Two Scoops of Brawn: 2019 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro Packs a Premium

With half-ton pickup facades now verging on grotesque, we’ll miss the Toyota Tundra’s appealing, chrome-heavy grille when the model inevitably gives way to a fresh generation. Speaking of fresh, the Tundra ain’t it. Bowing for the 2007 model year, the second-generation Tundra soldiers into 2019 relatively unchanged, though there’s improvements at the top of the range.

No, Toyota hasn’t put the model on a weight loss regimen or finessed its powertrain, but it has added off-road capability. And for this newfound ruggedness, you’d better be prepared to cough up more cash.

According to order guides seen by CarsDirect, the Tundra TRD Pro, back and somewhat better than ever after skipping a model year, sets the pricing bar high. Featuring the toughest legs in the Tundra line (read about the TRD Pro upgrades here), the 2019 model reaches $51,275 after destination. That’s $3,870 more than the 2017 model and less than a grand below the 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor SuperCab’s sticker.

Available only in crew cab guise, this TRD Pro approaches the price of a 2018 Tundra 1794 Edition — the gaudy, ultra-lux Tundra variant that didn’t exactly find a home in my heart. That King Ranch rival tips the pricing scales at $51,725 after destination.

Perhaps that double hood scoop is for hoovering up money.

Regardless of the canyon-bombing potential of the off-road Tundra’s new 2.5-inch Fox internal-bypass shocks and other specialized suspension kit, this model’s bones are painfully dated compared to its full-size competition. Ford’s F-150 is still young, and both the Ram and General Motors twins gain new engines and a lighter, restyled body this year. And yet the Tundra seems unwilling to move on. Toyota clearly has better things to invest in.

Automotive News‘ product pipeline says a full revamp won’t occur until the 2022 model year, so there’s still time to get into a strong-but-dated pickup with a great grille and dismal fuel economy. Tundra sales fell 10.1 percent in July, year over year, but the model’s year-to-date tally remains in the black. Over the first seven months of 2018, Tundra sales rose 1.7 percent.

Indeed, U.S. Tundra volume remains extremely consistent, varying only by a few thousand units each year since 2013.

[Images: Toyota]