2023 Tundra: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

As the owner of a new 2023 Tundra in the middle of a build-out, I have some general observations prospective buyers might find helpful. I purchased a SR5 TRD Off-Road with the 3" TRD lift, 35" 10-ply BFGs, steel running boards, and a number of small aesthetics. No leather, sunroof or navigation system, just performance.

I am a 40-year 4x4 owner with 9 trucks behind me: Cherokee, Wrangler, F150, F250, Trooper, 4-Runner, Tacoma, 4-Runner, and FJ. I have been driving Toyota's for over 30 years. I live in Maine and spend a lot of time in the backcountry, so truck performance and convenience is very important to me.

In general, after years of being lukewarm to Tundra's, I am very pleased with the new Gen-3 model. The 3.4L Twin-Turbo V6 is more than adequate, and gets roughly the same mileage as my FJ, and maybe a bit better. The front seating, console, dash, etc., are nice and a real improvement. The composite bed is a game-changer and long overdue.

While the TRD lift kit is well thought out, solid and stable, there is a notable problem with regard to the TRD skid plate - it does not fit. After leaving it off and me calling them on it, my dealer cut away the front corners and wedged it between the sway bar and rest of the front end. This is not a great solution. They need to come up with a new skid plate, and start warning people what they are up against. To be honest, if not for the factory lift, I would not have bought a Tundra as even the Pro is a bit low for my use, and I'm not one to go 3rd-party lift on a brand new vehicle.

The rear seat is poorly designed. Rather than the bottom folding forward, it folds rearward and against the back to gain access to the under-seat storage. This makes it a bit awkward to access the storage. Worse is that when you fold the back down to make room for gear or a dog, it lays at a roughly 45-degree angle making it virtually useless. Unable to disassemble the seat to ditch the bottom, you will be forced to either buy a seat-delete or make one. Again, I see this as a gross oversight...

On the minor but irritating end end of things, leaving out front tow hooks is lazy, cheap and nonsensical. I didn't notice it until I started crawling around underneath to see what else could be done to address the skid plate until I can find one that fits. I now have to go through the process of finding a good aftermarket alternative that is compatible with the lift kit and cutaway skid plate. Truthfully, I'm stunned that this got past the design team.

I have a Leer cap with screened sliding side windows, frameless rear door, headliner, and rack tracks on order. Dust kit and tailgate pad are in. I'll order my racks as soon as someone can tell me the distance between my tracks, which I have been chasing for over a week... I'm having a deck and drawer system by Decked installed with the cap. Tundra rubber floor mats are in. I'll be installing a trimmed-to-fit carpet mat on the bed deck as soon as I have it in so I can get the proper measurements. The idea is to go front to rear and side to side with cut-outs for the 4 corner ammo boxes.

I still haven't decided whether to make or buy a 60% seat delete, but the seat is out and it is never going back in as long as I am driving the vehicle. I pulled my FJ seat bottoms out so the backs would lay flat years ago. It was easy and a big plus.

Toyota should have given the Tacoma design team a quick look at the Gen-3 Tundra before they went to build. I do not think a Tacoma upgrade would have overlooked some of these simple but important issues. I've always said, all Toyota has to do is make a big Tacoma and they might finally crack the top-4 full-size truck models...