Welcome to the best pickup truck Toyota has ever made, welcome to the 2024 Toyota Tundra 1794. When I drove the new Tundra last year, I came away from it with just a ‘meh’ feeling. Don’t get me wrong. It was fine, it was good…it wasn’t great. It was just missing that special something that moves a vehicle from the good to the great.
What it was missing was this iForce Max engine. That Max part is what turns a Tundra into a Fundra. See what I did there? I’m hilarious. Anyhoo. What is so special about that Max part? It pairs an electric motor to the already stout 3.5 liter V6 and generates a whopping 483 HP and a jaw dropping, diesel embarrassing 583 ft/lbs of lucious torque! Yes, you read that read. 5.8.3 !
Yes, the F150 PowerBoost is a hybrid twin turbo V6 as well. Yes it makes 430 HP and 570 TQ. But the issue with the PowerBoost is that it does the drivetrain shuffle from EV and/or to ICE as gracefully as falling down a flight of stairs. In other words, the PowerBoost is clunky, slow to respond and annoyingly erratic. Which stands in stark contrast to the iForce Max’s buttery smooth engagement and delivery.
It shouldn’t be suprising though, ToMoCo has been the Hybrid pioneer for decades and while other automakers spent their engineering monies on EVs, Toyota spent it on perfecting the Hybrid system. ToMoCo’s Hybrid drivetrains are just not good, they are truly light years ahead of any other automaker.
So while the equivalent F-150 makes you feel every drivetrain shuffle, the Tundra just feels like a regular ‘ole’ truck, in other words it feels completely normal. Which is what consumers want. They want a sense of normality with their vehicles and to get in and just drive the damn thing. That’s what the Tundra does best…you can just get in drive.