The new Tundra marks the first thorough redesign of Toyota’s full-sized pickup in 15 years. During that time, the Tundra fell markedly behind the sales-leading domestic truck brands in terms of capability, technology, and innovations, as the “Big 3” (Ford, General Motors, and Ram) made several redesigns.
The Tundra is powerful, quick, and roomy, and an improvement over its predecessor. But it hasn’t made any big gains compared to its competitors in terms of handling, fuel economy, or storage innovations. Instead, it’s now merely on a par with its rivals rather than a step above them. After testing it, we feel that the Tundra doesn’t “out-truck” its rivals.
Toyota did hit a home run, however, with the silky-smooth powertrain. The all-new 389-horsepower, 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6—which replaces the previous V8—has tons of power in any gear and at any rpm, capable of catapulting the truck forward with ease. It produces a hearty 479 lb.-ft. of torque, which explains its prodigious low-end pulling power. The new 10-speed automatic transmission is fantastic, upshifting more imperceptibly than many luxury cars. Most downshifts can be felt a bit, but that's typical among full-sized trucks. At our test track, the Tundra zipped from 0 to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds, making it the quickest full-sized pickup.
But at 17 mpg overall, the Tundra is no match for the 19 mpg overall that the Ford F-150 manages with its most common engine—the 2.7-liter turbo V6. Also, unlike most full-sized pickups, the Tundra isn’t available with automatic 4WD, which means the driver will need to remember to shift the truck into 4WD themselves in slippery conditions—and then shift it back into rear-wheel drive when the road clears.
Toyota offers the Tundra with a hybrid powertrain, but, similar to the Ford F-150 PowerBoost hybrid, this one is designed for more performance, not necessarily much better fuel economy. Called the iForce Max, the hybrid uses essentially the same twin-turbocharged V6 as the standard iForce twin-turbo V6, but adds an electric motor that is sandwiched between the engine and transmission. Horsepower increases to 437, and torque gets boosted to 583 lb.-ft.
Of the numerous advancements Toyota made with the new truck, one of the biggest changes is a switch to a rear suspension with coil springs, replacing the leaf springs that are used on most full-sized pickups. A similar swap more than a decade ago made for a much more comfortable ride in the Ram 1500, but the Tundra’s ride is now merely tolerable—it still exhibits the rear-end jiggle on rougher roads that plagues most pickups. It also remains clumsy through corners, with slow, overly light steering that gives the front end a ponderous feel. Still, it proved secure during our on-track handling tests, posting a similar speed through our avoidance maneuver to other full-sized pickups. We were disappointed by the Tundra’s stopping distances, which are on the long side even among full-sized pickups.
We like the cabin’s robust and rugged design, with plenty of large buttons, robust rocker switches, and an oversized volume knob. While we were impressed by the interior furnishings of the upper-level 1794 Edition we rented from Toyota, we were much less enthused with the mainstream SR5 model we purchased. It has a very plasticky, work-truck feel to it, with cheap steering-wheel stalks and numerous rough edges on trim panels. The huge touch-screen infotainment system is easy to navigate, but it’s a long reach to the right side of the display for the driver, and the system can be slow to boot up when you first turn the vehicle on.
As you’d expect, our tested crew cab’s interior is super roomy. The front seats are wide, reasonably comfortable, and should suit a variety of body types, though their flat shape offers little lateral support through turns. There’s plenty of headroom, a well-placed left footrest, nicely-padded armrests, and good space for the driver’s right knee in spite of the wide center console. The rear seat is also plenty spacious, with loads of knee room, good headroom, and decent leg support. As with most trucks, the seatback is fairly upright, but it has just enough of a rake to make it comfortable on longer drives. The power retractable rear window is a unique and handy feature.
In terms of truck duties, the Tundra doesn’t cede anything to the competition. Maximum tow capacity is 12,000 pounds (note: the more common Tundra trims have a rating of just over 11,000 pounds), with a max payload of 1,940 pounds. The spray-on bedliner is made of dent- and corrosion-resistant composite material that promises durability. The tailgate is easy to open and close, and can be opened simply by pressing a button on the key fob. Handy tie-downs, power outlets, and lights on the sides of the bed also help.
Forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and a rear-seat reminder system come standard on every Tundra. Blind spot warning and rear cross traffic warning are unavailable on the base SR trim, optional on the SR5, and standard on the Limited and higher.