Well ladies and gents, it’s finally here – the 2022 Toyota Tundra – we’ve been covering the leaks and teasers and speculating about the new Tundra for months now, and today it’s finally unveiled.
New Chassis
We’re going to jump right into a point of contention. The old XK50 generation was a pickup truck through and through. Body-on-frame chassis and big displacement 5.7 n/a V8 under the hood.
The new Tundra rides on a completely new architecture referred to as the TNGA-F. It’s the same chassis structure that will go under the 4Runner, Tacoma, Sequoia, Lexus GX, and Lexus LX. The important bit is it’s still a ladder-frame chassis. The body of the truck still rides on a steel frame which makes it still a traditional truck and the frame is stiffer than the previous…but there’s one thing…no V8.
Tundra Engine
The old Tundra, at least last year, only came with the 3UR 5.7 iForce N/A V8. It made 381 hp and 401 lbft…not a lot by today’s standards, and since it was a big heavy truck it wasn’t exactly fast, but it did sound good.
The new Toyota Tundra WILL NOT come with a V8. We’ve talked about this a lot in our previous videos, but the TNGA-F chassis that this new Tundra, and everything else will ride on…will not support a V8…in anything.
So what you get, as of launch, is a base engine that’s a 3.5 twin-turbo V6 making 389 hp (8 more) and 479 lbft (78 more). The upgraded engine is actually the same 3.5TTV6, but with a mild hybrid system between the engine and the transmission and that iFORCE MAX power unit makes 437hp and, ready? 583lbft of torque.
TRD Pro models will ONLY come with the iForce Max hybrid motor.
Transmission
The old Tundra used a 6-speed torque-converted gearbox which was perfectly fine, but again solidifies the old-school nature of the Tundra.
The new truck gets a 10 speed automatic, so almost double the gears.
So what we have from a power perspective is a thoroughly modern truck which means you can have so much more control over your experience behind the wheel. You’ve got turbos on the engine so you can adjust boost pressures and throttle response with different drive modes. You have an electric assist in front of your transmission which fills power in during things like shifts more a smoother power application. It also adds torque in down low when your engine is working at some of its least efficient places. (parking lots, stop lights) And finally you have a lot of gears to choose from which helps get you the right amount of torque for whatever you need, but also gets you better fuel economy, but Toyota hasn’t released those numbers yet. (it’s also made with aluminum to be lighter)
Towing Capacity
These turbos and added torque have another benefit and that’s towing capacity is up to 12,000 lbs. which is over 17% more than the outgoing Tundra.
Payload Capacity
Payload maxes out at 1940 lbs which is 10% more than the old tundra and you can get a 5.5ft, 6ft, or 8.1ft bed.
Toyota Tundra Driveline
The Tundra still gets a 2WD/4WD selectable system with a 2 speed transfer case. The revolution here is the rear suspension, actually. The Tundra uses a multilink rear suspension, ditches leaf springs and uses coils. Welcome to the 21st century. This rear setup is what allows the towing to jump up over 17% and the payload to go up over 10%. Still double wishbones up front, but they’re new. TRD Off-road models get Bilstein monotube dampers, but, shocker, the TRD Pro gets 2.5 inch fox bypass dampers. These give the truck a 1.1 inch lift in the front and are the ones you want.
TRD Pros also get a red front stabilizer bar, skid plate, and Falken A/T tires.
Here’s where it gets wild though. In some trims there an air suspension system in the rear of the truck which helps for leveling and can be controlled manually or automatically. You can raise the truck up for offroading, but at 18 mph the truck will level itself back down to normal ride height. Low mode is only really for loading stuff and goes back to normal at 8 mph.
And then from there you have your computer systems like Multi-Terrain Select (MTS), downhill assist, crawl control. I don’t see anything about A-Trac, but one of our biggest unknowns has been answered! Rear. locking. Diff. nice.
Also 360 cameras are a nice addition as well.
Tundra Exterior Design
Obviously we’re all familiar with the old tundra in it’s very simple design. Incandescent taillights is all I really need to say.
When it comes to the new Tundra it’s obviously a completely new design. The massive new grille actually reminds me of a Silverado, but that’s where the similarities end. I think this is the first time I’ve seen a truck and thought, “Yanno what? I think I like the non-TRD Pro look better”.
Typical trim badging on the C pillar, no stamping in the side of the bed which is new, but still “Tundra” stamped in the tailgate
The TRD Pro gets the heritage grille of course, but also raptor lights, but it doesn’t look wider than the standard tundra. Pros also get factory light bars in the grille and trd pro placards on the hood.
New pro wheels, skid plate, and the usual Pro stuff, but the most interesting and bold thing Toyota has done is add like a digital camo graphic to places around the wheel arches, front bumper, rear bumper, and tailgate.
Toyota Tundra Interior
This was the most pressing need for improvement from the old Tundra. The design looked like something from a 1990s sharper image catalog…in 2020. Again, this can be subjective in terms of design but I want to cover the important bits
The standard interior is dominated by the massive 14 inch infotainment running a new technology, but we’ll get to that. You still have physical controls for HVAC and heated and cooled seats.
Normal shifter [RAM] and a massive center console for storage.
AND THEN THERES THE TRD PRO INTERIOR…I think toyota knew they had to bring it, but in my personal opinion it’s a little much. In fairness I’m not a big red guy so maybe that’s throwing me, but you get a over 12 inch digital cluster, you get a special steering wheel, shifter, heritage placard on the dash, and the seats…they’re the same camo effect from outside brought in which adds a nice element of personality.
Pano roof and very large rear seats AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE REAR GLASS STILL GOES ALL THE WAY DOWN.
Technology
This was another Achilles heel for the outgoing tundra. It lacked a good amount of modern amenities that competitors were bringing, but again Toyota has righted the ship there.
As a display of their tech progress, your experience is dominated by screens in the cluster and infotainment. You’ve got a 360 camera now, wireless charger, towing aids, wireless car play and android auto.
Over the air updates, wifi, and connected services are also new features.
Finally, the Tundra will get toyota safety sense 2.5 and comes with just about everything you could want, but we will do an entire video on that.
2022 Toyota Tundra Price
The old Tundra started at $34,000 and topped out at just over 49k for trd pro, platinum, and 1794. Toyota hasn’t offered information on pricing just yet and said that pricing will come as the truck gets closer to its on sale date before the end of this year.
This is a pretty comprehensive refresh, obviously so I would expect to see pricing jump up across the lineup. I would imagine a range topping TRD PRO could even exceed 55k, but we will have to wait.
CULTURE:
Alright so at this point, we’ve made a pretty long video diving into what this new Tundra is and how it’s improved on the outgoing model, but based on the feedback I’ve seen from other Tundra videos I’ve made over the past few months, there are 2 things that I feel like need to be covered.
First and foremost is reliability – This has a Toyota badge on it so naturally, reliability is going to be at forefront of everyone’s mind and the fact that it isn’t naturally aspirated and its got this new transmission and all these modern systems has some people hesitating.
Toyota knows their customer base and they have anticipated this. They mention explicitly the lengths they’ve gone to to retain reliability. The 3.5 v6 in chain driven not belt driven so it should be more durable. The turbos are kept cool by a water-cooled intercooler, and the cylinder heads have been completely revised for max boost reliability and feature a 2-layer water jacket to maximize cooling and reduce strain on the aluminum block. There’s a lot more going on here, but again I’ll be making an entire video covering the powertrains separately where we will go into more detail.
The Second point I want to cover is something I haven’t seen necessarily around the Tundra explicitly, but just in general within the community online. It’s the American-ness of the truck. This is a good or bad thing depending on who you are. I did a video a few months ago talking about a rumor that the next gen 4Runner will be built n San Antonio and a lot of people said if they didnt build the 4Runner in Japan then they wouoldnt buy it. Toyota has been very explicit and stolen our tagline here at Downshift and they’re boasting the tundra is “made for truck people by truck people” What this really means is, it was designed, engineered, and will be assembled in San Antonio.
If you’re like some of those 4Runner people I udnerstadn that you’re concerned about reliability, but when i hear that, especially for the tundra i’m not upset. The US and Japan have entirely different people, cultures, use cases, and societal values that influence how a product comes together.
The fact that this tundra was designed 100% in and for the American market means that it should be a terrific fit for our sensibilities.