Toyota has a different pickup lineup for the United States, offering models like the Tacoma and Tundra that are exclusive to the country. Tundra has a difficult mission in the North American market, as it has to face Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-150 and Ram 1500. To try to change the game, it now receives a new generation, debuting an unprecedented platform and even a hybrid V6 turbo engine.
Mounted on a new platform called TNGA-F, a variant of the modular architecture used by Corolla and Corolla Cross, but for vehicles with body on chassis. It made its debut in the new generation of the Land Cruiser and now arrives at the Toyota Tundra, promising to help the pickup completely change from the previous model.
This is the first time since the 1997 Toyota T100 that the brand has not offered a large pickup truck in the US without a V8 engine. The difference is that, this time, he has plenty of strength. The cheapest versions have a 3.5 V6 biturbo with 394 hp and 66.2 kgfm, while the most expensive variants use a hybrid system, adding an electric motor to the 10-speed automatic transmission, raising power and torque to 443 hp and 80 .5 kgfm, respectively.
The new generation of Tundra wears a very strong style, making it look more muscular than before. The greater distance between the front axle and the panel, in addition to the rectangular roofline, remove some of the “thickness” of the previous generation, but the big news – literally – is the gigantic front grille that is connected to the bumper by a “C” shaped frame with a black panel at the bottom. It even looks like a huge open mouth and not everyone will like that – some customers might opt for the 1794 Edition version, which uses these chrome parts.
Sculpted wheel arches add interesting styling to the side, as does the rear bumper that is integrated in place of a traditional separate piece. Toyota wanted to give the Tundra a dose of modernity through the A and B pillars in black, which makes the roof look like a tent covering the vehicle and emphasizes the size of the glass in the doors.
As before, it will be sold in Double Cab and CrewMax versions, without a single cab option. CrewMax focuses on space inside the car, with a larger cabin and a 1.67 meter long bed. The Double Cab, on the other hand, brings a double cabin in a smaller size, but with a 1.98 meter bucket, rising to 2.46 m as an option.
Inside, the new Tundra impresses with the amount of technologies offered. The most basic configuration has an 8″ screen (it was 7″ in the previous generation), but the others use a 14″ display mounted on the top of the panel, as if someone thought the 12″ screen of the Ram 1500 was small. Even better, Toyota has finally ditched its lousy proprietary system in favor of a much more intuitive and responsive one. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard and, depending on the version, it even has integration with Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts.
In terms of style, the interior is cleaner and more attractive, with a thick chrome piece running across the panel that has the air vents. Both the first and second rows of seats have plenty of room, while the center console is deep enough to fit a laptop or a small backpack. The pair of cup holders and wireless charger give you room to put everything and keep the front seats well organized. Rear passengers, on the other hand, will find a slightly lower roofline thanks to the optional panoramic sunroof – but legroom remains excellent.
Thanks to its more squared lines and the use of the multilink rear suspension, the cheapest version of the Tundra already offers a payload capacity of 880 kg and a towing capacity of 5,443 kg – the previous Tundra carried 785 kg and pulled 4,627 kg. However, despite offering the most power and torque in the category, it lags behind in utility compared to rivals the Ford F-150 (which can carry 1,011 kg and pull 6,350 kg), Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (1,034 kg and 6,033 kg, respectively ) and Ram 1500 (1,052 kg and 5,783 kg, respectively).
According to Toyota, this difference in capacity compared to the rest of the segment is for good reason. The brand says customers are less concerned with the limit than with everyday usability, reliability and off-road capability. For this, the company bet on the top-of-the-line Tundra TRD Pro version, with items such as springs and shock absorbers specific to making trails, stabilizer bar and equipment such as front LED bar and terrain selector.
The hybrid motor is standard on the TRD Pro version, which is good as the electric motor should help a lot with instant off-road torque. It is also available in Limited, Platinum and 1794 Edition variants, while SR and SR5 configurations work exclusively with the turbo V6. It also has a package called TRD Off-Road, with Bilstein monotube shock absorbers, driving mode selector and hill climbing assistant.
All versions come standard with the Toyota Safety Sense 2.5 package, the most current safety equipment and brand assistance. It brings items such as automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, junction assistant that monitors traffic, blind spot monitor, cross traffic alert and automatic high beams. With adaptive cruise control as standard and lane-centering assist, the Tundra should be as comfortable on the roads as its predecessor was.
The most impressive thing is to have all these equipment even in the basic SR version. Many of its rivals, such as the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Ram 1500, require a little more money to choose a more expensive version or one with an optional package that brings the same safety items. Only the Nissan Titan comes close, with automatic emergency braking, though it charges more for adaptive cruise control and other functions.