Toyota Tundra

Complementing the tough look of the exterior, the interior design of the Toyota Tundra looks wide and macho. There are many elements in this dual-tone black and grey cabin of the Tundra, which adds to the beefy appeal of the pickup. Say, for example, the large trapezoidal AC vents finished in the theme of silver, the big 14-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and wide centre tunnel, which accommodates a small gear lever and a wide centre armrest with wide storage bins within it.

The other highlights of the cabin of the Toyota Tundra are a big four-spoke multi-functional steering wheel, a 12.3-inch instrument console with a small TFT MID in between, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather upholstery, front powered seats with memory function, and more. The cabin is immensely spacious for five passengers, thanks to its longest-in-segment wheelbase and width.

In this latest iteration, the Toyota Tundra received an all-new design language, which makes it look much brawnier and more modern than ever before. It has a true-blue American appeal in its design and stance, which sets it completely apart from the other smaller Toyota truck on offer, the Hilux.

The new Toyota Tundra has got a very beefy and aggressive-looking front end, which sports a huge front grille with big honeycomb inserts. This grille gets nice-looking silver finish surrounds on its sides and upper end. The headlamps of the Tundra are uniquely styled too – the Y-themed all-LED headlamps do get Y-shaped big daytime running LEDs within them. These headlamps are characterized by small vertical air vents positioned below them.

The side profile of the Toyota Tundra looks very heightened, with high ground clearance and a lifted, long and tall front end. What adds uniqueness to the side profile of the Tundra is the recessed squared wheel arches, which also get slim black body cladding over them. While the A-pillars here are finished in black, the door handles and window panel surrounds are finished in chrome. The black-colored multi-spoke alloy wheels go well with the sporty stance of the Tundra. The rear window panels slightly taper up towards the C-pillar to add a touch of uniqueness.

At the back, the Toyota Tundra gets a wide decklid cover with Toyota branding embossed across its width. The side most extensions of the rear profile are characterized by vertically laid C-shaped LED tail lamps, the LED inserts of which look very cool.

With its huge and tall stance, the Toyota Tundra feels composed and stable for long-distance driving. The pickup feels sure-footed and planted on straight stretches, but might get bouncy around corners. The truck gets an independent double-wishbone setup at the front and a rigid axle at the rear, which feels perfectly suited for withstanding heavy loads.

The only engine and gearbox combination which Toyota has brought in for the Philippines-spec Tundra pickup truck is the 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine with a 10-speed automatic gearbox. This engine is capable of putting up 437 bhp of maximum power output and 790 Nm of maximum torque output.

The Toyota Tundra is aimed at the premium end of the pickup truck segment, so naturally, it is one of the safest trucks available in the country right now. It gets features like front, side, and curtain airbags, ABS with EBD, brake assist, electronic stability control, driveline traction control, lane departure warning, front collision mitigation, driver alert monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, blind-spot monitoring system, pre-collision system, rear cross-traffic alert, tire pressure monitoring system, and reverse camera.

The Toyota Tundra looks more like an American heavy-duty truck rather than a Japanese one, which is a good thing working in favour of its distinctiveness and road presence. The beefy look in and out, coupled with reliable mechanicals and a long list of features, make it a vehicle that is practical and desirable at the same time.