Will the HiLux be overshadowed by its new big brother?

Australia’s love affair with the ute is only growing – even after the demise of locally built load-luggers such as the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon. Dual-cab utes regularly front up as the best-selling types of cars each month, but a growing cohort of manufacturers are beginning to offer even more ‘ute’, with American-built full-size pick-ups.

Ram trucks have graced Australian roads for years, now, in right-hand-drive guise, and newer rivals such as the Chevrolet Silverado and Ford F-150 ensure heavy-hauling transport keeps moving.

They represent the next step up for dual-cab ute buyers, and are particularly sought after by people after the ultimate towing ability you can have on a regular driver’s licence.

Toyota is the latest manufacturer to show interest in offering its own full-size pick-up, and has begun a trial of 300 Toyota Tundras on local roads in a world-first exercise.

It’s the first time anywhere in the world Toyota has taken a vehicle built in one country, shipped it to another, re-engineered it and undertaken final assembly with a local partner, with plans to still sell it as a Toyota model inside its own dealerships.

That local partner is the Walkinshaw Automotive Group (formerly in charge of Holden Special Vehicles), which already handles the remanufacturing of the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado.

Toyota already sells plenty of towing vehicles in our market, but the brand is preparing to offer the Tundra pick-up locally by importing it as a left-hand-drive vehicle, as built in the United States, and then remanufacturing the Tundra to right-hand drive with help from the Walkinshaw Automotive Group.

Toyota’s plan with the Tundra is to lease out its collection of 300 Tundras to customers over the next 12 months, before ultimately deciding on whether the car will be green-lit for general sale out of Toyota dealerships.

Select media outlets were invited to the Australian Automotive Research Centre in Anglesea, Victoria to learn more about the program and evaluate the Toyota Tundra on private roads – both on and off the beaten track.

While there was lots of detail in Toyota’s Tundra presentation – which I’ll get into shortly – there are still many unknowns about the Tundra’s official introduction to Australia. First, the brand was unable to provide a price, or price range, for the car.

Instead, it charges a hand-picked group of roughly 280 customers (20 Tundras reserved for internal testing) $2500 per month on a full-service lease plan that includes scheduled servicing, mechanical repairs, insurance, registration, replacement tyres and roadside assistance.

In return, the customers must supply feedback on how their experience is going. Toyota says the $2500-a-month lease price is subsidised, considering the feedback aspect.

Customers will have the vehicles for the 12-month period before having to give the car back.

We also don’t know exactly when the trial will conclude and Toyota will make its decision on whether the project will be expanded into general sale. However, if it does, the Toyota Tundra will be offered in all dealerships around the country.

As for the car, the Toyota Tundra is initially offered in Australia in a single specification – Tundra Limited with a ‘CrewMax’ body (the longer of two available dual-cab models) and a short 5.5 foot (168cm) tub. The carmaker says there are some individual studies it’s undertaking with other variants in the Tundra line-up, but at the moment the official trial solely focuses on the Tundra Limited.

Toyota Australia’s wish for including this model in our local line-up centres around its towing ability. Whether it’s a horse float, car trailer, or a great big boat – the Tundra can tow up to 4500kg (after being fitted with a load-rated 70mm tow ball).

It stocks inbuilt towing features including an integrated brake controller, plus a specific towing mode that automatically tweaks shift points, throttle response, and even aerodynamics. The Tundra’s front end has a drop-down spoiler that adjusts as soon as you hook up a trailer on the rear end.

The Toyota Tundra’s gross vehicle mass (GVM) is 3536kg and the gross combination mass (GCM) is 7825kg.

Power is supplied by a twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine that provides output to a dual-range four-wheel-drive system. The difference for this powertrain, though, is the fact it’s joined by hybrid assistance. Toyota’s coy to call it a hybrid itself, because the hybrid component focuses on providing ultimate pulling power.

Instead, the brand refers to it as the i-Force Max system, incorporating a 290kW/650Nm petrol motor with a 36kW/250Nm electric motor-generator – and a 6.5Ah nickel metal hydride battery – for combined system outputs of 326kW and 790Nm.

It also means the Tundra moves away from a standstill using electric power, with the engine kicking in at higher speeds. That’s a particularly unique aspect for such a heavy-hauling, large car.

Getting our first look up close and personal, it’s immediately clear that the Tundra looks nothing like what the brand has offered Down Under before. It’s got a wide front fascia with two headlights set at the extreme edges, plus a big front grille to inlet air to feed the twin-turbo engine.

Down the side, the design features boxy wheel guards hiding 20-inch alloy wheels, a high-set window line, while the rear gets ‘TUNDRA’ embossed in the tailgate.

There’s plenty to appreciate inside the cabin as well.

Above all, it’s absolutely cavernous. In the first row you feel as though you’re seated in an entirely different postcode to your passenger and the centre console could almost be used as a desk.

There’s a big, lazy seat for front-row occupants to get comfy in, and although there’s little in the way of side support, it at least makes the Tundra an easy truck to slide in and out of. The synthetic leather seats offer both heating and ventilation, while other amenities include dual-zone climate control, wireless phone charging, a full-width powered rear window, five USB ports, 12-speaker JBL audio system, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

On the latter, the gigantic 14-inch display uses similar infotainment software to what you’ll find in other Toyota models like the Corolla Cross. It runs a clear picture for the surround-view cameras, while smartphone mirroring displays boldly on the big screen.

Completing the tech array is a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. A slew of safety equipment is included, such as autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-centring, lane-departure alert, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitor, 360-degree camera, and all-round parking sensors. The car itself has eight airbags and two ISOFIX points in the second row.

However, Toyota has said that it does not intend to get the car safety-tested by ANCAP.

Aiding practicality is a slew of storage options at the driver’s disposal – huge door pockets, trays all around the gear selector, a deep glovebox, an even deeper centre console bin, and four cupholders.

Materials used inside the cabin are high quality and feel particularly hard-wearing. What’s better, there is no sense that the quality has suffered in the changeover from left- to right-hand drive.

Walkinshaw’s conversion is done to a high standard and it feels like a complete factory build. There’s only a slight hint of wind noise heard from the big mirrors at 100km/h on the move, which felt slightly out of character for Toyota – but otherwise there are no obvious ways to tell it’s a converted vehicle.

Thanks to the new-generation Toyota Tundra sharing its TNGA-F underpinnings with the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series and Lexus LX, the conversion process utilises the steering rack, firewall, wiring harness, pedals, heating and ventilation systems (including the blower motor), and carpeting and trims from the LandCruiser or LX.

Moving to the second row, the amount of space on offer is similarly gargantuan. I sat alongside two other journalists and there was clear air between us, while leg room is no problem either. My head just touched the roof while in the middle seat, but it’s otherwise an incredibly comfortable second row to spend time.

The materials used in the second row aren’t quite as soft-touch as those found in the front but build quality remains high.

Drive time in the Toyota Tundra was a limited first impression held at the same proving ground in which it was first tested for local use.

First up was tow testing with a 3500kg trailer (the upper limit for many of the dual-cab utes you’ll see on the roads today) and a 4500kg trailer. I found it interesting that even with such a heavy load on the back, the Tundra still pulls away from a standstill silently. At about 50km/h the petrol motor fires up to take over, but the seamless change between the two power systems was nearly imperceptible.

Our testing with the trailers incorporated the high-speed bowl and makeshift country road sections. Obviously it feels like you’ve got a huge weight on the back, when towing either 3500kg or 4500kg, but the Tundra performs strongly in terms of getting up to speed and handles sustained motorway speeds remarkably well.

It even sounded pretty meaty under heavy throttle load – Toyota pipes accentuated aural feedback inside the cabin that sounds awesome. On-the-move consumption fluctuated between 15.0–22.0 litres per 100 kilometres between towing and while unshackled, though this first look was hardly indicative of what consumption will be like during normal road usage.

The 10-speed transmission can detect when there’s a trailer hooked up and will change its character whether the car is in Eco, Normal or Sport modes. Overall, it’s slick to change gears and reacts quickly to changing throttle inputs.

The Tundra holds steady within Australian-sized lane markings despite its size, and it’s a surprisingly easy car to see out of – even when there’s a trailer attached. As well, there’s good adjustability of the steering wheel to get a nice perch over the big bonnet. I just wished the steering wheel went slightly higher for taller adults like my 194cm height.

Ride control is a worthy call-out over larger road impacts. The Tundra features double-wishbone front suspension and a multi-link, coil-sprung rear end. It basically pummels through road joins, surface changes, and mounds like there’s nothing there.

Its suspension does jiggle, to an extent, when on imperfect highways, but it’s still a large car that’s well insulated from sub-par roads. Again, the levels of noise and vibration are impressively subdued for a car that’s been through a remanufacturing process.

When threading the Tundra through a series of hilly turns, its steering weight is almost unnervingly light. It makes it easy to place on the road, but doesn’t do much for feel or feedback for whatever’s under the car surface-wise.

There was no chance to give the Tundra a proper off-road test, but it handled gravel roads brilliantly. It feels surefooted over uneven surfaces, and its stability-control systems keep the car in check over tricky, loose gravel.

The Tundra comes fitted with a dual-range four-wheel-drive system with a limited-slip rear differential, but in all honesty, this car is not intended for Australian off-roading on narrow fire trails. It’s a purpose-built towing machine in which it performed extremely well, at least for our initial drive.

All signs so far point towards a polished execution of a remanufactured Toyota Tundra. We’ll keep you updated with everything Toyota gives us following its trial period on Australian roads, but for the time being we think it’s well worth introducing this model to Australia.