I currently own a trail with KDSS and enjoy the on road benefits. I had the opportunity to rent an SR5 without KDSS for 4 months and noticed a slight difference in cornering on road.
The SR5 I rented seemed to lean more into turns even though the suspension seemed slightly stiffer when driving it on the road. Offroad, I think the non KDSS version was slightly better. I did not scrape the skid plate as much, and the suspension seemed to perform a little better.
My KDSS equipped trail version does really well offroad considering it has the locker in the back. I am unhappy with how the front skid plate hangs about an inch lower and sits farther forward from the axle than the non KDSS versions (This increases the approach angle). I have bottomed hard several times on the skid plate after going too fast over a water bar and nose driving onto the flat trail. I hope once I get bigger tires the problem will not be as bad and the truck bottoms more on the bumps stops instead of the skidplate on the ground.
I ultimately choose the KDSS version because I drive 99% on the road (including driving up to off road trails). The sway bar in front was enough to sell me as it twice as thick as the non KDSS version. After driving the SR5 for a fair amount of time and then getting back in my KDSS trail, the difference was noticeable on road. The offroad benefits are negligible due to the lousy front skidplate. I think the KDSS and non KDSS versions are about equal as far as capability, it’s just the KDSS version will have you clenching your teeth every time you scrape the skidplate on something stupid.
In the pictures below, the KDSS skid hangs down about inch lower than the SR5 at the lowest point, which happens to be the apex of the approach angle. Copy these photos and toggle between the two of them to see the difference.
