Tundra takes a back seat to no one

2016 TOYOTA TUNDRA LIMITED DOUBLE CAB

This year, my tester for the week is having to take a back seat to its little brother. For 2016, it’s all Tacoma this and Tacoma that. It could give the Tundra a complex. Thankfully, my tester, the 2016 Toyota Tundra, is stout and has a solid reputation to withstand the praise and attention the Tacoma is getting.

While not significantly changed for this model year (you know, like the Tacoma is), the Tundra still has plenty of updates and new features to discuss. For 2016, the Tundra receives an updated electronics interface. Higher trims receive a bigger fuel tank and the SR5 trim, my favorite, gets a new, more aggressive front end.

In April, sales for the Tundra were down more than nine percent year over year and lagged in sixth place, according to data by pickuptrucks.com. The Tundra even lagged behind the Tacoma and was behind the three U.S. stalwarts in the full-size segment, the Ram, Silverado and F-150. So what’s holding the Tundra back? It could be the need for an upgrade in the ultra-competitive truck segment. 2014 was the last makeover for the Tundra, and the last major redesign was in 2007.

For this model year, the Tundra is still competitive in every area truck owners want and need. And while the looks may be a little underwhelming, the Tundra is still a handsome vehicle with its main focus on the cabin area, where it blows its competition away.

Inside, the Tundra’s space is as good as any vehicle’s. Passengers will find ample legroom in even the regular cab, but it’s the double cab and crew cab that offer tremendous seating area and comfort. My tester was the double cab. The back seat was big enough to lay down a mattress, and in the CrewMax trim, you can almost pitch a tent in the back seat.

Toyota’s new Entune infotainment system is a new introduction for this model year. This upgrade alone is significantly better as the last interface was not intuitive. The new one integrates well with smart phones and has a wide variety of apps that add to driving pleasure.

Front seats are comfortable; there are plenty of storage areas including a big center box and side pockets in the doors. In the back, the CrewMax trim has reclining rear seats. The rear seats of the Double Cab and CrewMax flip easily, increasing storage space.

New for this model year is a power-opening rear window — uncommon for most pickups.

Of course all the comfort and space don’t mean much if a truck can’t handle a workload. The Tundra has two different capable V8 engines. There are no V6 or diesel offerings. A smaller 4.6-liter V8 that makes 310 horsepower and 327 lbs.-ft. of torque is one option but should be the choice for those who don’t have heavy towing needs, as this engine has a maximum towing capacity of 6,800 pounds. That’s pretty puny for this segment.

My tester was the more-capable 5.7-liter V8 which makes 381 hp and 401 lbs.-ft. of torque. This bruiser drove big. It has a six-speed automatic transmission which often took a while to shift in some gears. This Tundra has a maximum towing capacity of 10,500 pounds.

All Tundras come as both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. I’ll state again, as the broken record I am, there is little sense in owning a truck without 4WD. Sure, there’s a little hit on fuel economy between RWD and 4WD, but a truck is meant to work and perform, and the 4WD adds that extra effort needed for whatever conditions may exist.

My tester had a 6.5-foot bed. There are two other bed sizes including a 5.5-foot and 8.1-foot. I couldn’t imagine how the long-bed version would drive as my 6.5-footer was big and bulky. Parking and maneuvering were already a challenge in a truck that size. My Tundra had a base price of $41,220, and with the Limited Premium Package and running boards (so necessary), my tester had a final price of $43,825.

From a pricing standpoint, the Tundra is extremely competitive as some of the F-150s and Silverado/Sierras can exceed $60,000.

Fuel economy for the Tundra Limited with 4WD is 13 mpg/city and 17 mpg/highway. This is sub-par fuel economy even for a segment not known for fuel economy. It’s this reason some of the competition has introduced V6 engines or lighter bodies for their trucks. Perhaps the next generation of Tundra will explore ways to improve fuel economy. In a week’s worth of driving I averaged only 15 mpg, and a lot of that was on the highway.

The Toyota Tundra is a stout and capable truck. It's struggling to find its way in the segment and even now within the Toyota family. But, this truck is still very much ready for the spotlight and to compete within the full-size truck segment.

Jimmy Dinsmore is a freelance automotive journalist.