{"id":28692,"date":"2022-02-05T09:40:58","date_gmt":"2022-02-05T13:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=28692"},"modified":"2022-02-05T09:40:58","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T13:40:58","slug":"payne-toyota-tundra-i-force-max-is-a-mean-green-fightin-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/payne-toyota-tundra-i-force-max-is-a-mean-green-fightin-machine","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Toyota Tundra i-Force MAX is a mean, green fightin’ machine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carmel Valley, California<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 The best pickups are Swiss Army knives. From towing utility to off-road fun, today\u2019s trucks offer a tall toolbox of capability.<\/p>\n

Add the 2022 Toyota Tundra i-Force MAX to the list. MAX as in maximum hybrid performance.<\/p>\n

I usually get my grins in the Carmel Valley region from driving sports cars at Laguna Seca, one of the country\u2019s premier racetracks. But with a whopping, best-in-class\u00a0583-pound feet of torque and an independent rear suspension \u2014 specs you\u2019d expect to find on a Dodge Viper SRT, for goodness sake \u2014 the Tundra hybrid was a hoot to drive through the surrounding hills.<\/p>\n

Barreling along Carmel Valley Road, the 6,000-pound\u00a0four-wheel-drive beast gulped asphalt, its composed chassis predictable as my left foot dipped into the 3.5-liter\u00a0twin-turbo V-6 hybrid\u2019s deep lake of torque.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you try SPORT-Plus mode?\u201d grinned Toyota truck chief engineer Mike Swears after a returned from a day of misbehaving. Yes, I did, its quick shifts belting me in the back like \u2014 well, a Viper SRT \u2014 in order to MAX-mize torque.<\/p>\n

Pushing the envelope of performance modes shows the expectations Toyota has for i-Force MAX. The first clean-sheet Tundra since the 2007 Stone Age, the light duty truck is a comprehensive remake learning the best Swiss Army features of pickups from Ram to F-150 to Silverado to Sierra.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

This is a mean, green\u00a0fightin’ machine.<\/p>\n

Like GMC, Tundra brings a muscled bod with meaty fenders and upright fascia \u2014 all snapped together in a bold style that will make LEGO fans drool. \u201cOutta my way\u201d shouted the big grille as I bore down on a line of traffic like a Humpback whale swallowing a school of fish. Toyota has been on a mission to get your attention with polarizing mugs (seen a Lexus RX grille lately? Yikes!) but cow catcher grilles work on macho, locomotive-sized pickups.<\/p>\n

Macho has been the name of the game in pickup bed wars. After Ford rolled out its first\u00a0all-aluminum body in 2015, Chevy Silverado threw down the gantlet. The bow-tie brand claimed its steel beds were tougher with hard-hitting ads that included dropped toolboxes and bears ripping apart aluminum cages. There was more testosterone in the air than a WWE bout.<\/p>\n

With the added weight of hybrid batteries in his Tundra, engineer Swears looked long and hard at aluminum for weight-saving \u2014 but lost sleep over those dropped toolboxes. Toyota customers had already complained of scarring in their steel beds.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

So Toyota went a third way: composites. Composites \u2014 though pricey \u2014 offered a handsome veneer, the strength of steel, the light weight of aluminum. And Swears\u2019 team had years of experience with them in Tundra\u2019s little brother Tacoma\u2019s bed.<\/p>\n

Tundra has also learned a thing or two from GM brands\u2019 bed accessibility. The signature corner steps on Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra are a 10 \u2014 easy, accessible. In the macho truck wars, no one can copy anyone else without losing face (F-150 for example, offers a complicated, stick \u2018n\u2019 step option). But Tundra offers a simple step that swings out from below as soon as the gate drops. Give \u2019em a seven out of 10.<\/p>\n

From Professor Ram, Tundra learns a smooth, multi-link rear suspension.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Climb inside (at 6\u20195\u201d even I needed the A-pillar handles in the high-riding Tundra TRD Pro trim) and the interior follows Ford with a digital tour de force. Starting at $35K, Tundra trucks get Toyota\u2019s typical\u00a0standard suite of features, including wireless Apple CarPlay\/Android Auto, blind-spot assist, adaptive cruise control\u00a0and auto headlights.<\/p>\n

By the time you ascend to Limited trim \u2014 where the hybrid engine kicks in \u2014 the Tundra is slathered in goodies including hydraulic chassis mounts and crisp 12.5-inch instrument and 14-inch console displays. They anchor an interior that echoes the exterior\u2019s LEGO look. I opened the panoramic roof to let the California sunshine bathe the cabin.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The Toyota, true to its meat \u2018n\u2019 potatoes QDR mantra (Quality, Durability, Reliability), doesn\u2019t match the Ford with luscious\u00a0full-screen graphics and show-me toys like disappearing gear shifter and fold-down console desk. The cockpit is comfy, easy to navigate with cubby storage everywhere. Toyota prides itself on QDR, but it could use some of Ford\u2019s obsession with detail. Six-footers like me sit close to the rear ceiling \u2014 a negative if a frisky TRD Pro driver takes to a country road \u2014 and the head-up display was difficult to read in bright sunlight.<\/p>\n

The breakthrough here is the hybrid powertrain.<\/p>\n

Squeezing the throttle, I shot past traffic with the 1.87 kWh nickel-hydride battery under the rear seats negating turbo lag with instant, diesel-like torque. Unlike a diesel, the twin-turbo V-6 kept howling at high RPMs. Grille like a Sierra AT4, performance like a Sierra 6.2-liter V-8.<\/p>\n

Federal MPG mandates have put automakers in a vise. Toyota can weather the storm with its deep bench of hybrid Camry and RAV4 powertrains, but diesels have become a liability with their high-sulfur emission requiring the construction of an onboard chemical scrubbing plant.<\/p>\n

So Toyota fashioned a one-motor (as opposed to two-motor in the Camry) system that does it all: low-end towing\/fuel economy\/open-throttle joy in one package. The system begs comparison with Ford\u2019s hybrid F-150 offering, but the latter is more tech- and mpg-focused with its 25 mpg and onboard, 7.2-kW inverter so you can fire up the barbie at a tailgate party.<\/p>\n

The Toyota mill is focused on good\u00a0old-fashioned performance with a nice\u00a045% torque boost over the outgoing V-8. I miss that V-8 roar, but the V-6 makes a nice song under the cane. What I missed more was the lack of sub-rear seat storage since that\u2019s where the battery is stored.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Tundra clean-and-jerked a 4,500-pound Airstream with ease. Then it got dirty off-road in TRD Pro trim with 33-inch Falken tires, three skid plates protecting the underbelly, and eye-catching\u00a0orange paint.<\/p>\n

Trucks are the new luxury, and Tundra Hybrid plays in a space more familiar to Lexus buyers. Not to mention F-150s, Silverados\u00a0and Rams. The Limited Hybrid starts at $54K, nearly 20 grand north of the standard\u00a0twin-turbo-V6 model. Want to TRD Pro? Get out $68,500 for my tester. At $75,225, you can have a Tundra Capstone.<\/p>\n

Pricey, yes. But so is a $50 Swiss Army knife compared to the $12 pocket variety.<\/p>\n

2022\u00a0Toyota Tundra i-Force MAX<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vehicle type: Front-engine, four-wheel-drive, five-passenger pickup<\/p>\n

Price: $53,995, including $1,695\u00a0destination charge ($68,500 TRD Pro and $69,110 1794 trim as tested)<\/p>\n

Powerplant: Hybrid, 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 with electric motor battery assist<\/p>\n

Power:\u00a0437 horsepower, 583 pound-feet of torque<\/p>\n

Transmission: 10-speed automatic<\/p>\n

Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.7 seconds (Car and Driver est.); towing, 10,340 lbs. (Capstone as tested); payload, 1,600 lbs. (TRD Pro)<\/p>\n

Weight: 6,010 pounds (TRD Pro as tested)<\/p>\n

Fuel economy: EPA:\u00a020 mpg city\/24 highway\/22\u00a0combined<\/p>\n

Report card<\/p>\n

Highs: Pickup presence; eye-popping, i-Force MAX performance<\/p>\n

Lows: Interior\u00a0lacks Detroit Three panache; no sub-seat rear storage due to battery<\/p>\n

Overall: 4\u00a0stars<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carmel Valley, California\u00a0\u2014 The best pickups are Swiss Army knives. From towing utility to off-road fun, today\u2019s trucks offer a tall toolbox of capability. Add the 2022 Toyota Tundra i-Force MAX to the list. MAX as in maximum hybrid performance. I usually get my grins in the Carmel Valley region from driving sports cars at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28692"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28692"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28693,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28692\/revisions\/28693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}