Designing a full-size truck is harder than it used to be. Once, Americans used trucks mostly as work vehicles. Today, they’re often both a professional tool and the family car.
A successful truck needs to be comfortable on a muddy worksite and in traffic. It needs to haul, tow, and take the family on a road trip. And it must respect your budget in the process.
In short, it needs to do just about everything well.
The 2026 Toyota Tundra is a jack of nearly every trade.
Here are our favorite features that make the Tundra such a well-balanced vehicle.
1. The Best Resale Value in Its Class
The Tundra came in second in our 2026 Best Resale Value Awards. Not second among full-size trucks. Second among all vehicles of every type.
The average Tundra retains 59.9% of its value five years after purchase. The only vehicle worth more in the long run is its stablemate, the midsize Toyota Tacoma.
Choosing a vehicle with high resale value helps protect your finances. When you’re done with it, it will be worth more as a trade-in, making your next truck easier to afford.
2. Comfortable Ride with an Empty Bed
Do you spend more time driving your truck with a loaded bed or an empty one? For many of us, the empty bed is the norm. We need a truck capable of hauling, but we’re not always hauling.
That simple fact puts a lot of stress on truck designers. They tune suspensions so that a truck rides comfortably, whether empty or loaded.
Toyota nailed it. The Tundra has the best empty-bed ride in its class, and can still haul up to 1,940 pounds in its base SR configuration. Its multi-link rear suspension is more versatile than the leaf springs Ford and Chevrolet use on the rear wheels.
3. It’s The Only IIHS Top Safety Pick in its Class
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a car safety testing agency funded by insurance companies. It does crash tests like the federal government does, but has a reputation within the automotive industry as a tougher grader.
The Toyota Tundra is the only non-electric full-size truck to win its Top Safety Pick award. The Tesla Cybertruck won the even more exclusive Top Safety Pick+. But, if you’re shopping for a gas- or hybrid-powered truck, the Tundra is the only one with the award.
Read More on the 2026 Toyota Tundra
Read our full review of the Toyota Tundra, or see Tundra models for sale near you.
