Toyota has announced it has delivered the first Toyota Tundras to customers which will be used for evaluation purposes.
Called the ‘Tundra Insider Program’, the initiative aims to get real-world feedback from 300 motorists across Australia to ensure that “the Tundra is perfectly suited to the demands of Australian customers”.
Around 280 of those will be distributed to customers while the remaining 20 will be retained for Toyota internally, who will carry out testing of their own. All Tundras manufactured in this batch will consist of the Limited grade.
This is the new Toyota Tundra Limited
Chosen customers will need to report back to Toyota frequently about their time with the vehicle. The trial will last for at least 12 months, with the possibility of being extended.
The testing process is to ensure the quality of the converted right-hook Toyota models before it’s officially confirmed to go on sale in Australia, likely at some point in 2025.
The Toyota Tundra is being converted to right-hand drive in Australia by the Walkinshaw Automotive Group, based in Melbourne, with around 50 vehicles per month rolling off the production line at present.
Toyota has begun an evaluation process with Australian customers
All evaluation deliveries are set to be completed by April 2024. Selected trial customers will be on a full-service lease with a single monthly payment of $2500 which includes servicing, replacement tyres and roadside assistance.
Exact pricing and specification of the Tundra for Australia is yet to be determined.
Australia’s Toyota Tundra: everything you need to know
The Tundra is powered by a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged I-Force Max hybrid V6 engine
Powered by a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged I-Force Max hybrid petrol V6 engine, the Tundra produces total system outputs of 326kW of power and 790Nm of torque.
The Tundra is able to pull up to 4500kg – 1000kg more than the current Toyota Hilux. The Tundra’s payload is estimated to be 758kg, while the GVM for the model is 3536kg and the GCM 7825kg.
While the specification may change for final production vehicles, currently the list of standard features include a 14.0-inch centre touchscreen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, wired Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay, and a 12-speaker JBL sound system.
A look inside the new Toyota Tundra Limited
The chosen body style consists of the more spacious Crew Cab with the 5.5 foot bed option, internally the Tundra Limited features leather seats with heating and cooling in the front row.
Toyota’s Safety Sense is standard and features autonomous emergency braking and pre-collision safety system with day and night pedestrian and daytime cyclist detection.
Lane departure alert, lane trace assist, emergency steering assist and auto high beam are also standard.
Chasing Cars recently took part in a first drive of the right-hand-drive converted Toyota Tundra models and will publish our impressions in full on January 18th.