The 2022 Toyota Tundra: Everything You Need to Know

America’s most ancient full-size pickup is about to receive a major upgrade.

Published September 5, 2021

Updated September 20, 2021

When it comes to solid, durable full-size pickup trucks with excellent off-road capability and great resale value, it’s hard to beat the Toyota Tundra.

That said, in other ways, Toyota’s big pickup truck has fallen behind. Since it hasn’t received an overhaul since the mid-2000s, the Tundra can feel archaic compared to its Big Three competition of the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra and Ram 1500. Couple that with bleak fuel economy numbers that make the Tundra one of the worst vehicles for the environment one can buy, and it’s easy to see why it might not be at the top of many shopping lists or buying guides.

That’s all about to change. Toyota is launching an all-new third-generation Tundra later this year, as part of a flurry of updates the Japanese brand has planned. Here’s what we know about what the carmaker has planned for the full-size truck segment.

Toyota has revealed the all-new 2022 Tundra

Toyota just unveiled the all-new third-generation Toyota Tundra. It’s rolling on a new platform. It has a hybrid engine. Check out the details here.

The new 2022 Tundra could fight the F-150 Raptor

One of Toyota’s teasers for the 2022 Tundra gave us a glimpse at the new truck’s suspension — at least, one version of it. See, the image above shows, along with the control arms, a Fox damper — the sort of shocks found on the Ford F-150 Raptor that help give it such extraordinary off-road capability. Considering how well Toyota has done with TRD off-road versions of its existing trucks and SUVs and what a cash cow the Raptor has been for Ford, it certainly seems possible the TRD Pro will combine a desert-bashing suspension with the new Tundra’s most powerful engine…which brings us to our next two slides.

The new Toyota Tundra will almost certainly pack a V6

The Tundra needs to get more efficient to succeed. A major component of that will be ditching the aging 5.7-liter V8; most speculation suggests the Tundra, much like the 300-Series Land Cruiser, will use a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6.

Indeed, Toyota’s latest teaser image for the truck reveals its engine cover, showing that the 2022 Tundra will be powered by a new “iForce Max” engine — and considering it shows six “ribs” on the engine cover versus the eight found on the current V8 model, we’re almost positive that confirms the new truck will be V6-powered.

Will it also be a hybrid? Toyota tends to use blue trim on hybrid model logos, so the outline of the word “Max” suggests that may be the case. A Toyota exec recently also confirmed that the truck will have two powertrains, with the base model being even more potent than the current 5.7-liter eight-pot and the optional one being able to “blow you away.” We’re betting at least one of those will be barttery-assisted.

The 2022 Toyota Tundra will hold onto a beloved feature: the retractable rear window

Another one of Toyota’s teasers revealed that the new Tundra will offer a full-length moonroof with a vast opening — but as the folks at Jalopnik quickly realized and reported, that same image also reveals that the 2022 Tundra will continue to boast a fully retractable rear window. The feature — similar to the power rear glass found on the 4Runner — has earned praise from fans over its added airflow and accessibility, and seems likely to continue doing so for years to come.

The Tundra will run on a new TNGA platform

The Tundra should be among the first vehicles on a new Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform for body-on-frame trucks, which will also underpin the Sequoia, Tacoma and 4Runner. The new platform should convert the Tundra to lighter-weight construction materials and improve ride quality and safety. The Tundra will also shift from leaf-spring to coil-spring suspension in the rear, much like the excellent-riding Ram 1500 does.

The new Toyota Tundra probably will be more expensive

Improving the Tundra dramatically and adding features like a hybrid engine should increase the price point. The Tundra currently tops out with the Platinum trim, starting just over $52,000. That’s barely above the average price paid for a new pickup. New Tundra pricing could be more in line with the F-150, which has King Ranch (~$56,000), Platinum (~$59,000) and Limited (~$70,000) trims.

The new Tundra should boast better towing and payload capacity

The current Tundra has five-lug wheels. Spy shots of the new Tundra clearly show six-lug wheels, which strongly suggests Toyota plans to improve the current model’s 10,200-pound towing and 1,730-pound payload capacity.

The new Tundra should hit dealers this year

The third-generation Tundra should be a 2022 model year vehicle. Expect a mid-2021 debut, with the truck arriving at dealers before the end of the year.

This is what the 2022 Tundra looks like, in case you missed it at the beginning

After a few grainy pictures from an internal presentation leaked out, Toyota went ahead and released an official press shot of the all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra on June 18. It is, as you can see, big, boxy and bad to the bone-white paint.