The price of off-roading toys is getting serious.
Well, it has been for a while and with virtually every pickup, SUV, and most crossovers now offering off-road intending models the market is crazy crowded.
Toyota’s full-size pickup, the Tundra, like most pickups, has been tailored for off-road use for years. But mostly that was because serious working guys and gals, from farmers to contractors, needed to be able to crawl over mud and ruts to do their jobs.
Yet in today’s market a growing number of buyers fancy themselves Monster truck or Baja racers. They need, or demand, extra horsepower and ground clearance along with the skid plates and superior suspensions needed to climb over boulders while also outperforming sports cars in 0-60 mph acceleration tests. Common names among this segment are Raptor, Tremor, TRX (think T-Rex), etc.
Welcome to off-roading heaven via Toyota’s newest Tundra rock crusher, the Tundra I-Force Max TRD Pro. This is the short-bed so it adds a 5.5 4X4 to the product label. That’s a lot to take in, and the TRD Pro, as we’ll call it, is a LOT, in every way possible.
Let’s start with that off-roading price tag. The TRD Pro starts at $74,660 with delivery and with mostly modest options the tester nearly crushed $80 grand, settling at $79,517. That included a TRD Performance package for $2,999, all the other options were paltry in comparison.
The TRD Performance package does drive home the fact that this bruiser is serious about its off-roading chops. It includes dual air intake boxes to provide better breathing for its fire-breather of an engine, a 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6 with a hybrid system that bumps up horsepower. That translates to 437 horses along with a 583 pound-feet of torque, assuming premium fuel is being incinerated. An efficient 10-speed automatic transmission puts the power to all four wheels.
The package, which also includes exterior badging, also adds a TRD Cat-Back exhaust system that makes Tundra sound like a volcano that swallowed a couple of Harleys. It’s loud enough that you may need to buy all the neighbors muffler-less cycles to defuse a lot of side-eye when you fire up.
FYI, Cat-Back systems extend back from the catalytic converter (get it?) and not only increase noise output but mildly boost horsepower.
Toyota calls this hybrid assisted turbo V6 its I Force Max powerplant, the strongest in its pickup lineup. Here it helps the Tundra pull up to 11,175 pounds of trailer while carrying a payload of 1,600 pounds. Naturally there are all the trailer towing assist functions, plus three drive modes and a variety of off-road settings and ways to optimize pulling and crawling once you’ve entered the desert, mud bog, etc.
Ground clearance is an amazing 10.9 inches, which helps explain why the step-up height to enter TRD Pro is 24 inches. No sissifying running boards here, but manly thick grab handles on both A- and B-pillars. There also are black rock rails ($625 option) just below the door frames, but those are to protect the body when boulder dashing. Don’t try to use them for mounting Tundra, their round shape makes them slippery.
Other protection includes aluminum skid plates under the drivetrain to protect it and other essential mechanicals.
Now if a person actually needs to haul something, maybe dirt bikes, in the tail, well this 5-foot-5 bed is well lined ($224 mat optional) for protection and features a power easy-lift tailgate. Punch a key fob button to lower it and any tiny bit of pressure to lift it will engage the electric motor to pull it back up. Handy!
Amazingly, as rough and tumble as this monster can be for off-road, the tester was well equipped to make the interior ride and daily drive a near-luxury experience. While outside the Tundra was bathed in a new Toyota color, WaveMaker, which I have seen described as blue raspberry cotton candy colored. Perfect, and makes it a sweet sighting in any parking lot awash in metallic gray vehicles.
The tester featured a black leather interior with red stitching on the seats and upper door panels. Those seats are well shaped for long-haul driving and fronts are powered with the driver’s getting two memory settings. Front seats are heated and cooled too, plus a heated steering wheel is standard, the button being on the dash’s lower left.
Black gloss plastic graces the console top while the shift lever there is black leather-wrapped with red stitching. There’s also a centering red leather stripe atop the black leather-wrapped steering wheel. For branding muscle, Toyota also felt it necessary to spell out its brand name in large letters across the passenger-side dash. That’s a bit much!
A giant sunroof and power shade is standard in the TRD Pro, as is a 12-speaker JBL audio system, and wireless phone charger.
The dash’s 14-inch touchscreen works well and wisely Toyota puts most of the climate controls, seat heat buttons etc. below the screen for easy access while driving. But I must say there are a LOT of buttons and toggles to choose from.
This being a CrewMax design the rear doors are full sized and open normally with all that creating a roomy interior for five adults.
That’s good when coupled with the generally quiet nature of Tundra’s interior as no doubt a lot of family travel time will include a bevy of passengers.
Amazing too that beyond the neck-stretching acceleration the Tundra’s ride is fairly compliant on the highway and around town. That’s thanks to a coil spring rear suspension, something making Tundra a bit more composed than its competitors.
The TRD Pro’s lifted suspension and all-terrain tires may somewhat stiffen that coil spring advantage, but still the ride is decent.
Yet the 3-ton truck does feel heavy at every turn. While steering effort is moderate and light enough to be comfortable in town or on the highway, one must stay alert when cornering at highway speeds as the weight does push Tundra a bit.
Parking is a chore, not from steering input effort, but just the size and height of the truck combined with a broad turning radius. Often a second parking maneuver adjustment is needed, especially in tight parking lots, to wedge between the lines.
Safety equipment is primo as expected with Toyota’s Safety Sense 2.5 that includes pre-collision warnings. A multi-terrain monitor is part of the safety system to aid off-roading sight lines and trailering backup aids are standard.
One tiny nit to pick, the continued use of an inside fuel door release and gas cap inside the fuel door. Many makes and models now allow a driver to press the fuel door to spring it open and feature capless fuel systems.
This Tundra is made in San Antonio Texas, so no worries of tariffs with this big ‘un.
Finally, there’s the gas mileage component as gas hovers between $4 and $5 a gallon in Wisconsin. The hybrid system may help it a little, but it mainly seems to help boost power, never a bad thing in a hefty pickup. The EPA rates this model at just 18 mpg city and 20 mpg highway while I got 17.8 mpg in mostly around town driving.
There are other Tundra trims with a twin-turbo V6 making a sufficient 389 horsepower that get somewhat better mileage. Plus, there are Double Cab models with smaller second row doors that lead to reduced rear seat room. Both the Double Cabs and standard Tundra engines are less costly too.
For instance, an entry-level SR Double Cab lists at $43,455 with delivery and go up to $66,575 for the 1794 trim.
The I Force Crew Max models start at $60,655 for the Limited trim and climb beyond the TRD Pro, to the Capstone edition listing at $82,895. It’s loaded!
You know the competition, the Ford F-150, Ram 1500, Chevy Silverado, and GMC’s Sierra.
FAST STATS: 2026 Toyota Tundra I-Force Max TRD Pro 5.5 4X4
Hits: Massive off-road capable pickup with crazy power, decent ride, 5.5-foot bed, roomy and quiet interior. Big info touchscreen and fine digital instrument panel, heated wheel, heated/cooled front seats, wireless phone charger, big sunroof, bed liner. Excellent towing power and acceleration, easy lower/lift power tailgate, good safety systems.
Misses: Heavy and feels it, no running boards, a lot of buttons in the cockpit, still has gas cap, prefers premium fuel and achieves just modest mpg. Poor turning radius, hard to park in tight spots.
Made in: San Antonio, Texas
Engine: 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6 w/hybrid, 437 hp/583 torque
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Weight: 6,095 lbs.
Wheelbase: 145.7 in.
Length: 233.6 in.
Ground clearance: 10.9 in.
Cargo bed: 5.5-foot
Tow: 11,175 lbs.
MPG: 18/20
MPG: 17.8 (tested)
Base Price: $74,660 (includes delivery)
Invoice: $69,217
Major Options:
Wave Maker paint, $695
Bed mat, $224
Ball mount, $89
Spare tire lock, $75
Mini tie down, $45
Wheel locks, $105
Rock Rails, $625
TRD Performance Pkg. (dual air intake boxes, premium fuel sticker, TRD Cat-Back exhaust, TRD performance badge), $2,999
Test vehicle: $79,517
Sources: Toyota, www.kbb.com
