10 Biggest News Stories of the Week: Toyota Tundra Crosses Corolla Cross

Babies who were born around the last time the Toyota Tundra got a full redesign are now getting their driver’s licenses, but that doesn’t mean the automaker is catering to the youth market by loading it up with all the latest technological bells and whistles, nor is it following the latest fad of making pickup trucks posher than your living room. Instead — as Cars.com reviewer Kelsey Mays indicates in his comprehensive critique of the all-new-for-2022 Tundra that tops this week’s countdown of our most popular articles — Toyota is playing to its truck-buying base by focusing improvements on meat-and-potatoes pickup stuff.

Related: 10 Biggest News Stories of the Month: 2022 Hyundai Tucson Can’t Contend With Car Seat Kudos

The new Tundra’s ginormous, front-end-dominating grille is one of the few areas where Toyota really colored outside the lines. Otherwise, the half-ton truck’s redesign resists the temptation to follow rival manufacturers’ attempts to dazzle would-be buyers with trick tailgates, autonomous driving capabilities, newfangled bed features and herculean hauling boasts.

“But the Tundra is a strong choice for the heart of the half-ton market: crew-cab shoppers who want a truck in the $40,000 to $50,000 range,” Mays concludes. “The effort here is clear, with few moon shots but many concrete gains. I’m not sure the one emphasis precluded the other, but there’s only so much investment a redesign can get. For most truck shoppers, I suspect the Tundra got plenty.”

“Plenty,” in this case, includes a new turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 (replacing the outgoing Tundra’s 5.7-liter V-8) making 389 horsepower and 479 pounds-feet of torque. The hybrid powertrain, meanwhile, adds electric motor boost good for 437 hp and 583 pounds-feet. The whooshing, lag-free acceleration to highway speeds and beyond will have you saying, “I could’ve had a V-8 … but who cares?” even versus the best efforts from Ford and Ram rivals in both performance and fuel economy.

For Mays’ full take on the 2022 Toyota Tundra, follow the link below to our No. 1 article of the week.

Running a respectably tight second on this week’s countdown is our rapid-fire roundup of attributes of the all-new-for-2022 Toyota Corolla Cross we’re cool with — as well as those with which we’re cross. Earning our praise were the subcompact SUV’s subcompact starting price of just over $23,000, its size, amenable yet unfussy cabin, space-over-style cargo accommodation, just-right ride and handling, and the inclusion of Toyota’s well-equipped Safety Sense 2.0 bundle of crash-prevention tech and driver-assist features. Eliciting some side-eye from our reviewers were the Corolla Cross’ pokiness both from a stop and during passing, some disappointing cabin cheap-outs, multimedia system shortcomings and that it brings all the excitement of a new dishwasher.

Follow the link below to our No. 2 news story of the week for the full details on our delights and dislikes.

Beyond that, we’ve got headlines on the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Lincoln Navigator, Ford Expedition, Lexus LX, Ford Bronco and Land Rover Defender and much more, so don’t stop reading till the digits double. Here are the top 10 news stories Cars.com readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:

1. 2022 Toyota Tundra Review: Better Where It Counts

2. Is the 2022 Toyota Corolla Cross a Good SUV? Here Are 6 Things We Like and 4 We Don’t

3. Honda CR-V: Which Should You Buy, 2021 or 2022?

4. What’s the Best New-Car Deal for October 2021?

5. 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT & Performance Edition Review: Quicker, Pricier, Just as Bouncy

6. Lincoln Navigator Vs. Ford Expedition: Is the Luxury Badge Worth It?

7. 2022 Lexus LX 600 Brings Lavish Accommodations for Rough Terrain

8. The Ford Bronco Raptor Is Coming; Here’s What We Want

9. 2021 Land Rover Defender Review: Tough Luxe

10. Mazda Gives Americans What They Want: 3 More SUVs by 2023

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.