As far as my personal preferences go, pickups are probably near the bottom of my list. I gravitate towards things that are lighter, nimbler and sportier. Give me a coupe or convertible any day of the week.  And if I need the space, hand me the keys to a sports sedan, hot hatch, or better yet both. With that in mind, I was still eager to see if this loaded-up 2026 Toyota Tundra Capstone could help me better appreciate the humble workman’s truck.

Humble? Ha!

Although humble this Tundra ain’t. My Capstone tester is the top-tier luxury trim of the ever expanding lineup of the Tundra. It starts at around $57,000 for the base SR model and ends thirteen trims later, with this $96,458 as-tested Capstone — and that doesn’t even take into account sub-trim packages. Clearly there’s a lot of choice here; the Capstone trim is reserved for the site supervisor, not so much the carpenter on site. As such, its four-door Super Crew configuration focuses primarily on interior cabin space at the expense of bed length. It’s only five and a half feet long; the Double Crew configuration on lesser trims comes standard with a 6.5-foot bed, and an eight-footer is optional.

It’s what’s on the inside that counts

So you get lots of space on the inside, and it’s such a well-appointed place to be. Both rows offer loads of passenger space no matter what size and shape you are. Visibility is plenty, the cabin feels airy and open, and even getting into and out of the Tundra is easy thanks to the power running boards and leather-trimmed grab handles.

This tester’s interior is finished in soft, semi-aniline dark gray leather, which is new for 2026. Contrasting orange stitching and red leather accents go well with the textured seats and embedded Capstone logos in the seats and dash. Toyota continues to be a little gun shy with ambient lighting, but there’s a soft white glow that you can see at night, helping the interior feel a little less cave-like at night  There’s also a bit of grey wood trim adding to the luxe feel. All of it feels rather premium and intuitive, with lots of cubbies and pockets for all your knick-knacks, measuring tapes, and receipts.

Chrome all day, every day

Like I said, I’m not really a pickup guy, but man this thing looks good.  I love the imposing, vertical chrome grille finished with a silver satin bar embossed with “Tundra” at the bottom, along with integrated LED fog lights. The headlights look premium and have a nice LED DRL signature when lit. The long hood looks muscular, adorned with Toyota’s iForce Max badging on either side, hinting what’s under the hood.

I also like the 22-inch dark-chrome-and-machine-finished wheels, which along with the prominent Capstone logos on the front doors, really elevate the Tundra’s luxury look. The back end is finished off with giant Tundra lettering embossed on the power tailgate, which along with the power step, gives you easy access to the bed. I do wish it had dual chrome exhaust tips to finish off the look, but we have to settle with a rear side-exit sans the chrome. Overall, the look comes off rather premium, and something that would look more at-home being valet-parked at the mall than it would parked at a muddy worksite.

No replacement for displacement — or is there?

Although Ram is bringing back the V8, the Tundra makes do with Toyota’s iForce Max V6 powertrain. Sacrilege in some circles, I know, but bear with me here. This 3.4-litre V6 has a strong supporting cast, with two turbochargers — the iForce part — and a hybrid assist — the Max part. Combine those elements and you get a robust 437 horsepower and a very healthy 583 lb-ft of torque. For reference, the Hemi is good for 395 ponies and 410 lb-ft of torque — a pittance compared to this Tundra trim. It’s worth noting the Hurricane inline-six out-muscles Toyota’s six-cylinder setup, but the Tundra still has more torque.

Power can be routed to all four via wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission. It all comes together rather nicely, with the hybrid assist and turbos providing oodles of torque throughout, allowing for easy highway passing along with towing capacity just north of 10,000 pounds. It’s an impressive powertrain no doubt, and even does an admirable job of sounding like a V8 with the help of the JBL sound system.

Tech

That 12-speaker JBL sound system does a good job of mimicking some V8 sounds, but when it comes to musicm it’s pretty lackluster. Despite the Capstone trim having double-pane side windows, it sounds muddy and with a poor soundstage overall. Thankfully the 14-inch infotainment display is crisp, responsive, and features wireless Android Auto and Apple Car Play, along with a wireless charger and USB ports.

Toyota’s Safety Sense suite is stuck at version 2.5 in the Tundra, meaning you get basics adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, emergency braking and auto high beams, but not much else. You miss out on features from newer versions like proactive drive assist, map-based navigation, hands-free lane centering, and even road sign recognition. Still, although the Tundra’s setup isn’t exactly cutting-edge, it operates smoothly and without abrupt acceleration or braking.

I don’t get it, but I kind of do

That’s the best way I can describe this decked-out Tundra Capstone. Chances are you’ll never really use the truck bed, because if you did, you’d opt for a more rugged model — although I did transport my racing sim with it. On the other hand, it’s a comfy, easy to drive cruiser with lots of space and a well-appointed interior, with the massage seats being a particular highlight. On one hand, it’s a hybrid; on the other hand, I averaged an eye-watering 16.6 L/100 km, but you do get a truckload of torque — pun intended. On one hand, you aren’t taking this pretty truck to a muddy worksite, but on the other hand, I’m living proof you’ll tackle the harshest of winter conditions without even blinking.

Is that all worth almost $100,000? It very well could be, but if it isn’t there’s still thirteen other trim levels that are likely to tickle your fancy. And even though I won’t be doing so anytime soon, if I ever needed to buy a truck, the 2026 Toyota Tundra Capstone would be the one.