More tease..
Looks good. Give me a full electric version though please!
I want PHEV. 30-50kms of electric-only range for the daily grind, with a nice powerful gas motor that allows you to go on long road trips pulling a camper without worrying about electric range.
So with Toyota hybrids, if the vehicle has AWD the electric motors are usually powering the rear. With this being a truck and RWD format, I wonder if it'll be FWD motors? So would you be okay if your truck was FWD while it is running on electric alone, and then RWD/AWD when the gas engine is engaged?
SO, we're making some assumptions here about how Toyota is going to implement their hybrid system on their heavier duty, Body-On-Frame vehicles. Let's assume that you're right, and the new Tundra hybrid will go with gas-powered rear wheels, and electric fronts (I doubt it, but let's go with it for now). For a daily grind, yeah I'd be okay with electrically driven FWD wheels.
I seriously doubt they're going to go that direction, though. Just because that's what they do for their lighter vehicles (Rav4, Highlander, Prius etc) doesn't mean the same will apply to their trucks. Given that Toyota makes a big deal of the capability and off-road aspirations of their trucks, there is a case to be made for the front wheels having a mechanical connection to the rear wheels through the transfer case. I think they'll put a big old electric motor between the transmission and the transfer case. This is similar to what JEEP does with the 4xE, except in the Wrangler's case, the electric motor is built INTO the transmission. The 4x4 system functions exactly as it does on a conventional gas-powered wrangler, BUT, you have many kms of electric only range (including in 4x4 lo-range with locked diffs).