Toyota Tundra
has long been the Japanese automaker’s workhorse in the half-ton pickup
truck category, capable of flexing its style between errand-running
neighborhood cruiser to beefy construction site warrior.
For 2013, Tundra splits its personality even more with
prices ranging from $25,355 for the basic two-door 4x2 to nearly double
that for the range-topping $48,070 Platinum-grade 4x4 CrewMax. What’s
more, the luxury-focused Platinum Package, formerly available only with
the Tundra CrewMax Limited model, now becomes its own model grade for
those customers looking to have their pickup make like a Lexus. And just
to make sure Tundra keeps up technologically with the Toyota pack, the
truck now comes with the company’s smartphone-syncing Entune multimedia
package across its model range.
Given Tundra’s huge price span, it’s no surprise that
sorting through the possible options can be a dizzying feat. But here’s a
stab: there are three grades, Tundra, Limited and Platinum, as well as
three cab styles, regular, double cab and CrewMax. There are also a
trio of wheelbase lengths (126.8, 145.7 and 164.6 inches), three bed
lengths (78.7, 97.6 and for CrewMax only 66.7 inches) and three engines
(270-hp 4-liter V6, 310-hp 4.6-liter V8 and the 5.7-liter V8 packing 381
hp). Perhaps most important in these eco-conscious times, both of the
V8 engines - each mated to six-speed automatic transmissions - meets
Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle certification requirements (though,
predictably for such lumbering machines, gas mileage logs in around
13/18 mpg city/highway).
Drilling
down a bit more into the key changes for 2013, Tundra also now offers a
TRD (Toyota Racing Development) Rock Warrior Special Edition package on
its 4x4 models. The kit features Bilstein shocks, 17-inch alloy wheels
shod with BF Goodrich T/A tires, Rock Warrior exterior graphics, fog
lamps, privacy glass, eight-way driver and four-way passenger seats
covered in black cloth and an auto-dimming rear view mirror with
built-in back-up display. For those looking more for comfort than a Baja
1000 racer image, the Platinum package is the way to go. It features
heated and ventilated front bucket seats, leather seating surfaces with
embroidered headrests, DVD navigation, a memory package for seats,
mirrors and steering wheel, folding side-view mirrors with turn
indicators and a power moonroof.
But lest things get a little too comfy in this realm,
it’s good to know that Toyota still offers a down and dirty Work Truck
Package. Look for leather surfaces to turn into heavy-duty vinyl while
carpeting morphs into a sea of rugged rubber flooring. Gussy it up all
you want, but in the end the Tundra remains Toyota’s definitive pickup
stalwart.
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