TOYOTA TUNDRA TRD PRO

TOYOTA'S UPCOMING OFFERING FOR WHEN A 'LITTLE’ HILUX JUST WON'T CUT IT

- BRIAN MAKSE

LOCAL DEVELOPMENT and testing of the 2024 Toyota Tundra is well underway here in Australia, but North Americans have been enjoying the Texas-made 4x4 ute line-up for more than a full calendar year. In the home market, Tundra is available in either rear- or four-wheel-drive, with two engines, two beds, and multiple trims to choose from.

Still using traditional full-size pick-up body-on-frame construction, the new Tundra's also Texas-sized and suited to Americans' XXXL tastes. In its longest configuration - the Double Cab paired with the long box-it stretches nearly six and half metres in length. It's just shy of two metres in height and spans almost 2100mm across for the model we're driving here, the TRD Pro.

The standard engine is what Toyota calls its i-Force 3.5-litre, twin-turbocharged V6. Like most modern turbo engines, it produces acceptable power and abundant torque. Outputs are rated at 286kW at 5200rpm and 649Nm at 2400rpm. With the TRD Pro, an electric motor is added between the V6 and the ten-speed automatic. It's rated at 36kW and 250Nm.

Combined, the i-Force MAX hybrid twin-turbo V6 makes 326kW at 5200rpm and an earth-moving 790Nm at just 2400rpm. By the numbers alone, it’s clear that engineers have tuned this hybrid for performance first and fuel consumption a distant second. For example, with a trim-to-trim comparison between the hybrid and non-hybrid power units, the electrified version

is officially rated at 11.8L/100km combined, compared to the petrol-only engine at 12.4 combined, a modest five percent improvement.

The addition of the TRD Pro’s specialised components largely nullifies any fuel savings of the hybrid, but its off-road prowess makes up for that minor penalty at the fuel pump. On the outside, the TRD Pro is distinguished by its bespoke, forged, 18-inch BBS wheels fitted with 85/65R18 all-terrain Falken Wildpeak tyres.