2023 Toyota Tundra Reviews, Pricing & Specs

When you look at a modern truck, chances are the first thought that will come to mind is something like, “holy cow, this thing is huge.” That’s the case with the 2023 Toyota Tundra. In particular, the Tundra sports a massive grille, outlined by an equally impressive grille surround.

Toyota has employed quite a few interlocking design elements on the Tundra. From the grille surround to the headlights to the taillights, these features look like they’re meant to fit together—and they do. Overall, the effect is purposeful and solid. This truck doesn’t look like it’s going to fall apart.

It’s not all brute force, either. Slim, high-mounted headlights help frame the Tundra’s face, and a character line down the side profile gives it some visual length, not that it needs any help there. At the rear, Toyota goes with a three-dimensional stamped design.

In Canada, you can buy a 2023 Tundra in a whopping ten different trim levels: SR, SR5, TRD Sport, TRD Off-road, Limited, Limited TRD Off-road, Platinum, 1794 Edition, TRD Pro, and the luxurious Capstone. When outfitted with TRD Pro guise, the grille gains a set of clearance lamps and a skid plate, and “TOYOTA” is stamped front and centre.

We gave a Tundra TRD Pro a test drive, painted Solar Octane (orange, to us). A black interior is the only choice when you paint a Tundra this colour, but Ice Cap (white), Black, and Gray Tundras can be optioned with red Softex leather upholstery.

The interior of any Tundra will boast big, expansive seats and plenty of room. Buy a trim level from Limited and up, and you’ll also find a massive 14-inch touchscreen dominating the dashboard. Although the exterior may look a bit polarizing, what with its big grille, funny mustache, and impossibly long dimensions, the interior gives us everything we want in a truck: lots of space and—just as important—lots of comfort.

By 2021, the second-generation Toyota Tundra had become a dinosaur. Its 4.6-litre V8 had been discontinued, leaving only a 5.7-litre V8 in its place. The good: that 5.7-litre V8 made an exceptionally throaty 391 horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque, and it had developed a terrific reputation for bullet-proof reliability. The bad: it delivered an estimated fuel economy of 17.7 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving, 13.6 on the highway, and 15.9 combined with rear-wheel drive (RWD). More helpful four-wheel-drive (4WD) models were even higher at 18.0 L/100 km city, 14.2 highway, 16.3 combined.

So, when engineering a new Tundra, improving efficiency was likely at the top of Toyota’s to-do list. The result is a 2023 Tundra with two engine choices, both featuring not eight, but six cylinders.

A 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine comes standard, producing power specs of 389 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque. For shoppers looking for more power, Toyota also offers the Tundra Hybrid with a version of this turbocharged powerplant, which makes an astounding 437 hp and 583 lb-ft. The hybrid engine, known as the i-FORCE MAX, is available on the Limited, TRD Off-road, TRD Pro, Platinum, and 1794 Edition trims, and it comes standard only on the Capstone trim.

A 10-speed automatic transmission manages the Tundra’s impressive power with ease. The throttle is easy to modulate, and we never had any issue hunting for a little more grunt, whether driving on the highway or playing on off-road trails. Engine performance is smooth and consistent. There’s no sudden drop or surge in power, despite the twin turbos. Toyota does add a bit of extra engine noise via the optional JBL sound system to make it sound more like a V8, but not enough to annoy us.

Toyota has replaced the old Tundra’s leaf-spring rear suspension with a multi-link suspension that makes noticeable improvements. There’s no more jouncing and bouncing about on broken pavement or over roots and rocks; the 2023 Tundra remains significantly more composed over all types of terrain.

Maximum towing capacity measures 5,045 kilograms (11,122 pounds), and due to lighter materials used in the bed’s construction, the Tundra’s payload capacity increases to 880 kilograms (1,940 pounds). Those towing figures are on par with the Tundra’s primary competition. However, the payload still falls short of the absolute max you’ll be able to eke out of a properly equipped Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Ford F-150, or Ram 1500.

The TRD Pro trim stands apart from the rest of the Tundra lineup courtesy of its genuine off-road chops. A 28-millimetre lift, 2.5-inch Fox shocks, BBS 18-inch alloy wheels, and 33-inch tires help the TRD Pro cruise over obstacles that would upset a lower-tier pickup. Further, Toyota’s multi-terrain system, which controls wheel spin on various terrain types, combined with the Tundra TRD Pro’s locking rear differential, and crawl control all partner to give the driver supreme confidence over technical terrain. Downhill assist control rounds out the suite of off-road tech, giving drivers a cruise-control-style feature designed for the trail.

The TRD Pro’s biggest hurdle off-road is its size. With a 15.2-metre turning circle, and measuring 2,032 millimetres wide and 5,932 millimetres long, this is a big truck. A big truck. The multi-terrain monitor—essentially a set of camera views designed to show what is in the truck’s immediate vicinity—helps a lot, but some trails are just going to prove too small for the Tundra. That said, if you have a trail big enough, the TRD Pro will make you feel invincible.

Full-size pickup trucks, above all other types of vehicles, need to be practical and thoughtful in their design. Most shoppers would enjoy a little extra horsepower or torque in their compact sedan, but we’d wager that few are likely to rank their choices based on engine output. Trucks are different: they’re workspaces for many buyers, so a cramped or frustrating interior can strike a particular truck off a shopper’s list.

Toyota has blended forward-looking technology with simple interface controls to keep the Tundra easy to understand and operate, even as it moves into the twenty-first century. Below the touchscreen, you’ll find big physical controls for volume, climate control, seat heaters, and in the TRD Pro, driving-related functions like the locking differential and traction control.

Unlike the Ram 1500, which employs an electric rotary shifter, the Tundra has a big, meaty lever sticking out of the centre console. To the right of the shifter, big cupholders sit side by side. Ahead of those cupholders, you’ll find a large space for your phone. A wireless charging pad (standard on the Limited trim level and above) located in that space is easily big enough for even max-sized smartphones, and we love that it’s angled upward to give you an easy view of the screen. Although we shouldn’t use phones while driving, being able to quickly glance at a notification without taking your hands off the wheel can eliminate a lot of distractions.

Note that heated front seats and a heated steering wheel aren’t available on rear-wheel drive (RWD) models. The heated seats become standard with the four-wheel drive (4WD) drivetrain, while adding a heated steering wheel onto the base double-cab SR 4WD requires purchasing a package, which also includes power-adjustable front seats.

The Tundra has a big centre console bin with a clever top-mounted sliding door. Getting stuff in and out of the centre bin can be awkward while driving and especially awkward when the front passenger is using it as an armrest; the sliding door lets you add or remove items without having to lift the bin’s entire lid.

You’ll find enough space in the rear seats of the Tundra CrewMax for tall adults and wide adults—and even tall and wide adults. The backseat flips up to reveal more storage, too. Finally, Toyota offers the Tundra with a convenient variety of size specifications. The SR5 trim level comes in a double-cab configuration with either a 1,982 mm (6.5-foot) bed or a 2,469 mm (8.1-foot) long bed. SR5, Limited, Platinum, and 1794 Edition Tundras with the CrewMax body can be equipped with either a 1,677 mm (5.5-foot) or a 1,982 mm (6.5-foot) bed length. Our TRD Pro trim and the Tundra Capstone are available with only the CrewMax body and the short bed.

An 8-inch touchscreen comes standard on the lower trim levels, but the star of the new Tundra’s show is the available 14-inch multimedia screen, which is standard on Limited grade and higher. The 14-inch system runs brand-new software and features crisp graphics and fast response times. Compared with pre-2022 Tundra infotainment, this is a gigantic step forward.

Wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto come standard on all Tundras, although the wireless phone charger is standard on only the Limited trim and above. A 12-speaker audio system is also standard on the Platinum, 1794 Edition, TRD Pro, and Capstone. Lower trims make do with a 9-speaker system when equipped with the CrewMax cab, and a six-speaker stereo in the double-cab.

A 12.3-inch digital instrument panel is another show-stopper. The display is very impressive, with great resolution and brightness. All told, and when compared with older Tundras, the new generation is a technological marvel.

Toyota has a well-earned reputation for making incredibly safe vehicles, in large part because the company packs most of its models full of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). The Tundra has an array of ADAS, but while some Toyota models are now boasting the company’s top-level Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 (TSS 3.0) suite, the 2023 Tundra is still fitted with the older generation of tech, known as Toyota Safety Sense 2.5.

Don’t get us wrong, there’s plenty to like: automatic emergency braking, automatic high beams, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and lane departure warning, and lane-tracing assist all come standard. Every Tundra also gets a sway warning system, something that’s particularly helpful if you spend a lot of time towing.

Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert are also available, but they’re not standard across the trim lineup. Given the truck’s size, we’d like to see those features available on all Tundras.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not rated the Toyota Tundra, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded CrewMax models a Top Safety Pick+ in 2023.

The Tundra starts in Canada at a relatively high MSRP: $47,050 for an SR trim with a 6.5-foot bed, not including a $1,930 delivery charge. However, keep in mind that even the base trim still receives an engine with impressive output, not to mention the engineering improvements that grace every Tundra.

At the other end is the Capstone trim, starting at $86,190. This is intended to be Toyota’s luxury truck, so don’t be surprised by its luxury price tag.

The TRD Pro trim level isn’t cheap, either, but it fills something of a no man’s land in the performance truck segment. At $82,620, it’s significantly more than a Ford F-150 Tremor (starting at $73,995), but it’s less than a Silverado ZR2 (starting at $87,503). It doesn’t offer nearly the speed performance of a Ford F-150 Raptor or the Ram 1500 TRX, but it doesn’t cost nearly as much, either. Mercifully, the TRD Pro comes with few options—only the tow mirrors and our Solar Octane paint cost extra.

Toyota offers a three-year/60,000-kilometre new vehicle warranty on the Tundra, plus a five-year/100,000-kilometre warranty on the powertrain, and the hybrid hardware is covered for eight years/160,000 kilometres and the battery for 10 years/240,000 kilometres.

At the low end, the Tundra provides a ton of capability for relatively short money. At the high end, you get either a luxury pickup or an off-road beast for competitive cash. Either way, it’s hard to go wrong with the 2023 Tundra.

Note: Images show a US model.