Today I took the 2025 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road up our hill test, and this one’s special because it’s the only manual transmission truck you can buy new right now. Conditions were dry and cold, so traction was going to be the whole story. Before we hit the climb, I walked through the key stuff on this press truck: the TRD Off-Road package (because I want the rear locker), the TRD skid plate, rigid fog lights, the off-road trail pipe (axle dump from the factory, let’s go), rear diff skid plate, ARB rear tow hooks, and body-mounted rock rails. Angles are solid from the factory too—about 34° approach, 24° breakover, and 23° departure—so it’s got a chance. On the hill, I started with as little help as possible and worked up: 2WD, then 4HI, then 4LO. The big challenge wasn’t the truck—it was the tires. Those Trail Terrains are “not bad at anything, not great at anything,” and they’re definitely not great at grabbing on steep, rocky climbs. Once I went 4LO, added the rear locker, and even disconnected the sway bar, the Tacoma finally stayed planted and walked up. And yeah, the manual made it more fun—and we didn’t overheat an automatic transmission like we’ve seen happen in some full-size trucks. I still don’t get the point of the no-clutch start cancel with the way hill-hold and the electronic parking brake work, so tell me in the comments how you’d actually use it.