A lot of people have been waiting to hear what Toyota had in store for the 2018 Tundra pickups. Would it be new styling? New powertrains? Would they up the ante and push the envelope with something new?
The answer came at Chicago where the 2018 Toyota Tundra was unveiled with what would best be called a mild refresh of styling front and rear and the adoption of the comprehensive Toyota Safety Sense (TSS-P) as standard equipment across the line.
Styling updates start with a new mesh grille design for some trim grades and a redesigned billet style grille for top end Limited and 1794 Editions. Limited, Platinum and 1794 Editions will get new a LED Headlight and Daytime Running Lights cluster and LED Fog Lights like you see here.
The latter will also be available with the TRD Off-Road Package. The SR and SR5 Tundras will get a slightly revised halogen headlight with black surround and LED Daytime Running Lights. A slightly redesigned rear tail light is added in for good measure.
New for 2018 is the TRD Sport trim you see here, available on two-wheel and four-wheel drive Crew Max and Double Cabs. Unlike the TRD Off-Road package, the Sport concentrates on street driving performance with a new handling suspension with TRD Sport Tuned Bilstein Shocks and TRD front and rear anti-sway bars.
Styling mods include body color mirrors and bumpers front and rear. A hood scoop is added along with a unique mesh grille with body color surround. The aforementioned LED headlamps, daytime running lights and fog lights are also included.
TRD Sport also brings with it special 20-inch wheels with silver accents and most important the bedside graphic that tells the world what you have. It will be available in a short list of colors, Super White, Midnight Black Pearl, Blazing Blue Pearl, Barcelona Red Metallic, and the Magnetic Gray you see here.
Getting back to the new standard TSS-P safety package, standard on all Tundra pickups for 2018 will be a suite of passive and active safety features and driver aids. These include a pre-collision warning and emergency braking system with pedestrian detection.
There’s also lane departure alert, automatic high beam headlamps and radar based cruise control. Obviously these system can be adjusted and when needed turned off when doing things like towing heavy loads when you don’t want your truck doing unexpected things on you.
What hasn’t changed for 2018 is what’s under the hood. Remaining the heart and soul of the 2018 Toyota Tundra is the long proven 5.7-liter V8 with its 381 horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque with its six-speed automatic.
Also still on the spec sheet is the also long standing 310 horsepower 4.6-liter V8 with 301 horsepower, though these are harder to find than you might think out there on dealership lots. At the show, Toyota had nothing to add on any future powertrain options.
In any case, the 2018 Toyota Tundra models begin arriving this fall with pricing to be announced closer to that time.
