Toyota’s Big Truck Takes A Big Step Forward

Breaking the strangle maintain on the full-size truck class isn’t simple. Toyota has been attempting for greater than 20 years to pierce the home manufacturers’ dominance, although the automaker kicked issues up a notch when it launched its largest Tundra but, inbuilt a brand new U.S. (Texas) plant, and supplied in dozens of configurations. That was 13 years in the past, simply forward of a significant financial downturn and fuel-price spike that noticed massive vehicles and SUVs lose a lot of their favor with U.S. consumers. The cash spent on the plant (which went method over price range…) and the sources expended to launch that all-new, bigger Tundra all of the sudden appeared like a uncommon Toyota mis-step, or no less than terribly unlucky timing. The truth that annual Tundra gross sales have by no means crossed the 200K barrier, and have averaged about half that, definitely didn’t assist the Tundra’s enterprise case.

However Toyota has a historical past of not giving up, and the all-new 2022 Tundra displays each the corporate’s want to succeed and its recognition of the monetary rewards that include full-size truck gross sales. This new Tundra was designed and developed within the U.S., and will probably be constructed at that very same San Antonio plant. It’s checklist of upgrades features a high-strength boxed, steel-ladder body, aluminum bolstered composite mattress and an all-new multi-link, coil-spring rear suspension. The rear body has been widened to enhance towing capability, whereas an aluminum hood and door panels cut back weight. The result’s a towing capability of as much as 12,000 kilos and a payload capability topping out at 1,940 kilos. Toyota says the stronger chassis, new double wishbone entrance and impartial rear suspension, and upgraded hydraulic cab mounts (on Restricted and above fashions) will considerably enhance trip high quality on the 2022 Tundra.

Toyota advised us the outside makes use of “an interlocking design language” to replicate power and functionality. The entrance finish is meant to appear like a fist punching by way of the air, with slim, high-mount headlights for a high-tech accent. The interlocking physique panel traces and chiseled shapes above the wheels proceed the “interlock” theme, as do the built-in rear bumper corners. This marks a primary for full-size vehicles, placing extra emphasis on the taillights and the two-piece tailgate with its rear spoiler. Full-size truck design is a dicey endeavor, involving sufficient aggression to look powerful and powerful however not a lot aggression it seems contrived and belabored. To our eyes, Toyota hit the candy spot with the 2022 Tundra’s exterior look.

The inside design is supposed to be extra horizontal than a typical truck cabin, with a clearly-defined beam throughout the sprint and the interlock theme persevering with in how the door panels, air registers and middle display screen come collectively. An optionally available 14-inch show was an enormous precedence to specific the technological facet of the brand new truck, nevertheless it needed to emphasize sturdiness versus trying too skinny or tacked on. Graphics within the optionally available 12.3 inch digital gauge cluster are equally meant to impart a rugged theme, with a startup graphic that reveals trademark scenes from 5 nationwide parks.

Distinctive interface options within the new Tundra embrace twin microphones and audio system to detect whether or not the driving force or passenger is utilizing the upgraded voice command system, with responses primarily based on who’s making the request. Equally, the Tundra’s newest Bluetooth system can join two telephones concurrently and settle for requires both primarily based on a precedence setting. Toyota’s trademark twin data display screen structure, which may concurrently present, for instance, audio and navigation in separate bins, has been ditched in favor of a totally devoted display screen for every perform mixed with persistent icons on the left aspect to shortly toggle between features. Tech fan will recognize normal wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, together with a Toyota app that shops and resets consumer profiles through a telephone or pill.

Performance was the opposite vital purpose for the brand new Tundra’s inside design, with an all-new middle console providing devoted aspect rails for the driving force or passenger to make use of as armrests, even when the storage lid is opened to entry the inside compartment. Premium choices embrace a panoramic roof, heated and ventilated seats, a rear sunshade, and a number of cameras, together with a top-down view of the mattress to verify on cargo or help with trailer hook ups. TRD fashions function a blacked out cabin theme, and the 1794 luxurious trim presents premium supplies. Each Tundra additionally comes normal with Toyota Security Sense 2.5, offering ahead collision warning with pedestrian detection, emergency steering help, radar cruise management, lane departure help and automated excessive beams.

In all probability the most important information for the 2022 Toyota Tundra is what it doesn’t supply — a V8 engine. Toyota has absolutely dedicated to smaller, extra highly effective drivetrains, providing simply two variations of its 3.5-liter V6 within the new truck. The bottom engine is a twin-turbo model of the V6, offering 389 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque, each figures are increased than the outgoing V8. If that’s not sufficient energy and torque, a hybrid model of the three.5-liter V6 provides a motor generator and a 288V sealed Nickel-metal Hydride (Ni-MH) battery pack beneath the rear seat, bumping peak horsepower to 437 and peak torque to 583. Each engines are mated to a brand new 10-speed automated transmission with programming for uphill and downhill shift logic and tow/haul driving modes.

Toyota expects 75 % of latest Tundra gross sales to be the usual V6, 25 % to be hybrid. The corporate was fast to notice the brand new Tundra’s chassis is engineered to simply accept a number of drivetrains, together with regardless of the future would possibly convey. Given the speedy deployment of absolutely electrical full-sized vehicles the market will expertise over the subsequent 2 years it’s laborious to think about Toyota doesn’t have a Tundra EV provision in improvement and able to deploy, however the automaker wouldn’t affirm or deny something.

Whereas engine selections are down to 2, the brand new 2022 Toyota Tundra is available in a wide range of physique types and trim ranges. Two four-door fashions, the smaller Double Cab and bigger CrewMax, may be fitted with a wide range of mattress lengths. A 6.5- and eight.1-foot mattress are supplied on Double Cab, whereas the Crew Max comes with a 5.5- or, for the primary time, an extended 6.5-foot mattress. Trim ranges embrace SR, SR5, Restricted, Platinum and 1794, together with the TRD Professional and TRD Sport off-road packages. The brand new TRD Professional bundle might be constructed off the Restricted trim, that means heated and ventilated seats and the bigger 14-inch show, together with Fox shocks, a 1-inch raise, 18-inch wheels, aluminum skid plates, crawl management and a locking differential. The TRD Sport bundle contains 20-inch wheels and a lowered suspension.

Toyota hasn’t introduced pricing or gasoline financial system figures on the 2022 Tundra but, however the brand new truck goes on sale earlier than the tip of the 12 months, and people figures, together with full driving impressions, might be out there earlier than the truck hits seller heaps. Will this newest model of Toyota’s Tundra take a much bigger slice of the full-size truck market away from these dominant domestics? We’ll see quickly sufficient, nevertheless it’s clear Toyota isn’t strolling away from this extremely necessary section.