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The 2022 Toyota Tundra pickup truck is an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick Plus award winner this year. In fact, it is the only truck to win the TSP+ award in 2022 so far. What did Toyota get right on this pickup truck to improve so much?

The 2022 Toyota Tundra is an IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus winner

The 2022 Toyota Tundra gets the IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus Award
The 2022 Toyota Tundra pickup truck | Toyota

It’s all good news for the 2022 Toyota Tundra today. The IIHS noted the popular pickup truck received the Top Safety Pick Plus award thanks to better headlights and crash test performance.

To qualify, vehicles must earn a “good” rating on all six crashworthiness tests. The first tests are the small overlap front: driver-side, small overlap front: passenger-side. Followed by the moderate overlap front, side: original test, roof strength, and head restraints/seat tests. The 2022 Toyota Tundra improved in the areas of the small overlap front crash tests and headlights.

At the time of publication, the Tundra is the only large pickup truck to receive the Top Safety Pick Plus award for 2022. The 2022 Ford F-150 and 2022 Ram 1500 received Top Safety Pick awards, and the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz received the TSP award for small pickup trucks.

Improved headlights on the 2022 Toyota Tundra helped the score

The 2022 Toyota Tundra received two different scores, depending on the headlights. The Limited trim equipped with Premium package, Platinum trim, 1794 trim, TD Pro trim, and the Capstone trim are all equipped with better LED projector headlights.

During testing, the IIHS said visibility was good on a straightaway using the high beams. Visibility on curves also received high marks, but Toyota could improve the headlights on the sharp left turn. These low beams provided a bit of glare but didn’t impact the score.

For the high beams, visibility was good on the straightaway and the gradual curve. The 2022 Toyota Tundra high beams also help compensate for the low beams when needed. Overall, these changes make driving easier and make everyone safer on the roads.

The Tundra trims that didn’t qualify for the higher award

The LED reflector headlights received a lesser acceptable score for the SR trim, SR5 trim, and Limited trim. However, the Tundra received superior ratings in the vehicle-to-vehicle and daylight vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations. In the nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian test, it earned the advanced rating.

Either way, the 2022 Toyota Tundra earning the Top Safety Pick Plus award is a significant improvement over last year. It received marginal and poor ratings in both the driver- and passenger-side small overlap tests. The Toyota truck also only received a marginal score for the headlights.

Either way, this is excellent news for the Toyota Tundra. Safety awards from the IIHS and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are not very common for trucks. Testing continues throughout the year, which means more large and small trucks will be able to qualify.

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Amanda Cline

Amanda Cline is an avid fan of Formula 1 and joined MotorBiscuit in 2021. A Southwest Floridian, she easily and often finds automotive events to attend in the Tampa, Orlando, and Miami areas.
Amanda is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where she earned a Bachelor’s in English Literature and a Master’s in Technical Communication. Combining her editorial and digital media expertise, Amanda served as a content creator for FanSided and now provides our readers with a variety of automotive subject matter like pickup trucks and SUVs, including valuable consumer advice.

Amanda closely follows many F1 drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team. Her all-time favorite author is Shel Silverstein.