with TRD tuned coil springs that offer a full inch of increased lift for improved trail capability. The rear shocks also feature piggyback style remote reservoirs to maintain damping performance in even the most challenging of off-road terrain.
Toyota did not release any updated pricing information for the 2021 TRD Pro lineup, but look for the first units to begin making there way to showrooms later this year, possibly as early as this fall.
Three days tackling the Rimrocker Trail with 2019 Toyota TRD Pro
2020 Toyota TRD PRO Upgrades Feature Push-Button Start, Cameras, New Sequoia