The Toyota Tundra is coming to Australia – could it be your next tow rig?

With the imminent arrival of Toyota’s full-size “pick-up” Tundra on our fair shores in Australia, our thoughts have turned to whether or not this thing could be used as a tow rig. Our partner mag Unsealed4X4 actually took one for a drive late last year, including a quick tow test, and came away mightily impressed. You can check out Unsealed’s first impressions of it here:

On paper, this thing is built to tow. It’s cut from similar cloth to the RAM, Silverado and Ford F-Trucks. Heavy-duty 4X4s for heavy-duty use. Big frames, big engines, big tow ratings, and big comfort all mashed into different meals cooked from almost the same recipes. However, the Toyota Tundra is a new release in Australia and is largely unproven. Plus, it does not come in a diesel variant. And it doesn’t even have a V8 (gasp!).

Will it handle Aussie conditions?

Okay, okay. It’s hardly all bad. In fact, all of those apparent negatives are actually not bad news at all. Let’s start with the Toyota Tundra’s readiness for the harsh conditions of Australia. Firstly, Tundras have been available over here as private imports for quite a few years now and, by all accounts, have held up well. On top of that, Toyota hasn’t just slapped together a bodgy RHD conversion and called it good. They’ve actually been working side by side with Australian automotive legends Walkinshaw over the past 6 years to develop the vehicle into something that Toyota Japan was happy to sign off on with a full factory-backed warranty. So, while it may be “unproven,” it’s a hell of a jumping-off point and will likely pass muster without breaking a sweat.

Is the petrol-only thing really that bad?

The Australia-Toyota Tundra is built on the TNGA-F platform, the same as the 300 Series Land Cruiser, and they have more than a couple of parts in common. Where the `Cruiser has a diesel, though, the Tundra cops a petrol-only 3.5L V6. It seems like it lacks a couple of cylinders and maybe 1000cc of displacement, right?

Not to worry, this engine is a beast. The twin-turbo i-FORCE MAX powerplant puts down a cracking 326kW and 790Nm to the rear wheels via a 10-speed auto. That’s more than enough to get even the largest of caravans moving without a worry. And that’s stock. Knowing the Australian love for getting more from our engines, it’s not unreasonable to imagine 400+kW and four-figure Newton-metres could be achieved with a few choice upgrades.

Also, just for the record, it doesn’t even use that much more fuel than a modern diesel. While towing at or near capacity, the 6.7L Cummins found in the RAM 2500 uses around 18L/100km, while the significantly smaller Tundra engine will use around 20L/100km. Considering petrol is often the cheaper option, those figures only become better the more you look at them.

What’s the go with the tow-rating?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Toyota Tundra knocks it out of the park here, too – another win for Australia, given how much we love our caravans. It’ll have the largest possible tow capacity you can get without needing to upgrade your car licence to an LT. That’s 4500kg of hauling capacity, which should keep even the heaviest of trailer-owners happy. It’s a full tonne more than the VDJ79 Land Cruiser or any mid-size dual-cab. These things are flat-out built to work hard. We’d also wager that with a GVM kit and a licence upgrade, you could potentially go even higher, but time will tell on that one.

There’s going to be two spec-levels initially. The Limited that’s planned to hit the showrooms next month, and an upmarket premium model, that’s due to land early in 2025. The Limited has 20in rims, LED lights, power seats that are heated and ventilated, 14in touchscreen multimedia unit and a 12-speaker JBL sound system, and integrated trailer brake controller. Lots of luxury, lots of torque, lots of everything you need and a bit more on top. The way it should be.

The $150,000 question

Could the Toyota Tundra be the best factory tow rig in Australia? The answer to that for a lot of people will come down to the price tag, which is rumoured to be just shy of $150K before on-roads. While that’s not what you’d call at the budget end of the scale, you have to acknowledge that you’re getting a lot for the outlay. A Land Cruiser Sahara is similar sort of money and can’t tow anywhere near what the Tundra can. RAM 1500s can get up around that mark (the 2500s are significantly more), as can the more truck-like Iveco Daily. Overall, it’s fairly reasonable when compared to its market contemporaries.

While the Toyota Tundra certainly won’t be for everyone in Australia, it carries a lot of clout as a prospective tow rig. We can’t wait to have one on loan to see if it’ll live up to the hype. We have to say, though, things are looking good.

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