Provided by:
Find at new and used cars at CarsDirect.com
Walkaround
The Toyota Tundra is no longer a 7/8-scale truck as the previous-generation pickup was sometimes called. It's an honest-to-goodness, full-size pickup.
In the practical sense, that means the Tundra's payloads and towing capability match ratings for half-tons from Detroit's Big Three. Most measurements for Tundra's three different pickup beds come within tenths of an inch of the competition, and when they differ the Tundra's are usually bigger. The standard bed on a Dodge Ram, for example, is 2.3 inches shorter and two inches shallower than Tundra's.
In the stylistic sense, the Tundra is big and burly by design. To that end, it abandons the high-stepping, nose-in-the-air look of Tundras in favor of a more down-to-earth, but very large grille, boldly framed in black or chrome, depending on trim level. The grille pulls lines from the deeply sculpted hood into the front end. Some like the black piece of trim designed to look like an air inlet at the top of the grille, some don't.
The headlights are set into the fenders and separated from the front bumper, which is either chrome or body-colored resin, again according to trim level. For 2008, the shiny, black-painted bumper on the base Tundra Regular Cab has been replaced with chrome.
In side view, the Tundra is blander, and Toyota-like, with understated fender flares tied together by a gentle indent along the lower door panels. Body proportions comfortably accommodate the three bed lengths and wheelbases. Interestingly, gaps between body panels are deliberately wider than contemporary robotic assembly might allow. Toyota's stylists decided that slightly wider gaps better suggest the rugged first impression they wanted the Tundra to make.
Some of the details on Tundra's body add interest, and function. The optional larger towing mirrors look a little too big on the regular and Double Cab models. Deep recesses underneath make the beefy door handles easy to grip. The Tundra CrewMax has these big handles on all four doors, while the Double Cab uses vertical grabs on the back doors that are a bit snug for large hands.
The rear view is traditional pickup. There are no stand-out styling cues here, save maybe for the backup lights, which are dimensionally almost the equal of the taillights. The tailgate is damped, making lowering and raising it easier and quieter.
The wheels vary with the model, too, but they're all very truckish. The standard 18-inch, drilled steel discs on base Tundras are actually quite attractive in their basic, functional look. SR5s get styled steel, stamped more expressively to resemble mags. The aluminum alloy wheels on the Limited models feature thick, monolithic spokes, while the optional 20-inch alloys satisfy the current trend toward lots of wheel, not much tire.
Opening and closing the tailgate is dramatically eased by the standard tailgate assist. The mechanism starts with a torsion bar in the hinge assembly to make the tailgate feel lighter, and includes a gas-pressurized strut, concealed behind the left taillight, to damp the lowering and assist in raising the lockable tailgate. Other pick-up manufacturers are no doubt scrambling to respond.
Interior Features
When it was launched for 2007, the full-size Toyota Tundra raised the bar on working truck interiors. Nothing has changed for 2008, save a shuffling of the standard equipment on each model. The Tundra remains one of the most comfortable, best outfitted pickups available.
Visibility from the driver's seat is excellent. The standard mirrors are large, and can be adjusted to deliver a panoramic view all the way around the truck. The optional tow mirrors are also superb. They feature a large traditional mirror that's power operated, with a small convex mirror at the bottom that's manually adjustable. They can be adjusted to cover all blind spots. The tow mirrors can be manually extended outward to help the driver see around enclosed car trailers and other big trailers. They can be folded inward when parked to reduce the chance of damage.
The rear-seat entertainment system's drop-down LCD screen is only barely noticeable in the rear view mirror. The optional navigation system includes a back-up camera. It's particularly useful on 4x4 models, as the top of the tailgate towers well above the height of small children. It's also extremely useful when hitching a trailer, allowing the driver to position the ball directly below the trailer coupling without having to jump out of the truck 27 times while jockeying into position. Headrests on the back seats can block the view rearward if not in their lowest position. Removing them or flipping the back seat down affords the best view.
The cabs are roomy. In occupant measurements, the Tundra generally gives up little or nothing to the competition, although where it trails, it's sometimes by more than an inch: In hiproom, for example, where the Ford F-150 offers almost 2.5 inches more in front, the Dodge Ram offers almost two inches more both front and rear. Yet all these vehicles are wide enough that hiproom will not likely be a major concern. In all-important rear seat legroom in the top-selling Double Cab, only the Dodge Ram tops the Tundra, with the F-150 coming up two inches short.
The seats are comfortably cushioned but not too soft, with modest side bolsters in front. Deep seat bottoms provide ample thigh support. The fabric upholstery feels durable and the leather does, too. It's more a heavy-duty grade than luxurious, and probably appropriate for a truck. We've found them comfortable in daylong towing trips across the state.
The passenger seatback in the Regular Cab folds forward to present a flat work/writing area, and there's room behind the seat for a small generator and a five-gallon bucket. This is in addition to bins, both open and capped, for tools and such, and it emphasizes an area where Tundra stands out among full-size pickups: interior storage and conveniences.
The seat bottom in the center section of the front bench seat pivots forward to reveal an otherwise fully concealed storage compartment. There's a bi-level glove box, with an upper compartment big enough to hold a Thermos bottle. The lower compartment, more than twice the size of the upper, is lighted and fitted with a damped door. The front-door armrests house flip-out compartments beneath the power window switch plates, though models with manual windows forgo this storage. Front-door map pockets are molded to hold two 22-ounce water bottles, and so are the rear-door map pockets on the CrewMax. The Double Cab rear doors hold one bottle.
Similarly, both the Double Cab and the CrewMax incorporate assorted storage bins and compartments beneath and behind their rear seats, though in the Double cab, a subwoofer replaces the lockable under-seat bin when the up-level stereo is ordered.
Column-shift Tundras have two, flexible-sized cup holders in a slide-out tray beneath the climate control panel, and two more in the backside of the fold-down center section of the bench seat. In the Double Cab, two more cup holders fold out of the backside of the front-seat
Read Review at NewCarTestDrive.com