Looking to cash in on one of the most profitable product niches in the market right now, Toyota has put together a new south-western themed Tundra trim level it calls the 1794 Edition.
This truck is packed with saddle-brown leather and Toyota’s latest and greatest in infotainment technology, offering pickup buyers a luxury interior in a hard-working package.
Available for just $45,265 (including delivery), this is one of the least expensive luxury pickups on the market, but can it truly compete with Ford, the father of the luxury pickup truck segment? Or Ram, with its latest installment of the Longhorn luxury edition?
Read on to find out.
Before we get to the new luxury interior, the mechanicals must first be addressed. Despite the new level of luxury, the performance level hasn’t diminished at all, especially with the 5.7-liter V8 under the hood.
The Tundra, with its 4.30:1 final drive ratio, feels like one of the torquiest V8 trucks on the road and it pulls with authority. Chassis rigidity and steering feel were updated for 2014 to make the truck more livable and the changes help. The Tundra is now a comfortable highway cruiser, with little steering input needed to keep it tracking straight.
Fuel economy is not up to par on the 2014 Tundra compared to the rest of the industry, but the truck’s capability is unquestionable.
The seats in the Tundra 1794 would be at home in even the most expensive Lexus, offering comfort and style. Wrapped in saddle brown leather, ultra-suede inserts are stitched in for your lower back that feel stiff yet malleable. These seats are not exactly soft, but the support is there in all the right places. To the touch, the ultra-suede feels soft and looks good. All of the materials on the inside of this truck are top-notch.
AutoGuide’s test truck featured some stitching in the door that wasn’t quite straight, a big disappointment in what is otherwise a nice luxury interior. This could be discounted as a one-off issue, but a quick search of the internet will tell you that there is more than one Tundra 1794 that suffers from this issue. The stitching is a nice feature, but not when it stands out like this squiggly line did.
Steering wheels are becoming convoluted with buttons that are needed to control new complex info cluster screens, but Toyota keeps it simple. There is one single button, marked “Disp” to control the four-inch touchscreen fit between the tachometer and speedometer. It keeps things simple, and leaves no chance for the driver to be confused. One push of the button changes the info displayed, and there is only piece of information on the small screen at a time. One button for one screen: a novel idea in today’s high-tech vehicles.
The audio, Bluetooth and other controls on Toyota’s Entune infotainment system are sorted through easily, which makes the navigation problems more troubling. First, the predicted arrival time isn’t accurate. Time and time again, it predicted trips to be longer than they actually were, by up to an hour. The system can also be slow to react and the control markings aren’t always clear. And to add insult to injury, the buttons are quite small and can be hard to read.
While the 1794 features beautiful materials, the attention to detail just doesn’t seem to be quite there when compared to Ford’s King Ranch or Ram’s Longhorn trucks. That said however, it is one of the least expensive luxury trucks, which does make it a little more enticing.
Interested in a Tundra 1794? Click here to check out all Toyota vehicles, or click here to research the 2014 Tundra.