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The new Toyota Tundra: number four is catching up

Pick ups are the big number in the USA. For four decades, the Ford F-150 has been leading the American registration statistics as a so-called full-size truck. Now Toyota wants to roll up the field from behind with the new Tundra.

No car is more American than a full-size pick-up that Americans simply call a truck. Los Angeles, Miami, Detroit, Oklahoma or Seattle – the pick-ups, which are usually more than 5.30 meters long, populate streets, highways and parking lots in the USA more than any other type of vehicle day in and day out. The main actor is the F-series from Ford and here the volume model F-150. In the following places in the registration statistics, the Chevrolet Silverado with its noble offshoot GMC Sierra has been for years and in third place is the huge RAM from Dodge. For the success and volume spoiled manufacturer Toyota, it is only enough with its Tundra by a huge margin to fourth place. No surprise that the Japanese have a hard time getting used to it and are doing everything they can to get ahead.

The pressure on the new Toyota Tundra, which, like its predecessors, is produced in the country of origin of all pick-ups – Texas – is correspondingly high. The Tundra has been on the US market as the big brother of the Tacoma since 2007 and, despite typical US designs, beefy V8 engines and generally accepted taker qualities, has not yet managed to displace the first three US boys. The third generation should no longer be satisfied with 100,000 to 150,000 registrations per year, should sniff at the top trio, of which the bestseller Ford already sells one million vehicles per year.

With the vertical radiotor grille, bulky aprons and narrow LED eyes, the look is bigger than before and beefier than ever. The Tundra is based on the recently introduced Toyota Land Cruiser. The eight-cylinder naturally aspirated engines had been replaced by a new V6 twin turbo with a displacement of 3.5 liters and a ten-speed automatic. It can be assumed that the new Tundra will also get this new i-Force-Max engine instead of the previously installed 5.7-liter eight-cylinder, which should significantly reduce the standard consumption. The new V6 turbo engine has an output of 305 kW / 415 PS and, as a diesel brother, has a particularly economical 3.3-liter common rail diesel with 227 kW / 309 PS, which should also fit perfectly into the large Toyota Tundra. After all, the American competition from Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge / RAM is now also available with diesel technology. Like the competition, Toyota is also planning an all-electric version to meet political pressure that has forced US competitors to announce electric versions of its massive pull-size pick-ups.

Inside there is ample space for up to five people and a large loading area for leisure and work. In addition to the rear window that was previously electrically opened, the new Toyota Tundra can optionally be equipped with a large panoramic roof that can also be opened electrically and lets plenty of light and fresh air into the interior. As before, in addition to the normal Tundra, there will be a particularly off-road TRD variant and a sports version such as the Ford F-150 Raptor is also conceivable to meet the wishes of US customers. Market launch is scheduled for the beginning of 2022.

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