2022 Toyota Tundra

2022 Toyota Tundra – Exterior

The 2022 Tundra’s biggest changes come under the skin, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have any aesthetic upgrades. The third-gen truck from the Japanese automaker looks modern, sharp, and aggressive. There are a lot of cuts and creases all around. The massive grille up front should be more than enough to let you know that this is the latest Tundra. Look closely and you’ll notice that the bottom part of the grille is finished in the same color as the grille, this giving it a big mouth appearance.

The windshield seems to be smaller than the outgoing model and even the beltline rides lower than the hood. It is bound to cause visibility issues for the not-so-tall drivers. Another interesting aspect here is that the wheels are equipped with six lug nuts. This points to higher payload capacity. As a matter of fact, the 2022 model can haul 210 pounds more than the model it replaces.

Toyota will offer the Tundra in two four-door body styles - Double Cab and CrewMax. Double Cab will be offered with the choice of a 6.5-foot bed or an 8.1-foot bed, whereas CrewMax will be offered with either a 5.5-foot bed or a 6.5-foot bed. As for the looks, the rear is quite different when compared to the outgoing model. The taillight setup here looks much better.

As for the exterior shades, the Tundra will be offered in 11 shades in total:

• Super White
• Wind Chill Pearl
• Magnetic Gray Metallic
• Celestial Silver Metallic
• Midnight Black Metallic
• Super Sonic Red
• Army Green
• Lunar Rock
• Blueprint
• Smoked Mesquite – offered only on Limited and 1794
• Solar Octane – offered only on TRD Pro

Speaking of the trims, the 2022 Tundra will be available in six trims in total – SR, SR5, Limited, Platinum, 1794, and TRD Pro.

2022 Toyota Tundra – TRD Pro and TRD Off-road Package

Toyota’s most rugged offering on the 2022 Tundra is the TRD Pro trim. It comes with a whole lot of goodies that make it a sweet off-roader. It includes:

• 2.5-inch FOX internal bypass shocks
• 1.1-inch front lift
• Front stabilizer bar
• TRD aluminum front skid plate
• All-terrain Falken tires
• Additional underbody protection

If you’re looking for something subtler, you have the TRD Off-road package. The TRD Off-road package includes:

• 18-inch TRD wheels on SR5 and 20-inch wheels on Limited and 1794 trims
• TRD grille
• TRD off-road suspension
• Skid plates
• Mudguards
• TRD leather shift knob

Toyota noted that the TRD Off-road package will be available on the SR5, Limited, and 1794 trims.

2022 Toyota Tundra – Interior

The Tundra is fresh on the inside as well. Things look well laid-out and ergonomic at the onset. There’s a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster behind the meaty steering wheel on the higher trims, and a 4.1-inch screen between the analog gauges in the lower trims. The cabin options are not known yet, but given the segment trend, there need to be quite a few options on offer to please even the pickiest of customers.

The icing on the cake is the 14-inch touchscreen infotainment system. It will supper wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Customers opting for the lower trims will have to be happy with the eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system. It will also support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but won’t be wireless.

2022 Toyota Tundra – Drivetrain

The 2021 Toyota Tundra is offered with just one engine option – a V-8 mill that displaces 5.7 liters. It puts out 381 ponies and 401 pound-feet of torque. The engine is a true workhorse, but with stricter emission norms in place, this gas guzzler had to be retired. The company has replaced it with a 3.5-liter V-6 engine that’s offered in two configurations.

The engine produces 348 horses and 405 pound-feet of torque in the standard tuning, and 389 horses and 479 pound-feet of torque in the more powerful avatar. The lower output is available only on the SR trim. Toyota is offering the same engine in the hybrid form with an electric motor as well. Called the i-Force Max powertrain, it generates 437 horses at 5,200 rpm and 583 pound-feet of oomph at 2,400 rpm combined. This is an increase of 48 ponies and 104 pound-feet of torque over the higher state of tune of the V-6, and an increase of 56 horses and 182 pound-feet of torque over the outgoing V-8.

As for the transmission, the engine is mated to a 10-speed automatic gearbox in all configurations. The Tundra will be offered in two drive layouts – two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive. The four-wheel-drive models will further include:

• Electronic rear differential lock
• Multi-Terrain Select
• Crawl Control

Toyota has made changes to the suspension setup as well. The truck is now equipped with a multi-link rear suspension setup that comes with coil springs instead of leaf springs. Expect a much better ride quality this time around. You can also have an air suspension and adaptive variable suspension system as optional.

2022 Tundra – Fuel Efficiency

Toyota has noted that in the EPA-estimated rating on the two-wheel-drive SR trim with the lower power output is 18 mpg in the city, 24 mpg on the highway, and 20 mpg combined. On all the other two-wheel-drive models, the highway economy dips to 23 mpg while others remain the same.

As for the four-wheel-drive models, the EPA-estimated rating is 17 miles in the city, 23 miles on the highway, and 19 miles combined for every gallon of fuel consumed. These ratings are for the SR5 and SR5 trims. The other four-wheel-drive trims have an EPA-estimated rating of 17 mpg in the city, 22 mpg on the highway, and 19 mpg combined.

The fuel economy ratings for the hybrid engine are not revealed yet.

2022 Tundra – Towing and Payload Capacities

The 2022 Tundra’s towing and payload capacities have also increased. The maximum towing capacity is now rated at 12,000 pounds and the payload capacity is rated at 1,940 pounds. This is an increase of 1,800 pounds in the towing aspect and 210 pounds in the payload department.

However, it still lags behind its rivals. The Ford F-150 leads the pack with a maximum towing capacity of 14,000 pounds, followed by the Chevy Silverado’s 13,300-pound rating, and the Ram 1500’s 12,750-pound capacity. The three American trucks also haul over 2,250 pounds in their best avatar. The only consolation for the 2022 Tundra is that both its ratings are higher than the Nissan Titan’s.

2022 Toyota Tundra – Pricing

Toyota has announced that the 2022 Tundra will have a starting sticker price of $35,950 excluding the $1,695 destination fees. This is a premium of almost $1,600 over the 2021 model, which starts at $34,355.

The top-spec model, as reported by Motor1, will make you lighter by around $61,020. With the options and the hybrid mill, expect the Tundra to top out at over $70,000. This is a significant increase over the 2021 model which topped out at $52,295 before options.

2022 Toyota Tundra – Competition

Ford F-150

Ford introduced the fourteenth-gen F-150 in 2020 and it came with a plethora of new stuff and changes. The Ford F-150 is available in three body styles – Regular Cab, SuperCab, and Super Crew – and in three different bed sizes – 5.5-foot, 6.5-foot, eight-foot. There are a lot of interesting things on the inside, like the ‘Interior Work Surface’, ‘Max Recline Seats’, etc. You also get a 12-inch touchscreen on the higher trims with SYNC4 infotainment system.

There are six different engine options, most of them carried over from the previous gen. A new hybrid mill, however, made its debut here – a 3.5-liter, V-6 PowerStroke that puts out 430 horses and 570 pound-feet of torque. A 10-speed automatic gearbox is standard across the range. There’s also an immensely helpful Pro Power Onboard generator with 2kW of power as standard and 7.2 kW as optional. The 2021 Ford F-150 starts at $29,290.

Chevrolet Silverado 1500

The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is the next biggest challenge for the Tundra. It comes with the most exhaustive list of trims and engine options which makes sure there is something for every potential or interested customer. There are eight trims and five engine options to choose from. The most powerful engine of the lot is the 6.2-liter, V-8 which tops the chart with 420 ponies and 460 pound-feet of twist. The truck also comes with a maximum towing capacity of up to 13,300 pounds and a maximum payload capacity of 2,280 pounds. Chevy also announced that the 2021 model will also come with a Multi-Flex tailgate. The Chevy Silverado 1500 starts at $30,195, including destination.

Ram 1500

Next up is the Tundra’s third American rival, the Ram 1500. In its top trims, it is arguably the plushest and luxurious truck in the segment. The platter is rich here as well - six trims and four different engine options to choose from. The best horsepower that you can get in this truck is from the 5.7-liter, V-8 HEMI – 395 horses, and the best torque from the 3.0-liter, V-6 EcoDiesel – 480 pound-feet. The HEMI V-8 can also be had with a mild-hybrid system that comes with the best towing capacity of up to 12,750 pounds. The 2021 Ram 1500 starts at $32,245.

2022 Toyota Tundra – Safety and Driver-Assistance Features

Toyota announced that its Safety Sense 2.5 now comes as standard on all the trims. It includes driver-assistance features like:

• Dynamic Radar Cruise Control
• Blind Spot Monitor
• Lane Departure Alert
• Lane Tracing Assist
• Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection
• Rear Cross-Traffic Alert

The 2022 Tundra will be offered with a 3-year/36,000-mile new vehicle warranty and a 5-year/60,000-mile warranty on the powertrain.

Conclusion

Toyota noted that the third-gen 2022 Toyota Tundra will go on sale later this year. With the global semiconductor shortage, it’ll be interesting to see if the deliveries get delayed or not. The 2022 Tundra will be built at the automaker’s manufacturing plant in San Antonio, Texas.