The long-awaited third generation of the Toyota Tundra has finally arrived. Toyota is now manufacturing and selling 2022 Tundras. With actual trucks on the road, we are seeing the first real-world fuel economy, comfort, and reliability scores. The team at TFL Truck bought the first 2022 Tundra from Toyota’s Texas factory and road-tripped it to Colorado. Here’s what the reviewer found.

TFL Truck bought the first 2022 Toyota Tundra off the assembly line

The Toyota fans at TFL Truck have been as excited as anyone about the third-generation Tundra. TFL Truck nabbed the first Toyota Tundra of 2022.

Toyota manufacturers the Tundra at its plant in San Antonio Texas. To land the first truck, TFL managing editor Andre Smirnov had to travel to the Toyota World dealership in Spring, Texas.

TFL Truck reports that the dealer sold the brand new truck with no hassle or markups. The 2022 Toyota Tundra starts at $37,645 But TFL Truck bought a 2022 Tundra Limited CrewMax cab with the TRD Off-Road package. It cost $57,105 total. As soon as Andre bought the Tundra, he began driving back to Colorado.

The 2022 Toyota Tundra fuel economy is at least 18.6 MPG

One of Toyota’s biggest changes to its 2022 Tundra was chucking the old naturally-aspirated V8 in favor of a twin-turbocharged V6. The resulting truck is a hair faster than a Ford Raptor! But many owners of second-generation Tundras are equally excited for the improved fuel economy.

By 2021, the only engine Toyota offered in its Tundra was the 5.7-liter V8. This outdated powerplant gave up both power and efficiency to the similarly sized 5.7-liter HEMI. Toyota also paired this engine with a six-speed automatic that lagged behind every other fullsize truck. The EPA rated the resulting 2WD Tundra at 13 city/17 highway MPG (15 combined) fuel economy. The 4WD version fell to 14 MPG combined.

With such low fuel efficiency numbers, Tundra owners were very excited to hear about a new powertrain. For this reason, Andre filled up his new Tundra in Wichita Falls, Texas. Then he went through 18 gallon of regular, 87 octane gas before calculating his MPG. Much of his trip was high-speed highway driving. According to his calculations, the brand-new Tundra delivered 18.6 MPG. TFL Truck actually thinks Tundra owners will find their own MPG much higher.

The EPA actually rated the 4WD 2022 Tundra at 17 city/22 highway MPG (19 combined). The 2WD version actually achieves 18 city/24 highway MPG (20 combined). TFL Truck pointed out that their Tundra was brand new. The V6 engine needed a few hundred, or thousand miles to “break in” before delivering peak fuel efficiency.

The new 2022 Toyota Tundra proved comfortable for a road trip

Andre found the brand new 2022 Toyota Tundra Limited to be reliable, comfortable, and safe. He had no mechanical issues with the truck. In addition, he found the headlights “fantastic.” He has pointed out that the headlights on his own Ford F-150 are weak. The Tundra, however, had good beams.

In addition, Andre found both the steering and suspension “dialed in.” The truck felt stable and safe at highway speeds. He did find the seat was a bit low and uncomfortable for a guy his size (6’2″). That said, he pointed out that the seat back was very supportive. You can see video of this first 2022 Tundra road trip below.