We drove a $43,500 Chevy Colorado ZR2 and a $44,000 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro to see which we liked better — here’s the verdict (GM)

The Chevy Colorado ZR2 is, quite simply, a nicer pickup. But for this matchup, I strangely came away with a better impression of the TRD Pro.

Why? It certainly wasn’t the ride quality, which would send most folks screaming for the nearest tractor. Nor was it the interior appointments, and it certainly wasn’t the infotainment.

Both pickups are also made in the US — the Chevy Colorado in Missouri and the Toyota Tacoma in Texas. So what pushed me in TRD Pro fandom?

It was the MUD! With four-wheel-drive engaged the TRD Pro meandered through a large and gummy expanse of mud as if it were freshly applied tarmac. I thought I heard the Taco softly laughing beneath the rumble of its torquey V6. “Is that the best you can do?”

The thousands of dollars of difference between the TRD Pro and the TRD Sport comes down to offroad setup. You get better, beefier everything. That’s why the TRD Pro is an awful truck for tooling around town, while the ZR2 is just fine. The Colorado is versatile. The TRD Pro wants trouble.

Not that the ZR2 is a slouch on the trails. But the TRD Pro craves them. In fact, it makes so sense for this truck to be rolling anywhere but on the dirt and rocks.

So there you have it. The ZR2 outdid the TRD Sport — but the Sport’s big brother, the Pro, came to town and showed us how it’s done.