2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in Lunar Rock

Quick Spin, Consumer Guide

2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro CrewMax

Class: Large Pickup

Miles Driven: 351

Fuel Used: 27.4 gallons

CG Report Card
Room and ComfortA-
Power and PerformanceB+
Fit and FinishB-
Fuel EconomyD
ValueB-
Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus other vehicles in the same class. Value grade is for specific trim level evaluated, and may not reflect Consumer Guide's impressions of the entire model lineup.
Big & Tall Comfort
Big GuyA
Tall GuyA
Big & Tall comfort ratings are for front seats only. "Big" rating based on male tester weighing approximately 350 pounds, "Tall" rating based on 6'6"-tall male tester.
Drivetrain
Engine Specs381-hp 5.7L
Engine TypeV8
Transmission 6-speed automatic
Drive Wheels4WD

Real-world fuel economy: 12.8 mpg

Driving mix: 55% city, 45% highway

EPA-estimated fuel economy: 13/17/14 (city, highway, combined)

Fuel type: Regular gasoline

Base price: $53,050 (not including $1395 destination charge)

Options on test car: Spray-on bedliner ($579)

Price as tested: $55,224

 

Quick Hits

The great: Build quality; cavernous cabin provides ample passenger room and storage space

The good: Smooth power delivery; simple, straightforward controls; distinctive TRD Pro styling touches

The not so good: “Trucky” ride quality; lousy fuel economy, even for the class; lacks most of the high-tech available features of domestic-brand rivals

More Tundra price and availability information

 

CG Says:

If you had to guess, would you say Lunar Rock is:

  1. Impossible to hear in the airless void of space.
  2. A Toyota paint color.
  3. All of the above.
Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
The TRD Pro sits at the top of the Tundra model lineup, alongside the ritzy Platinum and 1794 trim levels. Debossed “TRD PRO” lettering in the bed sides and an extra-burbly TRD dual-exhaust system are among the standard features.

Of course, the correct answer is “3.” As for the paint, you can find it on the Tundra TRD Pro, the most-off-road-ready large pickup currently in Toyota showrooms. The almost-pastel grayish green replaces Army Green as a TRD Pro color choice—and that’s about the biggest change (aside from a little boost in price) that’s been made to the 2021 model.

Test Drive: 2021 Ford F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid

Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
The Tundra’s dashboard layout is really showing its age compared to the newer designs of the rest of the large pickup category, but the controls are simple and straightforward, and the cabin’s build quality is high.

The Tundra went Pro in 2014, sat out the 2018 season, then returned rejuvenated to the lineup for ’19. Its key external features include a raised suspension with specially tuned Fox shock absorbers with remote fluid reservoirs for the rear units, TRD dual exhaust and front skid plate, 18-inch BBS forged-aluminum black-finish wheels, LED fog lights, blacked-out Toyota-label grille, and “TRD PRO” debossing on the bed sides. The interior contains leather-trimmed front bucket seats with TRD Pro identification sewn into the backs and red contrast stitching.

Both of the Tundra’s 4-door cab styles are available for the TRD Pro: The roomier CrewMax with 5.5-foot-long cargo bed and the Double Cab that trades some rear-seat space for a 6.5-foot bed. Consumer Guide tested a CrewMax that starts at $54,645 with delivery. (The Double Cab sells for $4275 less.) Only the addition of a spray-on bedliner pushed the total to $55,224.

Test Drive: 2021 Ram 1500 TRX

2021 Toyota Tundra TRD
There’s ample front-seat space in any Tundra, and the CrewMax extra-long crew-cab body style offers excellent rear legroom. TRD Pros get leather upholstery with red contrast stitching and embroidered TRD Pro logos on the front seats.

CrewMax passenger room is abundant in both rows, and the back seat easily hosts three adults. Step-in is fairly high, and without running boards or step rails that might interfere with operation in rough terrain, shorter passengers may find it a bit of work getting in and out. The seats are long-drive comfortable—and about the plushest things within considering that soft-surface areas in the cabin are limited to part of the tops of the doors, armrests, and the console-box lid. Interior storage is king-sized and well distributed throughout. Cushions of the 60/40-split rear seat flip up for extensive storage space on the floor. Operation of the standard premium audio system through the 8-inch touchscreen is uncomplicated. (Satellite radio, navigation, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone compatibility are included.) The dual-zone climate-control system benefits from two convenient rotary dials for temperature settings.

Test Drive: 2020 Nissan Titan PRO-4X Crew Cab

2021 Toyota Tundra TRD
The Tundra is offered with only one powertrain: a 381-hp “i-Force” 5.7-liter V8 paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. TRD Pros come standard with tough-looking BBS-brand 18-inch forged-aluminum wheels.

As of 2020, Tundra’s powerteam checklist had dwindled to a long-serving 381-horsepower 5.7-liter V8 and 6-speed automatic transmission. No surprise for an off-roader, the TRD Pro driveline is electronically controlled 4-wheel drive, though an inconvenient part-time system. With 401 lb-ft of torque and an aggressive rear axle ratio, the Pro is eager off the line, yet cruises easily on the highway. A tromp of the accelerator is rewarded by prompt kickdown from the transmission and a “’scuse me, coming through” warning blast from the exhaust. Tow rating for the TRD Pro CrewMax is 9200 pounds, but the 170-pound-lighter Double Cab can pull an additional 700. While some distance away from big-pickup ride leader Ram, an unladen Pro still does all right for itself with its leaf-spring rear suspension. Driving it as they did toward the end of an especially snowy stretch with deep accumulations, CG editors found its 4-wheel drive undaunted by the conditions. The only worries were at the gas station where they were seeing 14 or fewer mpg from a vehicle that the EPA rates at 13 mpg in the city, 17 on the highway, and 14 combined.

Quick Spin: 2020 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4 Diesel

2021 Toyota Tundra TRD
The Tundra TRD Pro gets a unique grille insert with TOYOTA lettering, LED headlights with LED accent lights, Rigid Industries LED fog lights in the front bumper, and a TRD front skid plate. Blizzard-like conditions in Chicagoland during our late-February session with our test vehicle meant that we had a pickup bed full of snow for a couple days.

Trailer brake and sway controls are included. Safety-enhancing driving aids—forward collision warning and mitigation with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, automatic high beams, adaptive cruise control—are part of the standard Toyota Safety Sense P system.

By the way, the Tundra TRD Pro also comes in Super White, Magnetic Gray Metallic, or Midnight Black Metallic—in case you’re not over the Moon for Lunar Rock.

Quick Spin: 2020 Ram 1500 Laramie

Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
The special features of the TRD Pro model add to the appeal of the Toyota Tundra, as does Toyota’s reputation for quality and reliability. However, this truck’s basic design is well over a decade old, and it’s really showing its age compared to domestic-brand rivals that offer better fuel economy and scads of innovative, cutting-edge features. An all-new generation of the Toyota Tundra is in the works, and it’s scheduled to debut as a 2022 model.

Listen to the very entertaining Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast

  2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro Gallery

(Click below for enlarged images)

2021 Toyota Tundra TRD

5 Cool Things About the Toyota Tundra

2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro

 

Share this: