In this episode on Texas Truck Channel, I’m out in classic Texas “it’s somehow 20 degrees and windy” weather testing what is basically the end of an era: the 2025/2026-ish Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road with a manual transmission—the only new manual truck you can still buy. We walk through the window sticker (and yeah… this one gets pricey fast), the TRD Off Road goodies, Terra paint, rigid fog lights, skid plates, rock rails, and those ARB rear tow hooks that are actually beefy. I also point out the little details that matter on trails—like the extra coating on the bedside that people complain about, but it’s there so you don’t sandblast your paint on dirt roads. Then we get into the stuff you’re really here for: how this manual Tacoma drives. The turbo four makes 270 hp and 310 lb-ft in manual form, but it’s not the smoothest motor—kinda loud and thrashy—though you can hear the turbo, which I like. The manual itself? Sloppy, weird pickup points, not much feedback, and rev hang that forces you to drive it like a diesel and shift early. Even with all that, I’d still take the stick over the auto—because a bad manual is better than a good auto—and Toyota keeping it alive at all is something I’m genuinely thankful for.