Last week, I was in San Antonio to drive the 2022 Toyota Tundra. I shot a video for Autotrader, which you can watch below. But I wanted to pop it over here to add in some written talking points for those of you not eager to sit through a nearly 15-minute long video. The gist is that Toyota has massively improved its half-ton Tundra in almost every area. The ride is great, the off-road dynamics are improved, the interior is a huge leap forward, and you can now get a hybrid version as well. Where the truck fails a bit, is in the looks department because woof.

Toyota is stuck at the tail end of a design era punctuated by exaggeration. Creases, vents, fender lines, etc are all extra pronounced. This isn’t a Toyota-specific thing either. Take a look at the current Honda Civic Type R. It takes all of this to an extreme, and you can see in the upcoming version that Honda is backing it way down design-wise. And I think that’s a good thing.

But back to the good, and there is plenty of it. Toyota fixed the wonky Crawl Control you experience in the current Tacoma. It sounds like you’re murdering a dot-matrix printer. On the new Tundra, it’s quiet, smooth, and just works really well.

The non-hybrid 3.5-liter i-Force twin-turbo V6 puts out great power. It’s rated at 389 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque. And the hybrid, which squeezes an electric motor in between the TT V6 and the transmission, pumps out 437 hp and 583 lb-ft of torque. Both versions use a ten-speed gearbox, and both versions work rather well.

Out back, Toyota ditched the leaf setup for a real-deal multi-link and the on-ride manners are right on par with the Ram 1500. Both trucks should now be considered best-in-class in this area.

Toyota has done a wonderful job revitalizing the 2022 Tundra. Now I just look forward to the mid-cycle refresh when it fixes some of the exterior styling.