The truck community has seen some exciting developments this year, whether it was seeing what the GM quarter-ton lightweights could do in the dust, how the 2015 EcoBoost F-150 could handle extreme heat and towing demands, or even just speculating on the direction of the Honda Ridgeline (whatever that may be).

Photo credit: Autoblog

Meanwhile, Toyota has been making a huge deal of the TRD PRO series of vehicles for the better part of the year, hedging on a few minor improvements to three models – 4Runner, Tacoma, and Tundra – to be enough for us off roaders to fall in love again. Autoblog recently got its hands on a 2015 Tundra TRD Pro, and had the following to say about the truck.

Framing the pickup against the likes of the Ford SVT Raptor and Ram Power Wagon, the bright “Inferno” orange is striking and distracting, but that’s hardly the kind of feature that true off roaders pay money for. Rather, our interests gravitate more toward improvements to power, suspension, protection, and grip, which the TRD Pro answers accordingly with: no, yes, yes, and sort of.

Keeping the same 5.7L V8 that’s been in service since 2006, users will enjoy the burble and roar the upgraded dual port exhaust system makes, but the power is less than both the Raptor or Power Wagon: 381 hp, compared with the Raptor’s 411 hp and the Power Wagon’s 420 hp. When it comes to stability, the Tundra uses Bilstein shocks and mild TRD springs that handle difficult ground better than stock.

For protection, a quarter-inch aluminum skid plate protects the engine’s bottom end. Traction comes courtesy of 32-inch Michelin LTX AT2s with decent benefits for both on road and off road usage, but certainly nothing like the meaner 35-inch BFG T/A KOs and 33-inch Goodyear Wrangler DuraTracs found on the Raptor and Power Wagon, respectively.

So is the TRD Pro really the kind of truck to pit against dedicated off roaders like the Raptor and Power Wagon? The answer seems to be “no.” However, as a compromise between costs, research and development time, and marketability, the TRD Pro is a fairly good option at around $41,000. We’ll have to get our hands on one and see for ourselves.

What do you think? Does the TRD Pro have the looks and attributes to attract you to at least go for a test drive? Or is it hate at first sight? Let us know in the comments below.