Tundra tough and comfortable
Toyota pickup tackles off-road and city in style
In an effort to keep up with the likes of Ford, General Motors and Ram, Toyota has revised its full-sized truck offering, the Tundra, for 2014.
The company is calling it a redesign, but without major revisions to the drivetrain, that would be a stretch.
The main focus of this tweak was obviously styling, and those familiar with Toyota’s big rig will notice substantial revisions inside and out.
The bold new grille is much larger in size, and with the amount of chrome it carries, it looks like a custom piece. The enormous metal plateau that serves as a hood is perched a little higher, and it now incorporates a more pronounced air intake. Larger headlamps have been added to all Tundras, but the ones fitted to the Platinum and new western-themed 1794 Edition also incorporate LED daytime running lights.
The outgoing Tundra looked like a large truck, but the new bodywork on the 2014 model makes it look even larger. There are more aggressive fender flares and a bold Tundra badge is emblazoned across the tailgate.
There are now 10 models — based on SR, SR5, Limited and Platinum grades — and a total of 30 available configurations of the Tundra to choose from. All derive their power from either 4.6-litre or 5.7L gasoline-fed V-8 engines. Unfortunately, the availability of the rumoured Cummins diesel offering has yet to be announced, but it is still on the wish list of many dedicated Toyota truck fans.
Once you climb into the driver’s seat, you are faced with a wide-rimmed, leather-wrapped steering wheel that proved very comfortable and allowed for very precise driver inputs whether commuting down the highway or tearing up a gravel trail.
Outward visibility is hampered by the width and height of this truck, especially when navigating a city lane or narrow trail, but tall windows, huge side mirrors and a rear camera are on hand to reduce your stress.
The dash and console are well designed and all gauges and switchgear fall readily to both hand and eye. Seating is for five adults, and as the truck is extra wide, the passenger compartment proved very spacious.
The Platinum edition has been outfitted with all the niceties one would expect in a near-$60,000 truck, including luxurious leather seating, a sweet-sounding JBL audio system, and a level of fit and finish unexpected in a pickup truck.
There are lots of grab handles for when the going gets bumpy, and storage cubbies seemed to be everywhere. Heavy rubber floor liner shelp keep dirty boots from making too much of a mess, and oversized weather stripping does an excellent job of keeping dirt, dust and water from migrating into the cabin.
With along wheel base and a surprisingly refined ride, the Tundra is an excellent cruiser, but I was curious to find out how well it would perform when the road comes to an end. During my weeklong test period with the Tundra, I used it to reconnoitre some new shooting locations, some of which required travel over very challenging terrain.
The Tundra’s suspension setup features a doublewishbone type up front, and beefy multi-leaf springs in the rear, both fitted with heavy-duty gas shock absorbers. While the 20-inch aluminum alloy wheels were wrapped with all-season tires rather than a more aggressive all-terrain selection, they still performed well over the sand, silt, mud and rocks that I encountered along the trail.
The Tundra Platinum features a 5.7-litre i-Force V-8 engine delivering 381 horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque. This engine proved a strong performer under all conditions, but it did like to consume gasoline with relative abandon.
I will admit that I tend to drive with a heavy foot, but consumption still seemed rather high for a truck bereft of cargo and extra passengers.
Power delivery is controlled and consistent, and I appreciated the fact that I always had access to a healthy reserve of power when the road became slippery, or I found the need to clamber over an obstacle.
When venturing off-road, the driver can select either a high- or low-range setting using Toyota’s four-wheeldrive system. While simple to use, the system still requires you to come to a complete stop and shift into neutral before allowing the driver to engage either fourwheel-drive setting.
The Tundra climbed like a mountain goat when I engaged the four-wheel-drive system’s low-range setting, and wheel slippage was kept to a minimum by the automatic limited-slip differential. The huge truck performed flawlessly under most conditions and drama was kept to a minimum.
If I had to find one significant fault in the equipment offered on the truck, it would be the lack of a hill-descent control system in the Tundra. These ingenious systems allow for more control when descending hills covered with loose terrain, which gives both driver and passengers more confidence when venturing off-road.
My test loop featured a slope of about 25 degrees that is blanketed in a mix of sand and dry topsoil, and I did notice some wheel lockup and skidding during my slowspeed descent as I tapped the brakes and managed the throttle on the way down.
The Tundra’s capable suspension made short work of small rocks, shallow potholes and light road debris, and the damp mud surface of the road to my lakeside retreat was no match for the fourwheel drive.
Gravel roads were rendered smooth by the quick reaction of the springs and shocks, and the wheel hop usually associated with travelling at speed in an unladen pickup truck seemed non-existent in the Tundra.
The Tundra continues to evolve into an all-around performer, but should you plan to use your Tundra for four-wheeled adventure on a regular basis, I would recommend swapping the tires to a more dedicated all-terrain model.