Impressions of Toyota's All-New Tundra That Will Take the Full-Size Truck Market by Storm
The most common clich� with road test reviews is the comparison of a vehicle against competitive vehicles in its class. You won't get that here. Seldom does an authors impression of a vehicle and what the person's impressions were when compared to another vehicle ever sway the mind of a potential buyer. My disclaimer is that I have always been a hard core GM truck fan. I like other trucks, but my own personal taste has always been in the GM camp. I will confess though I did once own a Toyota truck. That was in 1985.
I remember in 1993 when Toyota somewhat shocked the truck industry when they introduced the T100, their first attempt at manufacturing an "almost" full-size pickup. The T100 wasn't a threat to the Big Three, its size and limited power train kept sales rather low in comparison to what Toyota expected. The T100 was revamped, redesigned and also renamed to the Toyota Tundra in 2000 where it featured more options which catered to the wants and needs of discerning American truck owners. It was fairly well received, but was never a contender to wrestle with the Big Three. Until now.
As truck enthusiasts, we all knew it was just a matter of time before Toyota designers, engineers and company top brass regrouped to come up with a true full-size truck that would break through foreign make boundaries and give full size truck owners an alternative. Not just an alternative, but a true competitor of the Big Three. Toyota did their homework on this one. And the finished product shows it in leaps and bounds.
I'll get straight to the point. After spending a week behind the wheel of a 2007 Toyota Tundra Double Cab 4x2 equipped with the aluminum 5.7L V8, all I can say is, "this truck kicks ass!" Yep, those are my words and honestly that is the feeling I came away with after logging nearly 300 miles behind the wheel. Why? Well for starters I expected good things well before I ever sat down behind the wheel. Toyota has established themselves as manufacturers of quality and I expected nothing less. And for the most part, that is precisely what this truck delivers.
Our test model configuration is more of what the working crowd will want. The 97-inch long bed is huge with 22-inches of depth, lined bed and Toyota's own Deck Rail system. The longer wheel base Tundra rides well as you would expect thanks to a double A-arm front suspension with coil-over shocks/springs. Toyota claims the leaf spring rear suspension maintains a level ride height even with a full load. With approximately 500 pounds placed in the bed, I didn't notice any difference in ride quality nor in ride height. Unloaded this truck rides awesome! It is apparent that designers spent quite a bit of time developing both the shocks and the suspension system to work properly, but ride very good. It seemed to really excel on uneven roads, smoothing out much of the chop to the point you wouldn't even realize it was there. But what impressed me even more was the brakes. I'm sure you've seen the Tundra commercials in regards to how much bigger and better the Tundra brakes are compared to other trucks. Well I'm here to tell you, the brakes on the Tundra go beyond better; they are great! The four-wheel disc brake system headed by 13.9-inch front disc brakes features ABS with Electonic Brake-Force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA) combines to create one of the most impressive braking experiences I've yet to experience on a truck in this class.
Our Tundra came with the new iForce 5.7-liter DOHC Dual VVT-i V8 engine listed as producing 381 horsepower and 401 lb.-ft. torque mated to a six-speed automatic transmission which includes the sequential shift mode. This allows the driver to manually select the gears using a switch on the shifter. A tow-haul mode is also available with this configuration. The 5.7-liter engine is only available with 4.30 rear differential gears which seemed to allow me to fully experience the strength of the 5.7L engine.
The power under the big hood is what will definitely get you to believe this could be your next purchase. To put it bluntly, for a big, heavy half-ton class pickup, this Tundra hauls butt! It is particularly impressive from the mid-range on during acceleration. This experience is amplified as the engine migrates from near utter silence through the factory exhaust into a screaming performance sound that any true performance lover can fully appreciate.
The only thing that I found to be a negative point would be the fuel economy. Basically the word "economy" shouldn't be used when referencing this power train set up. With the low 4.30 gears and strong DOHC V8, we managed a paltry 13 mpg average, less than the listed mpg quotes. But to be fair, it was hard to keep our right foot from mashing the pedal down to experience the acceleration of the powerful engine. There is no doubt that if we were to have driven the Tundra like old men, we might have gotten a little closer to the listed 16/20 mpg ratings.
Exterior styling is a personal thing. We each have our likes and dislikes. I wasn't all that thrilled with the looks of the Tundra when we first saw them late last year. But the design has grown on me to the point I like it more than most other new truck models. The front end is big, very big. But not nearly as big as the incredibly spacious interior. Our Double Cab version had so much room it felt like we were in a traditional full size crew cab. The rear doors are front opening and open up a full 80 degrees to maximize the access opening. The rear split bench seat lifts up to provide an extremely spacious flat interior cargo area.
Up front the truck featured the 40/20/40 split bench seat possessing a large fold down console with the upholstery being cloth. The seats were very comfortable. So comfortable it made long trips seem relaxing. An adjustable seat height option would be nice, but isn't a deal killer as the seat placement still provides a very commanding view of the road ahead.
The dash design is quite pleasant. It wasn't a total surprise, but isn't mundane either. It follows a lot of the design ergonomics we are seeing in different trucks today and definitely has a Toyota look and feel to it. Multi-colored plastic surfaces had different textures to aid in the presentation of visual character. My feeling while driving the Tundra was the experience was that of driving a super-sized Avalon or Camry. Some might think that is a bad thing to be referenced in terms of car-like qualities when referring to a truck. But in general, cars are more comfortable and relaxing to drive. Add in an acre of interior space and the feeling of this new Tundra is definitely full size truck. That aspect was questioned with previous Tundra models. It will never be questioned again.
I should add there were several things about the interior environment that deserve mentioning. First are the gauges. They are easy to read and buried deep into the rather shallow gauge face. The one thing I didn't particularly care for was the depth of the fuel gauge which seemed to be three inches or more from the bezel edge. You have to be looking straight at it to see it. If you are a person who always "drives with stuff", then you'll find the various easy access compartments to your liking. There is even enough drink holders of various sizes to accommodate just about any size or type of drink container, and enough of them for about six people. The user controlled Sonar system is great for a big truck. The Tundra had sensors in both the front and rear bumpers to aid you with trying to park this big truck. Of course Toyota didn't slouch when it came to protecting the occupants either. The cab features driver and passenger front air bags as well as roll sensing side curtain air bags. A cut off switch allows the driver to choose whether he wants to utilize this safety option.
There is a lot that can be talked about with such a totally new full size pickup. It is obvious that Toyota didn't just want to build a true full-size truck that was the same as others. There are a wealth of options and features on the new Tundra that will make a few competitive designers say, "now why didn't we think of that?".
In summary, this truck is one of what is now the Big Four. Drive this truck for a week and you will see what I mean. It is big, very big. It is amazingly powerful, rides awesome, drives like a luxury car, handles well and can haul anything that one of its competitors can. I was asked numerous times by neighbors and friends what I thought of the truck. My response was pretty much the same to every one of them. I love it. Sure there are a few quirky things that I didn�t' care for. There are those on every truck I've driven. But this truck is just fun to drive. I'd honestly have to say that I would trade my SS Silverado for a CrewMax version of this truck in a split second. Even though I am told that Toyota only plans to produce 200,000 Tundras this year, I expect they will sell every one of them.
