Toyota Tundra 1794 Edition adds a Texas touch
The newest generation of Toyota’s San Antonio-built Tundra full-size pickup truck has arrived for 2014, sporting a new chiseled exterior design, a more-refined interior and plenty of new standard and optional technologies.
Besides being assembled in Texas, the new Tundra has 75 percent North American content, Toyota says.
The star of the new Tundra lineup is the 1794 Edition, a fancy version similar in concept to GMC’s Sierra Denali, Chevrolet’s Silverado High Country, and Ford’s F-series King Ranch models. It comes in the full-size CrewMax version only, with a short cargo box (5-foot-5), and a choice of either rear- or fourwheel drive.
Our test vehicle was the twowheel-drive version, which has a list price of $44,270. The four-wheel-drive version starts at $47,320. With freight and options, our tester topped out at $46,034.
Toyota says the 1794 Edition — named after the date of the founding of the ranch upon which the Tundra plant sits — “reflects a Western lifestyle theme.”
Among the truck’s unique features are the saddle-brown premium leather seats, with embossed-leather and suede accents; and a four-spoke, leather-wrapped steering wheel with wood-grain accents. The interior is quite striking to look at, and very pleasant to sit in. It’s almost like sitting in the den of a laid-back Texas Hill Country ranch with plush leather sofas and chairs.
Yes, it’s that comfortable. There are bucket seats up front that seem more like fancy leather recliners; the back seat is as long as a leather couch, with plenty of room for up to three people. And there is a huge amount of rear knee- and legroom, even with the front seats set to accommodate larger people.
Soft-touch trim materials are used on the shift console, doors and instrument panel. A center console between the front seats has a tray on top to keep small electronics secure while driving, and there are three cupholders, along with USB, power and audio-input connections in front of the cupholders, with another area perfect for holding smartphones or an iPod.
Among standard amenities on the 1794 Edition are heated and ventilated front seats, Toyota’s Entune Premium JBL Audio with navigation, a 12-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with memory, a six-way power front passenger seat, a power tilt/slide sunroof with shade, and a power vertical rear window with privacy glass.
Also included are dual-zone automatic climate control with separate settings for the driver and front passenger; an autodimming rearview mirror with compass and universal garage/ gate opener; and a 60/40 split-fold-up rear seat, which allows for creation of an enclosed cargo area when the seat isn’t needed for passengers.
Outside, the truck is a beauty as well. Ours had the quite appealing Barcelona Red Metallic exterior paint, along with very nice, optional 20-inch chrome wheels and optional running boards.
We also had heated/power outside mirrors with builtin turn signals, and separate, smaller manually adjustable convex mirror strips at the bottom to show traffic in the adjacent lanes.
The cargo box came with the optional drop-in bedliner, and the truck has a locking tailgate. There is a deck rail system for tying down cargo.
Other interior amenities included a power tilt/telescopic steering wheel, along with front and rear sonar parking aid, which warns when the vehicle is approaching an object, such as a pole or another vehicle.
A backup camera system was included, with the image showing up on the seven-inch dash monitor for the audio/ navigation system. Optional, but not included on my tester, are a blind spot monitor and rear cross traffic alert.
Under the hood was the top engine available in the Tundra, a 5.7-liter V-8 with a morethan-adequate 381 horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque. It was paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, which shifts quite smoothly.
Among standard safety features on all Tundra models are electronic stability control with traction control, fourwheel antilock disc brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, and Toyota’s new Smart Stop accelerator-override technology.