TRD is synomis with making Toyotas more capable on the track or off the road, and such is the case with the 2020 Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax.
What makes the TRD Pro stand out from the rest of the lineup? A slew of goodies from TRD including Fox shocks optimized for off-road driving, exclusive black-chrome-tipped stainless steel exhaust system, and BBS wheels wrapped in all-terrain tires.
Only one engine choice is available across the model range, the 5.7L i-FORCE V8 pushing out 381 horsepower and 401 lb.-ft. of torque.
Our press car service has been dropping off a lot of trucks lately. This has been interesting to me, as I’m someone who frequently has the need for a truck for towing race cars, picking stuff up, doing general truck duties. I’m also the owner of a 2004 Chevy Silverado that, while perfectly functional, maybe has its best years behind it. So driving a series of new trucks was a good education in what I might like or not like when it came time to send the Silverado down the road.
Chevies, Fords and Nissans mostly convinced me that my truck was just fine, even if it was getting a little rough around the edges.
Then the Tundra showed up.
Of course, this was the top-of-the-line TRD Pro model, with all the bells and whistles, trick Fox shocks, BBS wheels, high-end auxiliary lighting and every option on the order form.
Still, five days after Toyota dropped off this new Tundra, I had found and purchased a 2010 Tundra of my own. It’s just that impressive.
So, the not-to-well-kept secret here is that the Current Tundra is basically the same model that’s been around since 2007. A couple facelifts have come along in those years, but the major mechanical components are still just as they were when this generation was released more than a decade ago. And, that’s fine, because Toyota nailed it out of the box.
The 5.7-liter V8-equipped Tundras can tow over 10,000 lbs—usually slotting their capacity between most manufacturers’ half ton and ¾ ton offerings. Reliability and resale value have topped the charts in the segment since the truck's debut, and even searching owner forums for consistent problems shows few if any patterns beyond the occasional freak failure and regular maintenance issues.
Tundras had, and continue to have, a nice mix of analog and digital controls in the interior for major systems. Even as more and more options have been added over the years, many large, old-school knobs and buttons remain. This is great for an interior that requires a bit of a stretch for some controls, due mostly to the sheer physical size of the truck. Ergonomics is typical Toyota excellent, but there’s a lot of real estate inside the truck, and Toyota uses it all. Some controls require a bit of a lean.
If there’s a criticism of the new truck, it’s that it’s pricey and beginning to feel a little dated. The retorts for that would be that ALL trucks are expensive these days, to the $55,000 tag on the TRD Pro model is right in line with the rest of the market, and if it feels dated inside it’s because they got it right the first time. You can easily counter these criticisms by doing what I did and buying a very similarly optioned 2010 for less than a third the price of the new truck.
View all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
