By the Numbers: How the 2022 Toyota Tundra compares to its rivals

Article content

The introduction of a fresh half-ton pickup is cause for celebration around here, especially when the truck in question replaces a vehicle that has been in production with only minor changes for the better part of 15 years. When that same rig also comes with a choice of new engines, our interest level really kicks into high gear.

Article content

This is the situation in which we find ourselves after the debut of the 2022 Toyota Tundra . In addition to a suit of new clothing and a jazzed-up interior, major alterations were made to the rig’s suspension and powertrain components.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

By the Numbers: How the 2022 Toyota Tundra compares to its rivals Back to video

Leaf springs and V8 engines have been pitched into the dustbin of Toyota history, replaced with smooth-riding coils and six-cylinder mills (one of which is goosed by a hybrid power-adder).

Following the truck’s reveal in Texas a couple of weeks ago, we thought it prescient to compare Toyota’s new Tundra to a pair of segment leaders: the Ford F-150 and Ram 1500.

Sizing it Up

When it comes to full-size pickup trucks, there are usually more body style options than varieties of breakfast meats at a well-stocked hotel buffet (remember those?). Toyota continues this tradition by offering two cab types, both with four doors.

Article content

The popular CrewMax with a quartet of jumbo forward-swinging doors returns, logical since that configuration is the beyond-dominant choice in today’s truck market. Also on tap is the so-called Access Cab, which also has four doors but much less space in the rear seat area. There will be three bed lengths: 5.5-foot, 6.5-foot, and an 8.1-foot. The latter all but assures us there is going to be a 6.5-foot bed CrewMax option, since it will be roughly the same length as an Access Cab truck with the 8.1-foot bed.

Ford and Ram offer similar choices, though customers won’t find a new-style truck with an 8-foot bed from the crew in Sterling Heights. That configuration remains an option from the Blue Oval truck-makers, though who knows for how long. Its awkward proportions are like a kid in junior high who’s going through a growth spurt and is all arms and legs.

Article content

We’ll note that Ford is the lone holdout to continue deploying so-called ‘clamshell’ doors for its SuperCab body style, a decision which surely opens up space for access to the half-size rear seat but does nothing in terms of convenience, since the front seat occupant must open their door in order for those in the back to disembark.

Power Play

While those of us with a gas tank for a brain still prefer the rumble of an uncorked V8 engine, there’s no doubt that properly tuned V6 engines have become the powerhouses of many half-ton truck lineups. Toyota offers two six-pot engine choices, both with 3.5L of displacement. The base mill makes 389 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque, while stepping up to the hybridized iForce Max boosts output to 437 ponies and a towering 583 lb-ft of twist.

Article content

Choices are less simple at the Detroit brands. Ford, for example, offers no fewer than half a dozen engines (at least until the Powerstroke diesel vanishes later this year). Bookending the line are a 3.3L V6 good for 290 hp and 265 tq; and a monstrous 3.5L Powerboost hybrid with 430 horses and 570 lb-ft of torque. In between are a pair of turbocharged V6s, displacing 2.7L and 3.5L, making 325 hp and 400 hp, respectively. Rounding things out is the venerable 5.0L V8, which also makes 400 ponies but ‘only’ 410 lb-ft, 90 fewer than the 3.5L non-hybrid turbo.

Ram makes do with two displacement choices, again excepting the not-long-for-this-world EcoDiesel. A familiar 3.6L V6, variants of which have been installed in just about everything Stellantis North America has made for the last ten years, produces 305 horsepower and just 269 lb-ft of torque. An old but reliable 5.7L Hemi makes 395 ponies and 410 lb-ft of thump. Both these engines are available with a so-called eTorque system that adds a battery and electric motor but – curiously – exactly nothing in terms of rated output. Instead, they help with around-town throttle response and fuel economy.

Article content

Creative Cargo

With truck makers beating each other over the head in terms of power numbers and cabin toys like jumbo infotainment screens, we find the battle has now spilled over into the bed area. There was a time when this space was simply an afterthought, acting as an open cargo area with a few tie-down spots if you were lucky. No longer. Innovation in this space is now equally important as anywhere else on the truck.

Oddly, Toyota chose not to fight back with any ‘look-at-me’ optional features like the innovative in-bed generator system at Ford or the too-useful Rambox cargo bins from Ram. It did, however, retain the glorious fully-retractable rear window, optional on some trims of the new Tundra, and a feature which should be copied by every single truck-maker post-haste.

Article content

It is definitely worth noting that Toyota and Ram deploy a coil-sprung rear suspension. This is a decision which surely improves on-road comfort and doesn’t give up as much payload rating as old-timers would lead you to believe. Tundra’s payload maxes out at 1,940 lbs, while trucks from Ford and Ram with comparable body styles and powertrains peak at 2,120 lbs and 1,850 lbs, respectively. Yes, those two Detroit brands offer half-ton payload maximums higher than those numbers, but we’re trying for an apples-to-apples comparison here.

Haul for One

Truck makers like to thump their chests with maximum towing and payload figures, even in this half-ton segment. That’s why Toyota was all too eager to tell us its new Tundra can tow 12,000 pounds when equipped with the hybrid V6 and proper towing packages. That sum is nearly 20 per cent more than the old Tundra, by the way. Figures for the smaller engine aren’t yet available.

Article content

Like payload, a half-ton truck’s engine and body configuration play a big part in its towing rating. For that reason, we’ll select the largest hybrid powertrain four-door at Ford and Ram to compare with Toyota’s iForce MAX. In this light, look for a maximum of 12,700 pounds; at Ford and 11,560 pounds at Ram.

Which to Choose?

Traditional truck buyers tend to be a loyal lot, so there’s a decent chance that some of them will simply stick with their favoured brand no matter what dweebs like us say in these articles. That’s attitude is changing, however, with more and more mainstream buyers selecting a crew cab pickup truck as their daily whip.

There’s a lot to like in all three pickups: Ram has a sumptuous interior, Ford has innovative useful features, and Toyota has laid the smackdown in terms of power. Test-drive ’em all. It’s a great time to be a truck fan.