The 2022 Toyota Tundra 1794 Edition was finally in my driveway. I’ve previously had a quick look of the Tundra at a journalist event, but having it for a week helped me see what I liked and disliked about it.

To start, the Smoked Mesquite made me love the color brown. The metallic finish helped it shine in the sunlight, but darkens the color in the shade. With this being the 1794 Edition, that meant that the front grille would get the chrome treatment. I personally prefer the design and finish of the TRD Pro model. The 20” wheels machined-finish alloy wheels added to the shiny presence of the 1794. My personal preference also goes to the TRD Pro’s 18” BBS wheels that offer better off-road performance.

Getting inside the Toyota Tundra, the Saddle Brown interior gives it a great Texas feel. The walnut wood-grain trim adds to the Texas feel and had a premium feel to it. One of the biggest improvements of the new Tundra was the massive infotainment system upgrade. A larger screen was finally added to the Tundra, along with the wireless Apple CarPlay system. It still needs a slight improvement on the camera’s sharpness to take advantage of the display’s pixels.

Under the hood we have a very polarizing 3.5L twin turbo V6 hybrid. Gone is a V8 option for Toyota’s flagship truck. Even though the new V6 offers more power and better fuel economy, many are somehow still wanting the previous V8 with less power and worse fuel economy. I’ve driven the Sequoia TRD Pro with the 5.7L V8 and remember describing it as a hollow engine. What I meant by that was on hard acceleration, the engine roared but there was no movement other than the gas needle towards empty. The new V6 offered snappier throttle response at any RPM range due to its hybrid assist before the turbos can fully spin.

After the week was over, I could finally give a better judgement on the new 2022 Toyota Tundra. I personally feel like this truck would’ve been a great contender about 3-5 years ago. The other brands have focused so much on improving their trucks, that they’ve set the bar significantly higher. I’m not saying this is a bad truck, because there are still some great things about it, but personally, I’ll be shopping elsewhere.