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Deanne with the new 2022 Toyota Tundra Capstone at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco as we parked to walk across the bridge.

Craig Conover, Daily Herald

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At the Golden Gate Bridge down at sea level as the fog comes in over the mountains and the bridge with the new Toyota Tundra.

Craig Conover, Daily Herald

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Deanne and the 2022 Toyota Tundra at the top of the mountains before we headed down into Reno, Nevada, on our way home on our extended adventure with the Tundra.

Craig Conover, Daily Herald

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Inside the new 2022 Toyota Tundra Capstone.

Courtesy photo

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Inside the new 2022 Toyota Tundra Capstone.

Courtesy photo

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While planning our recent trip to Hawaii, we found our journey home would be easier if we flew from Honolulu into San Francisco and stayed the night, then caught a flight the next day to Provo. Before we booked the flights, however, Craig thought, hey, why not ask our friends at Toyota if it would be possible to get a vehicle in San Francisco, drive it home and add some seat time to what would prove to be a fantastic 10 days?

It never hurts to ask, and it can lead to even great adventures. Our friends at Toyota said yes and offered up a new 2022 Tundra Hybrid in the top trim Capstone for the ride back to Utah. After receiving this news, we decided to stay a day in the Bay Area and make it a two-day trip home on Interstate 80 in the Tundra.

This proved to be a great decision as we had never visited San Francisco. The day came with perfect weather and what we would have to consider the perfect truck with which to explore and get to know the city.

Our first stop was the Golden Gate Bridge, as it seemed logical to begin with such an iconic landmark. Deanne’s phone hooked up almost instantly as she plugged into the Tundra, and it became our navigator for the weekend.

Once the truck knew her phone, it was all in and would hook up with or without the cord. This came in very handy while driving around a place we knew very little about. We were able to navigate through back roads and highways throughout the area.

The new version of the Tundra comes with a V-6 engine, the only choice for the new model year. It packs a punch even with the smaller motor. With 437 horsepower and 583 foot-pounds of torque at 2,400 rpm, it will keep up with any of the competition and pull up to 10,340 pounds.

After over 1,100 miles of driving in the new Tundra, with 800 being highway miles and the remainder traveling up and down the hills of San Francisco and running around Utah, we averaged a very nice 20.8 miles per gallon. We expect this number would change if the truck was towing something or if head winds were involved, but it seemed a great number to us.

After visiting the bridge, we headed for the mountains to see the giant redwood trees at Muir Woods. A short 45-minute ride got us to some beautiful areas and we traveled some very twisty roads. There was a beach not 10 minutes from the trees; it was a double bonus and almost as if we had gone back to Hawaii.

The Tundra handled it all with ease, even with the steep grades and very sharp corners. We got to really test this later in the day in downtown San Francisco as we headed up Telegraph Hill. Being in the new Capstone trim Tundra was more like being in a fancy Lexus. The seats were clad in semi-aniline leather with a beautiful white on the dash and top portion of the seat backs. These were then matched with a black on the bottom and seating surfaces.

Of course, the seats were both heated and cooled up front, which came in very handy on the fall days when we were traveling home and temperatures dipped into the mid-40s each morning. After the many miles we traveled, they proved to be very comfortable!

Deanne took the driver’s seat on day two and drove us from Sacramento to the town of Reno, Nevada, where we would spend our first night on the road. She loved the way the truck handled, especially with all the safety features that come standard with Toyota Safety Sense 2.5.

The adaptive cruise control system and lane keep assist kept the Tundra centered in the lane, making the two-lane freeway driving up over the mountains much easier. It really put her at ease in the large truck, especially when passing the many semis that were also climbing the mountain.

Being in a large truck can be a daunting experience, to say the least, and when you have to pass others on curves in unfamiliar territory, having those aids make all the difference in the drive.

Of course, the other safety features also came in handy, like the blind spot monitor and parking assist sensors that operated in conjunction with the cameras. It made it much easier to park the Tundra, especially in our garage where we needed to get the truck in as far as possible without hitting the wall to close the garage door.

We loved the all-digital dashboard and huge 14-inch landscape infotainment screen. It made the navigation very easy for both of us to see, no matter who was driving. The heads-up display was also an asset on the long drive as it would show the speed limit along the way without us having to pay attention to the signs on the side of the road. It was right in front of us to see.

The Capstone edition of the Tundra is loaded with all kinds of creature comforts that made our journey quite comfortable and engaging and, in fact, much easier to enjoy. We ended up falling in love with the ride and were so thankful to Toyota for giving us the chance to experience a long road trip in the truck.

Base price: $73,550

Destination charge: $1,695

Price as driven: $77,339