Eager to hear how JG likes this one. Will he buy a new one or hold onto the V8?
Photography by J.G. Pasterjak
Wanna ride shotgun with GRM?
Welcome to this week’s test vehicle, a 2024 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.
The most off-road focused Tundra of the lineup (for those looking for luxury, check out the top-tier, almost $79,000 Capstone) power comes not from a V8 but from the i-FORCE MAX twin-turbo, hybrid, 3.5-liter V6.
In total, Toyota says the i-FORCE MAX is good for 437 horsepower and 583 lb.-ft. of torque, with shifting handled by a 10-speed auto.
Toyota says the TRD Pro is rated at a combined 19 mpg (18 city/20 highway) and is capable of towing up to 11,175 pounds.
Of course, as the "Pro" model in the Tundra's TRD model line, our tester comes fitted with Fox internal bypass coil-overs with rear remote-reservoir shocks, an uprated front stabilizer bar and 18-inch BBS wheels shod in Falken Wildpeak all-terrain ties.
Questions? Comments? Feel free to post them below. And if you're looking for something to do this Saturday, May 25, we'll be using our Tundra loaner to tow our BMW 435i project car to the FIRM for a time trials event.
Eager to hear how JG likes this one. Will he buy a new one or hold onto the V8?
My next purchase is most likely going to be either a used Tacoma or Tundra. I would take either! I like the size of the Tacoma and the V8 of the Tundra. Decisions, decisions...
surprisingly, the V6 has a lot of NVH coming into the cabin. It feels and sounds like a mild race motor. It's definitely torquey, but the whole package also drives BIG. The mirrors are huge. To the point where they obstruct forward 3/4 vision, and the rearward view with them is pretty meh and definitely doesn't justify their size and presence.
I mean, it's all nice and modern and I expect it to tow like no one's business tomorrow, but for $75,000 I'm just not getting that it's a substantial upgrade over my 5.7 Tundra for the cost. Yeah it's got more bells and whistles, but I also know I'd way rather drive mine when it's not hooked to a trailer than this new one.
this same trip to the firm with my tundra usually sees 12.1 MPG. We'll see what 15 years of technology has done to improve on that.
The proportions look a bit off to me. Huge nose, tires too small, wheel wells too big.
im also putting a lot of value in JG's impressions of it.
So, what's the value proposition for this vs. a raptor? I'm not seeing it. I guess this tows more, but if you're buying an $80,000 pickup truck to tow, you're probably shopping for a diesel 2500 anyway.
Final number was 13.7mpg for the drive over. So if I sold my Tundra for $15k, I could buy this and it would pay for itself in fuel savings within about 1,940,000 miles. Liking that math.
It does tow like a dream. The NVH backs way off after it warms up, so that must have been some extended cold start protocol. Boy it's big, though. Towing is sweet, but not towing... I'd be less enthusiastic.
Final number was 13.7mpg for the drive over. So if I sold my Tundra for $15k, I could buy this and it would pay for itself in fuel savings within about 1,940,000 miles. Liking that math.
It does tow like a dream. The NVH backs way off after it warms up, so that must have been some extended cold start protocol. Boy it's big, though. Towing is sweet, but not towing... I'd be less enthusiastic.
I mean, it is a Toyota, so it will probably run for 1,940,000 miles.
So, it tows amazingly well. On the return trip it averaged almost 15mpg and was much more aggressive about activating the hybrid system and E36 M3ting off the engine during cruise. There's no driveline lash from the switchover, but there is a lot of noise and vibration when the engine is running. Like, '90s V6 Camaro level noise.
Aside from that, I'm not really getting it. The power slide out tow mirrors are cool, but the mirrors themselves suck butt. The frames are huge and they really block your forward 3/4 views.
And the mirror glass is plenty big, but the focus distance is just... weird. You just end up not really being able to use them very well.
So you can't see behind you very well, or to the front corners, but that's fine because you can't see in front of you, either. Here's what an Acura looks like over a full car length ahead.
Also, the center screen is nice and large, but angled straight back, like they expect someone sitting in the center of the back seat to be using it. For the driver to get a good view of different screen functions, you have to lean way over to the right.
It's just... wow Toyota. Kind of a big whiff on this thing.
Displaying 1-10 of 30 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
