Toyota lastly has a giant truck on sale by way of official channels in Australia, and also you’ve gotta actually need one to justify the asking worth.
This huge pickup prices greater than most of its US-built, Australian-converted rivals, and that’s one in every of its greatest challenges on this market.
However there are many different concerns within the cons column for giant truck consumers, which you’ll see as we undergo them on this assessment.
Nonetheless, the pluses checklist is prolonged, too – and for lots of people, the badge on the grille may very well be all of the convincing they require.
Learn on to be taught all about what it’s prefer to reside with, drive, and tow a caravan with the brand new 2025 Toyota Tundra.
How does the Toyota Tundra examine?
View an in depth breakdown of the Toyota Tundra towards equally sized automobiles.
Toyota
Tundra
How a lot does the Toyota Tundra value?
So much. It prices loads.
| Mannequin | Worth earlier than on-road prices |
|---|---|
| 2025 Toyota Tundra Restricted | $155,990 |
There’s only one spec, and it’s $155,990 plus on-road prices. You might accuse it of getting some ‘Toyota Tax’ included in that asking worth, however it’s comparatively near what Ram costs its high-spec 1500 Restricted grade at.
Even so, you can not ignore the very fact it’s about $15K over what you’d pay for a top-spec Ford F-150 Lariat, and the V8-powered Chevrolet Silverado is a relative cut price, beginning about $22K lower than the V6 hybrid Toyota.
As with the opposite huge vehicles, the Tundra is shipped from the US to Australia and transformed from left- to right-hand drive by Walkinshaw Automotive Group in Melbourne – alongside the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado.
To see how the Toyota Tundra traces up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
What’s the Toyota Tundra like on the within?
There’s no denying this ute has a bit extra sq. footage than most. The Tundra has an enormous cabin, and it has an enormous touchscreen, too.
The 14.0-inch unit sits proud on the dashboard and actually is the central focus of the inside, however fortunately it’s not the central management level, as a result of Toyota being Toyota, understands that buttons and dials are nonetheless vital, even when huge screens are apparently what folks need.
Now, the display screen itself is ok. There’s wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and also you don’t get sat nav, so that you’ll need to financial institution on the apps doing the job for you. However there are different concerns, too – the tuning knob is nearer to the driving force than the amount knob, which may very well be annoying (however there are quantity controls on the steering wheel).
And past that, the house bar for Apple CarPlay and the built-in media system is on the passenger facet, not the driving force’s facet, which means you actually have to succeed in to get again to the house display screen or to leap across the apps in your cellphone.
That may very well be mounted with a software program tweak (hopefully will probably be), however the inbuilt menus take some studying, and actually, the dearth of sat nav would possibly delay some… er… mature prospects.
On the primary display screen there are digital camera views for the kerbs, rear, entrance, sides, and even a tub-view monitor, in addition to a surround-view show that means that you can focus in on the 4 quadrants of the outside of the car.
There’s additionally a giant digital instrument show in entrance of the driving force, with a pleasant Tundra graphic as you begin the car, and some straightforward to regulate menus and shows to make sure you can see what you need, for probably the most half.
The controls are wonderful, with a easy set of steering wheel buttons for media and menu controls. However the blinker stalk is on the ‘fallacious’ facet – that being the left, slightly than the best.
The panel of controls underneath the central display screen are easy to get used to, with dual-zone local weather management… however once more, there’s a ghost of a LHD truck right here, as a result of whenever you hit ‘SYNC’ to align the temperatures, it syncs to the passenger, not the driving force (who everyone knows is the dominant persona within the cabin).
However fortunately there are toggles for the temps and for the fan pace, buttons for the seat heating and cooling and the air course, too, and like most different excessive grade Toyotas, there’s a mixed rear windshield and facet mirror demister button, too.
The simple-to-grab options proceed under, with a large shifter and respectable controller for the four-wheel drive system, to not point out a drive mode dial with a secondary tow/haul button.
After all there’s numerous unfastened merchandise storage, together with massive cup holders between the seats, a few stash trays right here and there, massive pockets within the doorways and a sunglass holder up close to the digital digital camera mirror system, which is a terrific addition.
There may be additionally an electrical change up close to the mirror for the rear windshield, which might decrease down utterly – nice to succeed in issues within the tub from the again seat, or to get some air into the cabin (or out of the cabin, within the occasion of a smelly back-seat occupant).
On the subject of rear seat house, there’s a lot. At 182cm/6’0” I had a heap of room to stretch out behind my very own driving place, with ample leg, knee, foot and headroom, and simply sufficient width to the cabin to permit three of me throughout. Heaven forbid.
There are ISOFIX factors within the window seats, and three devoted top-tether factors built-in into the seat backs, too. That’s a giant plus for folks like me who by no means really feel like there’s sufficient rigidity on the top-tether strap with these single anchor factors behind the center seats.
However, mother and father take notice, the lights within the rear a part of the cabin are manner up above the centre seat, so it is likely to be tough to succeed in in over a sleeping kiddo to try to see what you’re doing when it’s time to get out. The seat base is a 60:40 break up, whereas the center seatback may be folded down to reveal a set of cupholders and a few storage, too.
There are map pockets, bottle holders within the doorways, a set of directional air-vents and cupholders, and USB charging ports within the again, and a few useful seize factors to get your self out and in… you’ll want them, it’s a very good quad stretch to amble in.
There’s loads of practicality within the cabin, and you’ll configure the rear seat space to a level to make sure you have dry, safe storage for some gadgets for those who don’t need them within the tub.
However the cargo space is a sizeable space, with the smaller 5’5” tub the one one supplied in Australia. In different markets, there’s a 6’5” out there for this CrewMax dual-cab, and there’s additionally a shorter Double Cab with an out there 8’1” tub.
Which means it’s pallet-capable, with adjustable tie-down factors within the prime rails of the bathtub, and glued tie-points on the corners of the cargo space.
The cargo zone has a plastic drop-in liner, which isn’t as sturdy or slip-free as a spray-in liner, which is obtainable in lots of rivals. There’s additionally no energy entry, and no lighting fitted to the tray space, and it’s important to pay further for a tonneau cowl (onerous or delicate).
The tailgate is a soft-opening unit and has some help to shut, too, nevertheless it’s not altering the sport. And there aren’t any rear facet step-up factors or pull-out ladder to make it simpler to entry the bathtub, both – so stretch these hammies, as a result of it’s a good lunge up into the cargo space.
Beneath the physique of the car is a metal spare wheel, not an identical alloy.
| Dimensions – tub | Toyota Tundra |
|---|---|
| Size | 1666mm |
| Width – general | 1491mm |
| Width – between arches | 1237mm |
| Depth | 531mm |
| Dimensions – car | Toyota Tundra |
|---|---|
| Size | 5955mm |
| Width | 2040mm |
| Top | 1985mm |
| Wheelbase | 3700mm |
To see how the Toyota Tundra traces up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
What’s underneath the bonnet?
The 2025 Toyota Tundra Restricted is powered completely by the i-Power Max powertrain. Dunno what that’s? It’s a twin-turbo-petrol V6 engine with an electrical motor and battery pack as a part of the drivetrain.
| Specs | Toyota Tundra Restricted i-Power Max |
|---|---|
| Engine | 3.4L V6 twin-turbo MHEV |
| Energy | 290kW at 5200rpm |
| Torque | 649Nm at 2400-3600rpm |
| Transmission | 10-speed auto |
| Drive kind | Half-time 4WD |
| Gas economic system (claimed) | 20MPG – US market ~11.7L/100km |
| Gas economic system (as examined) | 13.8L/100km |
| Gas tank | 122 litres |
| Gas requirement | 95 octane premium unleaded |
| Weight | 2778kg |
| Payload | 758kg |
| Braked towing capability | 4500kg – with 70mm towball |
| Gross car mass (GVM) | 3536kg |
| Gross mixture mass (GCM) | 7825kg |
You will want to get pleasant along with your native servo attendant, as a result of it isn’t probably the most frugal factor on the planet, regardless of an electrified powertrain that ought to assist it use much less juice than a number of the V8 rivals.
Now, there’s an intriguing anomaly for the gas consumption figures for the Tundra: as a result of it has a gross car mass (GVM) over 3500kg, the model just isn’t required to formally state what the gas consumption is. So for those who stumble throughout a Tundra on a Toyota lot, it received’t have a sticker on the windscreen stating the official quantity.
That makes the gas use concerns a lot tougher for customers. But when we take a look at the acknowledged economic system numbers from the North American market, the place fashions with this powertrain declare 20MPG, that equates to 11.7 litres per 100km – no CO2 emissions determine is acknowledged for Australia, both.
Bear in mind, you’ve acquired to refill a 122-litre tank and it wants 95 RON premium unleaded, so it’s not going to be a nice expertise in your pockets.
For this check I did a traditional drive loop with blended situations, together with errands, stop-start site visitors, city working, freeway cruising and freeway commuting, and I noticed a displayed return of 13.8 litres per 100km. Increased than I used to be anticipating, for certain, and IDENTICAL to what I’ve seen in Ram 1500 Restricted V8 fashions previously, and better than I’ve seen within the Chevy and Ford, too!
After I did my towing check with a 3200kg dual-axle Avida Topaz caravan (because of my mates at Avida for the mortgage), throughout about 100km of driving on open roads, arterials and a few city driving – as you would possibly do on the ‘huge journey’ – I noticed an much more stunning 23.8 litres per 100km displayed.
Now these weren’t scientifically examined with pump-to-pump numbers on account of time constraints, however the actuality is, the gas use isn’t ‘Toyota hybrid-like’ as we’ve come to understand it.
To see how the Toyota Tundra traces up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
How does the Toyota Tundra drive?
It’s stunning {that a} car this massive and heavy can shrink round you to the purpose that you simply really feel comfy just about immediately in a mixture of conditions, however that was precisely the end result of my time testing the Tundra.
I cherished it. I cherished the best way it dealt with itself, the noise it made, the facility on provide, and the hybrid system usability, too. Add to that there aren’t any irritating security applied sciences that get in your nerves as a lot as another new utes (as in, no driver monitoring digital camera or bing-bong pace signal warning system), and you actually get accustomed to this rig very quickly.
The engine is a corker of a factor, too. What a terrific powertrain that is, with an immense quantity of torque to make pressing acceleration really feel easy, and concrete humdrum driving really feel pleasant.
The engine and transmission are (principally) nicely partnered, and the electric-assist system can reduce the engine and assist this 2800kg behemoth transfer with out a piston pumping. It could possibly reduce the engine as you decelerate, and can speed up in EV mode to a sure diploma, too.
The powertrain, then, was spectacular in my testing, and the gearbox additionally harnessed the shove of this method nicely – however in the direction of the top of my mortgage I did discover a few jolting shunts from the transmission, which weren’t a difficulty throughout another a part of my testing, nevertheless it was stunning that the 10-speed would shunt because it downshifted, as was the case on check.
It feels agile and manoeuvrable at freeway tempo or on the town, however you should take note of the turning circle of this huge truck – it has a 3700mm wheelbase, so it’s unsurprising that it wants 15 metres to do a turnaround. It should imply a variety of three-, five- and even seven-point turns in city streets, however fortunately the steering is admittedly gentle and manageable.
The steering has a very good responsiveness to it whenever you’re shifting quicker, too, and whereas it’s not a Ranger Raptor when it comes to the involvement issue, you may belief that your inputs shall be registered. It has higher dynamism to it than you’d suppose is feasible, contemplating physics, nevertheless it actually is surprisingly good to drive.
And having coil-spring rear suspension makes for a supple experience, because the Tundra copes nicely with sharp bumps and large lumps in any respect speeds with out a load on board. It’s a model of the platform that underpins the 300 Sequence LandCruiser, and it’s manner higher sorted than that car… as you’d count on, with a wheelbase nearly a metre longer.
One consideration is the mirrors, which – whereas providing a very good subject of view when driving usually – do tend to be buffered by wind at freeway pace, which means you would possibly get headlights shimmying in your imaginative and prescient at evening on the freeway.
I did some gentle off-road driving – unsealed surfaces in 4H mode – and located the stability and management of the Tundra to be spectacular, however you may really feel its weight and measurement when the paths get tighter and twistier.
On the entire although, the drive expertise is terrific whenever you’re simply utilizing it as a household automotive, or working errands or to-and-from work. However let’s discuss towing.
Towing
It may very well be the tow truck of your desires.
I’d perceive if that was the case, as a result of it’s an enormous ute with big towing capability, and with the 3200kg check caravan from Avida, it proved it might deal with a variety of load with ease.
It’s so good to drive whereas towing – that’s what a variety of these American market vehicles are made to do, in spite of everything.
It has a principally comfy and composed chassis that by no means feels too wobbly or unfastened over nation roads, however does exhibit some nose-to-tail bobbing as you progress alongside, with the rear suspension (four-link inflexible axle with coil springs) sinking into the floor at occasions.
Hit rough-surfaced roads, and you’ll really feel the suspension fidgeting a little bit to counteract the work being achieved – and it’s not uncomfortable, however it’s noticeable.
So for those who’re going to hit the open highway and traverse unsealed or gravel tracks, it’s possible you’ll discover the suspension to be a little bit tough at occasions.
When it comes to the dealing with although, it has a sturdy and broad really feel on the blacktop as you strategy freeway tempo, and it corners with confidence because of its manageable and predictable steering.
It should sit at 100km/h with a load like this with none hassles in any respect, with the powertrain simply hauling and downright hustling from a standstill, nearly like there’s nothing behind it. The engine and transmission are nicely sorted, and with 10 gears to play with, it might at occasions really feel a little bit busy because it tries to decide on which gear is greatest.
However I used to be largely impressed with the engine and transmission, and even seen the hybrid system got here into impact at decrease speeds when crawling to a cease, with the engine chopping off and the pedestrian warning system emitting its hybrid howl to warn these round you of your presence.
My primary criticism from the transmission is that, when towing (with tow mode engaged) there isn’t a present gear indicator proven on the instrument show.
You may get it to point out up by shifting to handbook mode, however – except there’s a option to get it to point out up, which I couldn’t discover! – it’s one thing that distance drivers would possibly need.
And when it comes to the audible expertise for these contained in the automotive, it sounds bloody terrific underneath acceleration. Critically, the noise is unimaginable.
There’s a normal digital brake management toggle system to regulate the acquire for the trailer brakes, however there’s additionally regenerative braking as a part of the drive expertise, so it does have a barely completely different pedal really feel, nevertheless it’s actually manageable and also you adapt to it rapidly.
And whereas a number of the security programs – rear cross-traffic alert, and lane tracing help – mechanically switched off with a towed load hooked up, the car didn’t mechanically interact Tow/Haul mode, which shocked me.
That mode is designed to calibrate the transmission and throttle response to higher swimsuit the state of affairs at hand.
Simply be conscious that the hitch level is kind of low for the usual Tundra tow bar. It might imply some further jimmying to get it again on the ball or pin every time you tow, and that might get outdated, quick.
Moreover, whereas I managed to get fairly shut on my first try at lining as much as the hitch level, I did miss a zoom-in button such as you get on the Ford Ranger and F-150, to higher see the place you’re in relation to the tow hitch.
There are a number of different digital camera modes, however except I simply merely couldn’t discover this one, it looks as if a bizarre omission.
There’s a ‘trailer again up information’ that may autonomously management steering to help when reversing, however I didn’t get an opportunity to attempt it on account of time constraints and the concern of getting it fallacious with a stunning loaner caravan.
Nonetheless, there isn’t any system to help you conduct a trailer gentle examine with only one occupant, as you may in a Ford truck. Ah nicely, I suppose you’ll simply make buddies on the campsite.
To see how the Toyota Tundra traces up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
What do you get?
Only one trim degree is offered for the Tundra in Austalia.
Tundra Restricted highlights:
- 20-inch alloy wheels
- Computerized LED headlights
- Computerized high-beam
- Heated, power-folding facet mirrors
- incl. reverse tilt-down perform
- Energetic entrance spoiler
- Tub administration system
- Facet and again rails
- Moveable tie-down factors
- 12-pin trailer wiring harness
- 50mm tow ball (3500kg rated)
- 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
- 14.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wi-fi Apple CarPlay
- Wired Android Auto
- DAB+ digital radio
- 12-speaker sound system
- Wi-fi cellphone charger
- Twin-zone local weather management
- Proximity entry, push-button begin
- 5 x USB ports
- 12V outlet
- Entrance and rear carpet flooring mats
- Leather-based-accented steering wheel
- Black artificial leather-based upholstery
- Heated and ventilated entrance seats
- 8-way energy adjustable entrance seats
A 70mm tow ball is elective and allows the Tundra to ready tow a 4500kg braked trailer. There may be additionally a spread of real equipment starting from a tonneau cowl, load distribution hitch, and all-weather flooring mats.
To see how the Toyota Tundra traces up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
Is the Toyota Tundra secure?
There is no such thing as a present ranking for the Toyota Tundra from ANCAP or Euro NCAP, and there possible received’t be anytime quickly, both. It did, nonetheless, obtain a High Security Choose+ underneath the North American IIHS security testing.
Customary security tools consists of:
- 8 airbags
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
- Pedestrian, Bike owner detection (day, evening)
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Lane departure alert
- Lane Hint Help
- Emergency steering help
- Adaptive cruise management
- Encompass-view cameras
- Entrance, rear parking sensors
To see how the Toyota Tundra traces up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
How a lot does the Toyota Tundra value to run?
Toyota backs its fashions in Australia with a five-year, limitless kilometre guarantee, and the Tundra isn’t any completely different.
| Servicing and Guarantee | Toyota Tundra |
|---|---|
| Guarantee | 5 years, limitless kilometres – normal As much as 7 years – driveline (conditional) |
| Roadside help | $99 per yr |
| Service intervals | 6 months or 10,000 kilometres |
| Capped-price servicing | 5 years |
| Complete capped-price service value | $4500 |
Every scheduled service throughout the capped-price interval prices $450 – so that you’re taking a look at $900 per yr simply to run it earlier than gas prices.
To see how the Toyota Tundra traces up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparability instrument
CarExpert’s Tackle the Toyota Tundra
There are some terrific components of the Toyota Tundra – the engine is superior, the towing capability is astounding, the driveability is best than you’d suppose, and inside house is phenomenal.
But it surely isn’t as fuel-efficient as you would possibly hope a hybridised Toyota truck may very well be, and there are some spec shortfalls that may make you suppose twice.
Is it the massive Toyota truck you’ve been ready for? Have your say within the feedback.
Thanks once more to our mates at Avida RV for the mortgage of the caravan for our towing check!
Inquisitive about shopping for a Toyota Tundra? Get in contact with one in every of CarExpert’s trusted sellers right here
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