Long-Term Road Test
After years of taking heat for building full-size trucks that weren’t full size, Toyota finally responded to critics who dismissed the original Tundra as a light heavyweight in a heavyweight game. Not only did the Tundra’s dimensions and power inventory expand, Toyota created a new factory deep in the heart of Texas truck country to handle expectations of demand doubling. Although initial acceptance was slow, Tundra sales eventually ramped up to almost 200,000 last year.
Offered in standard, Double Cab, and crew-cab body styles, the Tundra is clearly intended to preempt any disparaging remarks about being the runt of the full-size-pickup litter. And its latest 5.7-liter V-8 engine option, allied with a six-speed automatic, shuts off any potshots about tepid powertrains.
Just as clearly, we needed to subject one of Toyota’s big-boy pickups to the tender mercies of the Car and Driver staff for 40,000 miles of hauling, errand running, and towing. Lots of towing. Of the 44,824 logbook miles, some 22,000 were accumulated with something attached to the Tundra’s trailer hitch.
There were some members of the C/D towing fraternity who lobbied for the immense enclosed stowage afforded by the four-door CrewMax, but the guy who sits in the big chair wasn’t having any—just too damned big, he said. So we compromised on the Double Cab. It, too, has four doors, but the rear doors are smaller, and the rear of the cabin isn’t as vast as that of the CrewMax. Though there’s still enough rear-seat room for adult comfort, you won’t find the bingo-parlor expanse of the biggest Tundra.
Prices start at a little more than $23,000 for a base standard-cab Tundra with a 4.0-liter V-6, but as with any full-size pickup, expanding the cab size, opting for four-wheel drive, and adding power runs up the price in a hurry. We ordered the SR5 trim level—cloth seats, no navigation system, no fancy stuff—but of course we wanted the powerful 5.7-liter V-8 (381 horses, 401 pound-feet of torque), which adds about $1260, and with four-wheel drive, the price increased to $31,805, which included a $645 destination charge.
We didn’t stop there. We opted for a $605 package that included a power driver’s seat, a tilting and telescoping steering column, a big center-console storage well, a trip computer, and adjustable headrests. An AM/FM six-disc audio system added $200, a sliding rear window cost $345, mudguards were another $60, heated power side mirrors were $30, a cold-weather kit was $100, and a set of 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels—$910—inflated the total to $34,055. That’s about the price of a similarly equipped Chevy Silverado extended cab with the optional 367-hp, 6.0-liter V-8.
