Who makes the boldest, toughest looking pickup trucks on earth? That depends on personal taste of course, but Toyota makes

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a good argument for being on top of that list with its latest Tundra.

There’s as much chrome on this truck’s grille as a big-rig Freightliner. It wraps right overtop the front of the hood and all the way over to each combination headlamp before diving down to where the front bumper begins, a light metallic matte grey centre cap the only chrome relief, although it’s bookended by circular fog lamp-enhanced chromed corners at both sides. Of course there are plenty of engine vents sliced horizontally across the brightwork monstrosity, even a thick, broad one at top that’s too close to the grille to be a hood scoop albeit fulfills the same purpose and looks plenty assertive doing so, while those headlamps are filled with metal brightwork and de rigueur LEDs.

It’s

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pretty obvious this truck isn’t base, that mostly fleet-purchased model featuring more matte black plastic in one area than you’ve likely ever seen, usually made even more apparent thanks to the majority of companies’ choice of Alpine White paint. My absolute top of the line Tundra 4×4 CrewMax Platinum 1794 Edition was no white knight, but rather a kingly Sunset Bronze Mica that went further to look bejeweled with chrome mirror caps, chromed door handles and chrome wheel finishers that are actually covers overtop alloys underneath. The rear end design gets a body-colour bumper with integrated top steps and a nicely finished tailgate with stylish taillights at each corner. The look is strong and anything but subtle, but Toyota fortunately backs up all this flashy boldness with some serious muscle under-hood.

That

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would be the brand’s 5.7-litre V8 also found in the full-size Sequoia SUV and Lexus’ even more capable LX 570, a brute of an engine when it comes to pulling power and accelerative force, albeit nicely refined for a pickup truck. The DOHC, 32-valve 5.7 i-Force mill comes standard with the four-door CrewMax body, complete with dual variable valve timing with intelligence (VVT-i) and an electronic throttle control system with intelligence (ETCS-i), the end result being 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft of torque fed to all four wheels via Toyota’s Super ECT six-speed automatic with manual shift mode that gives the so-equipped Tundra a considerable 4,305-kilo (9,490-lb) trailering capacity and 590-kg (1,305-lb) payload. Its four-wheel drive is the usual part-time system activated via a simple dial on the dash, although for most driving you’ll want to leave it in 2WD or 4H to save on fuel.

Normally

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when we think of Toyota vehicles fuel efficiency comes immediately to mind, but this isn’t the big truck’s forte as witnessed by its claimed five-cycle EnerGuide rating of 18.2 L/100km city, 14.1 highway and 16.3 combined. Unfortunately I forgot that Toyota doesn’t ask we journalists to fully fill up this truck after a week’s drive because they know many wouldn’t even bother booking it (we’re not exactly high up on the food chain), but there’s no free gas voucher available for Tundra customers so you’ll be left refueling its 144-litre tank to the tune of $172.80 at the cheapest price in my city, at least today. You lucky folks in Toronto are paying 28 cents per litre less than we Vancouverites so, first, quit your bellyaching and go buy a Tundra because you can afford a mere $132 and change per tank-full, whereas the same fill in Edmonton will only cost you $110. No wonder so many Albertans buy pickup trucks.

Of

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course, ridiculously unfair fuel prices aside (Vancouver pays even more than Iqaluit, Nunavut, although pump prices are less here than in Yellowknife, Whitehorse and many other Northern communities, so I’ll shut up now), my comparison just helps uninitiated truck users appreciate the size of a pickup truck’s tank, while the reality Toyota faces are key competitors that are better addressing that inequality at the pump with thriftier fuel economy and even more pulling power. Ouch! Sorry, Toyota, but that’s the cold, hard truth that I felt very deep in my own personal wallet, and not as painfully with the Ford F-150 3.5-litre Ecoboost 4×4’s 13.9 city, 10.5 highway and 12.4 combined rating, or the Ram 1500 3.0 EcoDiesel 4×4’s 12.1 city, 8.8 highway and 14.1 combined numbers, both of these six-cylinder engines good for 420 lb-ft of torque. If you’re ok with only 383 lb-ft of torque then both 4WD-equipped GM trucks achieve 14.6 L/100km city, 10.3 highway and 12.7 combined, while even the General’s top-line 6.2-litre V8

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with 420 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque does better with a rating of 16.3 city and 11.6 highway (they don’t offer a combined rate).

If you’ve spent most of your time in the saddle of one of GM’s half-tons, or Ram’s 1500 you might find the Tundra’s ride a little firm. Believe me, you’ll feel each and every bump and every road imperfection underneath its big 275/55R20s. There’s little doubt its stiff suspension makes off-roading less comfortable too, but it’s a deft handler that manages curving roads with agility unless unsettled on a big bump mid-corner, while nobody should question the Tundra’s ability to get to the great outdoors and back in one piece.

Toyotas are rugged to the core, and their 4×4 prowess is legendary. Likewise, you might spend a bit more on fuel getting wherever you need to go, but once again you’ll

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actually get there thanks to the brand’s incredible dependability. In the most recent J.D. Power and Associates 2015 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) Toyota was the highest-ranking mainstream volume brand, only bested by two premium brands that don’t make pickup trucks, one of which was Toyota’s luxury brand, Lexus. This said, that same study rated the two GM pickups and the new Ram higher than Toyota’s Tundra after three years of ownership, so there’s a mix of good and bad news with this bit of third-party information.

All full-size pickup trucks offer higher end models designed to attract well-paid contractors and other well-to-do roughnecks, the crème de la crème amongst Tundras being this Platinum 1794 Edition. The “1794” designation commemorates the year the JLC Ranch was founded, which was the land Toyota purchased to build

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the Tundra’s San Antonio, Texas assembly plant. The 809-hectare (2,000-acre or in other words 157 football field-sized) property, originally founded by Canary Islander Don Juan Ignacio Perez de Casanova (really, we couldn’t make a name that good up) went from employing four (yes, 4) to about 6,000 people (that’s a lot of angry Texans who won’t like what I just said about the Tundra’s fuel economy), and I have to say the truck is a respectable salute to the once-proud family farm.

I can just imagine Don Juan sitting upon his similarly coloured saddle-brown perch, albeit fitted to an entirely different type of one-horsepower steed than this workhorse. The 1794’s embossed leather is truly stunning even amongst premium-level pickup trucks, with perforated inserts and heavily textured bolsters that even include a rich strip of suede-like material theoretically for holding backside in place while power-sliding it down Texan backcountry gravel roads (or gravel

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pits closer to home). The entire cabin is truly something to behold, especially across the instrument panel and tops of each door where the same saddle leather is stitched together with white contrast thread, not to mention padded nicely underneath, that theme continuing onto the big, fat armrest between the seats (complete with a chromed and star-emblazoned “1794 EDITION” plaque at centre) as well as the lower console around the shifter, along with more of that wonderful suede used for edging. Yup, it’s one rich rancher’s ride.

Anyone who’s lived in Texas or anywhere else in North America will be all too aware of our collective love for faux woodgrain interiors (or not), and the 1794 Edition takes this tradition to new lengths. First off, it actually looks like the real deal and eye-popping

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to boot, but one shoulder rub, or worse, tap with the knuckles will instantly remind of ’70s era Buicks and the like. To be fair, the woodgrain down each door panel feels quite substantive, a lesson in doing it right I’d say, but the “planks” across the dash are hollow and fake feeling. I figure if an automaker wants to include wood in any vehicle they ought to either install genuine lignum or make the environmentally friendly imitation stuff feel real. Fortunately the partially leather-wrapped and wood-encircled steering wheel, plus the wood on the shift knob is 100-percent authentic on both counts, and nicely matches the disingenuous stuff, so Toyota gets a 50-percent grade as far as woodgrain goes, which is a pass in most schooling systems.

Now

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that we’re on a slightly negative note, Toyota doesn’t cover the Tundra Platinum’s interior with as many soft-touch synthetic surfaces as top-line trucks offered by most domestic rivals, the GM trucks and Ram 1500 in particular, but as noted the surfaces it does finish to a higher scale are really done out nicely. Along with the just noted stitched leather-like soft bits, the dash gets an attractive satin-silver treatment surrounding the centre stack that visually carries over to the gear selector surround, while loads of chrome detailing blings up the cabin. A nicely laid out primary gauge package is easy to read in any light, and at centre is filled with a small but colourful and very clear multi-information display that showed my fuel economy at a very honest 17.5 L/100km throughout my weeklong test.

Atop

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the centre stack is another clear and bright full-colour high-resolution display, albeit this one’s a touchscreen for the infotainment system. It splits to show more info at a glance, and includes an exceptionally clear backup camera, a colourful and very accurate navigation system with excellent mapping, plus loads of useful Toyota apps. Below the infotainment screen is a dual-zone automatic HVAC system with a digital display showing fan speed, vent direction, temperature readouts on both sides, plus heatable and/or ventilated seats, which are three-way controllable for each feature. The JBL audio system is very good and still comes with a CD player, a feature I happen to appreciate, but it should be noted I was also able to connect my smartphone via USB port or Bluetooth streaming audio, and hands-free phone, of course.

All the features specific to the 1794 Edition have been mentioned already, and include that big chrome grille surround, bright

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grey centre bumper cap, chromed steel front bumper ends, the 20-inch chrome-clad wheels, all the woodgrain and leather/suede interior upgrades, plus the associated trim badging, while features that come as part of this model’s Platinum trim include power-folding and power-adjustable heatable side mirrors with integrated turn signals and puddle lamps, the aforementioned heatable and ventilated seats that are also 10-way adjustable for the driver (even featuring powered lumbar and variable-length lower cushion adjustment) and four-way adjustable for the front passenger, plus a 60/40-split rear bench seat with a flip-down centre armrest and flip-up lower cushions, a powered tilt and telescopic multifunction steering wheel with memory that also adjusts the side mirrors and driver’s seat, the seven-inch infotainment system with navigation and 12-speaker JBL display audio system noted earlier, most of the chrome interior accents, the billet-style grille, colour-keyed rear bumper, and spray-in bedliner.

Items

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pulled up from Limited trim include the previously noted chrome mirror caps and door handles, the fog lamps, leather dash trim and dual-zone auto HVAC, plus auto on/off headlamps, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, clearance and backup sensors, a garage door opener, a powered moonroof, a bed rail system with a set of four tie-down cleats, an anti-theft system, and blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert, whereas features the come standard on the base 4×4 CrewMax SR5 that are also included with this 1794 Edition include the 3.5-inch TFT multi-information display, backup camera and soft door trim noted earlier, as well as keyless entry (yes, it would’ve been more convenient with proximity access and pushbutton ignition), variable intermittent wipers and a windshield de-icer, cruise control, dual illuminated vanity mirrors, and a powered vertical sliding rear window (how cool is that?), as well as its 5.5-foot cargo bed, removable locking Easy Lower & Lift tailgate that drops down as smooth and noiselessly as a Lexus LS’ glove box lid, a tow package including a heavy-duty hitch

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receiver, 4+7 pin connectors, trailer brake controller prewire, a supplemental transmission cooler and transmission temperature gauge, and lastly all the usual airbags as well as a knee blocker each for the driver and front passenger.

All of this kit comes in a cabin that’s amazingly large and accommodating, the front seats wonderfully comfortable with superb lower back support and so easily adjustable that any body type should be able to find a comfortable position. In back the CrewMax cab’s legroom is a limousine-like while the seats are also very good for the class, the only negative to this ultra large cab being the rather short five-foot-six box just noted in back. Of course, if the CrewMax came fitted with a regular box it would extend beyond the length of usability, at least for most peoples’ needs.

Fortunately

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you can flip up the lower rear cushions if you want to use the rear seating area for stowing cargo, but there’s not as much rear-seat load versatility offered in this truck as with some others. For instance, some include the ability to construct a flat loading floor via foldable mechanisms attached to the underside of the seat, while the Tundra doesn’t include any built-in compartments for stowing belongings either.

This is a common theme with the Toyota’s full-size pickup truck. For instance, the back bumper includes hard plastic steps on each of its two topmost side sections and a similarly hard lower step in the middle portion, the latter easier to use while climbing up into the box, but they’re not rubberized and therefore can be quite slippery in the rain or snow. This process nevertheless works pretty well if you’re ok with stepping over the closed tailgate when climbing up onto the bed, but when the tailgate is already lowered it’s quite a stretch up to those corner steps, and

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there’s only a mere toehold provided, which I’ve learned by experience, can easily result in a slip and resultant knee-bash against said bumper. Alternatively, GM cuts a standard step into each corner bumper that’s easier to stretch up to, while Ford’s optional retractable step, which gets pulled out from a hidden compartment within the tailgate and lowers to allow really easy access to the bed, is the most innovative approach to pickup truck loading gear, while the blue-oval brand also offers a set of kick-out retractable sidesteps. Oddly, this top-line Tundra didn’t include any sidesteps at all, making ingress and egress to the cabin very difficult for my five-foot-eight frame and a real jump for my five-foot-nothing partner, a serious fail for a top-line luxury pickup truck. Fortunately, Toyota offers these as options.

As

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you read this you might start thinking that I don’t like the Tundra and wouldn’t recommend it, but that’s far from the truth. Due to its high-quality workmanship and good Toyota name I give it a solid thumb up for those who like what it has to offer, but if the Japanese brand seriously wants to eat into the million-plus half-ton pickup truck market in a big way it needs to offer some sort of easier alternative for climbing up into the bed without straining a groin muscle, while it should also hurry up and get the promised Cummins diesel to market, while it may also want to think about improving some interior plastics to make it feel a bit more upscale.

This Platinum 1794 Edition certainly looks the part inside and out, mind you, while it’s a very strong performer, should be as reliable as most Toyota products, and I must say its very reasonable as-tested $57,285 asking price is truly impressive for such a fully loaded luxury ride, so I believe it’s worthy of your consideration. One thing’s for sure, you’ll enjoy a much more exclusive ride that’ll get long, envious stares from neighbours and passersby, or at least that’s what I experienced, along with some very positive comments from strangers walking past. I’ve rarely had that with any pickup truck, something that’s hard to put a price on, but one any proud owner enjoys each and every time it happens.
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