2022 Toyota Tundra Paint Colors, Ranked

We’re going to have to do a little bit of translating as we cycle through this list, because carmakers love to give their paint colors exotic names which don’t always come across clearly. The Lunar White Tundra doesn’t have that problem (it’s, uh, white) but some of its Tundra stablemates do.

In any case, the only saving grace of the Lunar White Tundra is that it’s available on the TRD model. This is basically just a white truck with off-road design touches here and there to prevent it from looking like a fleet vehicle. Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh. Obviously, this is a cool truck, but this is what I was talking about when I said paint colors are boring now. A performance truck? This should be a bright, attention-grabbing color, not plain white with no stripes or accents. Toyota, come on! Think of the Ironman!

When Toyota calls this color Wind Chill Pearl, what am I supposed to imagine? An oyster sitting out in the cold somewhere? This is just white with a blueish pearl tint.

This paint color is optional on high-end Tundra models, Limited and above. This color is trying just a little harder than the flatter white of the TRD, which earns it one slot above bottom on my list. Also, because it has better wheels that don’t wash out in the shadows like the black wheels on the Tundra TRD. Don’t even get me started on wheels...

Oh! Too late. I’m already started. We need to talk about wheel color just as much as paint. What happened to chrome wheels? Where are the bright alloys that so perfectly finish a car’s design and set off its paint color?

I don’t know why dark wheels are the default, especially among truck and SUVs, but we have to brighten things up. The wheel and tire package should be bouncy and ebullient! They should be in harmony with the car’s palette, not obscured in shadow under the fenders. Let me ask you this: Would you pick an all-black pair of Chuck Taylors to go with your most expressive outfit?

Case in point: look upon this Blueprint Tundra and despair. The wheels are dark. The rear windows are tinted. The mirrors are black. The truck’s color is technically blue, but all these black accents darken it, and not really in a good way. The paint hue is flat. It’s almost dead. Just look at the shadow below it.

This Blueprint Tundra almost appears to be floating. It’s a ghost; it’s lifeless.

And yet, here’s a 2023 Tundra SX in Magnetic Gray Metallic, with dark wheels and all the gray-black accents I faulted the last truck for. Fair enough, but this colors seems better to me for a couple of reasons. For one thing, everything on the truck is in harmony.

There’s no ambiguity to the theme. This is a gray truck doing gray truck things. The SX trim is new, but it’s a pretty standard package available only on the Tundra SR5. Thankfully, it’s a metallic finish. It’s got a little something going on. There are flecks in its hue, which is to say, little sparks of life.

I had a hard time ranking the Lunar Rock Tundra. This color is available on all Tundra models except for the base SR. I had a hard time because on the one hand, Lunar Rock reminds me of a strange Toyota color that I first saw on the 2022 Highlander: Cement. What? Why? What’s next? Wet Cement Metallic?

I mean, what was the impetus behind naming a paint color after a stony substance that’s completely uneventful? But getting away from the name, I’m pretty okay with this color itself. It’s kind of friendly, and light. Like a pastel. I bet bright wheels would do the Lunar Rock Tundra some good!

Ah, our old friend Blueprint Tundra, shown here in the upscale 1794 Edition. Look at how different this Blueprint looks. It’s night and day. The chrome accents — from the alloy wheels to the big, bright grill — really wake up this paint color!

This is a refined pickup if I ever saw one. And it’s even available with the i-Force Max Hybrid configuration. I love an understated color as much as the next fanboy, but I wouldn’t balk at this.

Ah, Solar Octane. Yes. Yes. This paint color is a Tundra TRD Pro exclusive. And it’s one of the best finishes I’ve seen on a late-model truck. I would even go as far as saying this paint color is worth it alone, and the TRD Pro’s upgrades are the cherry on top.

I can easily forgive this orange Tundra’s black wheels because everything else about this color is excellent. It’s an assault on my eyes in the best way! I wonder if color-matching the black bumper section just below the grill would make it better or worse. There’s already enough orange, and the other black accents are pretty neat. I’m mainly thinking of its thin black fenders. It’s probably best to leave it as is.

The Army Green Tundra was a bit of a surprise. I’m not usually one for olive drab, but the chrome in the grill and the bright accent on the black wheels are well matched with the medium green paint color. The paint is also a little chalky, which I like.

The Tundra here might have a TRD package, as opposed to being a TRD model, but Army Green is optional on all Tundras — except, again, the base model SR.

This paint color requires a bit of translating. Smoked Mesquite is quite obviously a just rich, deep metallic brown. It’s appropriate, I guess, because the Smoked Mesquite finish is available only on Tundra Limited and above. The truck you see here is another 1794 Edition, which you might recall is Toyota’s “Texas” truck.

See, while every Tundra is made in San Antonio, the 1794 is a little more Texas than the rest. Ford has the F-150 King Ranch. Chevy has the Silverado Texas Edition. And Ram has the Lone Star. Why not commemorate the home of Tundra trucks with a similar state? It’s kind of neat that this earthy paint color is named after the Mesquite tree, which grows all over the Texas Hill Country, South Texas and northern parts of Mexico.

Okay, I can’t do a slide show on Tundras and/or paint colors without throwing in one of these iconic first-gen trucks, in the wonderful paint finish Desert Sand Mica. It’s tan, right? This first-generation Toyota Tundra was the first truck I felt strongly about. Look at its lines! And the glimmering paint.

It’s an exercise in simplicity. It’s so honest and inviting. But at the same time, it’s functional. This is the platonic ideal of a truck. Two doors. Long bed. Bright three-spoke wheels. Chrome bumpers. The style is all in the utility.

And here we are, at the end. We saved the best for last. The Supersonic Red Tundra is not a Tundra at all. It’s a 1995 Dodge Ram for people who live 22 years into the New Millennium.

Seriously, am I the only one who gets second-generation Ram 1500 vibes from the new Tundra? That’s a great thing! It’s gorgeous. Even though the TRD Tundras enjoy all the fanfare, I think any red Tundra (from the SR5 trim up) stands out more than the off-road Tundras. This paint color is just lively, and gives the Tundra a less serious tone. Red is always best.