The Tundra of Indiana

YEAH, that's me with the Business Facilities hat in the driver's seat of a brand new 2007 Toyota Tundra full-size pickup truck. As a car nut envious of automotive journalists who get the chance to drive new vehicles on the market for a living, I had a rare opportunity a couple of weeks ago: the chance to get a Tundra on loan as a member of the press. If you've followed our coverage of Toyota's expansions in the U.S., you might recall that their newly opened plant in San Antonio, TX--in the heart of pickup country--was engineered to produce these monsters. (The truck I tested was built at the only other facility that makes Tundras, in Princeton, IN--hence the title of this post.)

By the way, this seems very apropos with the recent huge announcement by Toyota that it's getting into Mississippi. As I post this, our article about it just came online as well.

My impression is that this is part of an all-out effort on behalf of Toyota to get more publicity for a critical vehicle; this generation Tundra is the first Toyota truck to truly be as big, powerful, and macho looking as any American truck. (Pickup trucks are the last mainstream vehicle market in the U.S. still utterly dominated by Detroit.) Sales of the 2007 Tundra have been respectable, but not quite what Toyota was hoping for.

There are probably several reasons for this--the high price of gas and the legendary brand loyalty of truck owners in the U.S. come to mind--but I don't think you can make a case that the Tundra in any way fails to measure up to the competition. In some ways, it surpasses it; its standard features are impressive. (Trying to compare trucks is baffling because they offer a ridiculous number of configuration possibilities. I'm pretty sure that the Tundra is the only truck offering electronic stability control standard, a must on any vehicle with a high center of gravity in my opinion), and its payload, towing, and horsepower/torque figures (at least for the truck I tested, which had the top of the line 381-hp 5.7 liter iForce V-8) are astounding. Its competitors from Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Nissan offer 300, 315, 345, and 317 horsepower, respectively, in their top engines. The Tundra tows more than any competing truck by more than one ton, except for the Nissan Titan, which is off by more like 1,000 lbs. And yet, the Tundra's gas mileage is about the same as the other guys (that is to say, godawful). Maybe it's the six gears in the optional automatic transmission--the other guys still offer only four or five at most. (In fairness, the base transmission of the Tundra is a five speed auto.)

My truck was the "Double Cab" model, meaning it had smallish rear doors the opened to a decent rear seat--a standard cab with no back seat is available, as is a "CrewMax" cab variant, with full-size rear doors and enormous backseat legroom. (Don't dismiss the Double Cab, though--unlike other similar cabs I've seen, the rear doors are forward-hinged, they open wide, and they can be opened without opening the front door on the same side. The back seat is adequate in size for most people, and the rear windows open just as you'd expect, not in some limited fashion.) The double cab can be had with a standard bed (around 6.5 feet I think, which is what my truck came equipped with) or a long bed (just over eight feet long) which will hold full sheets of plywood with the tailgate closed but increases the turning radius (and tendency to hit curbs with your rear wheels). I had my hands full with trying not to run over other cars and people with the standard bed, even though it drove well for a truck. (Again, in fairness, I know the Tundra has a very good turning radius--smaller than some competitors with even longer wheelbases I believe.)

My Tundra loaner also had the Toyota Racing Development (TRD) off-road suspension package; contrary to the recent write-up in The New York Times, I did not find this to make the ride harsh. Rather, I drove the beast into Manhattan and felt joy at being able to cream potholes that used to swallow my old sports coupe. With the top-level engine (a smaller V-8 and a V-6 are also available, depending on the cab configuration you choose) and the six-speed transmission, you'll be able to outrun more than a few sports cars, too. Just remember that without a load in the back, you'll chirp the tires from a stop really easily, especially if you're doing a hill start. (Traction control will prevent things from getting out of hand, however--can't really lay a patch, as they say.)

The truck I tested had the tow package, which includes a button you're supposed to press when you're towing something (I assume it changes the shift points or something--I was too lazy to look it up since I didn't have anything to tow). It also had a backup camera mounted in the tailgate latch assembly; the image popped up on a screen the size of a GameBoy's, mounted overhead, when I shifted into reverse. It was a dealer installed option, and it was disappointing in a couple of ways--the angle of the screen was such that you had to reposition yourself awkwardly to make out the image (it was too dark from the normal driving position--I find a lot of LCD screens are like this), and the fit of the module itself was poor. It didn't sit tight in its place overhead, and gaps around the edges of the plastic contrasted with the good fit generally seen everywhere else in the interior pieces. A gentle tug at it pulled it right out of its socket.

(If you get the DVD system with backup camera, you'll get the benefit of a much larger screen on which to view what's behind you. I never learned to trust the screen completely, but it did help me do an incredible parallel parking job in Manhattan and it's a must if you want to align your tow hitch with a trailer.)

I used the truck to transport some plywood, an exterior door, countertops, and a 14-foot long ladder. I'm no expert on pickup trucks, though I've driven a current generation Ford F-150; in all I'd say you'd be either stubborn or remiss if you didn't give the Tundra a try when shopping for a full-size pickup truck. It's at least as tough as anything else, and its interior features are designed with work, not play, in mind, such as an upper glove compartment that will hold a thermos; buttons, knobs, and latches you can operate with work gloves on; and a hanging file folder (for contractors with, er, contracts to sign) in a center console deep enough to pack a Shih Tzu and a Chihuahua into at the same time. It even had beer can moldings on the tailgate--did I mention the Tundra was designed in America? (Go to the official Web site for the Tundra and you'll hear the ubiquitous "voiceover truck guy" talking about how tough the Tundra is--you know Toyota is really serious in trying to win in this market segment.)

It was a blast to test a product from one of the facilities I've spent some time covering. (As I said, some of the Tundras--including all Double Cabs I believe--are built in Indiana ... most of the PR around the Tundra has emphasized its "Texas roots" though. Even our coverage of Toyota in Indiana has tended to focus on its partnership with Subaru to build Camry sedans.) I really appreciated the opportunity and I had a lot of fun. And, nothing against Toyota, but I hereby announce to Bentley that I'll find a way to squeeze them into this blog (admittedly, I haven't gotten too many economic development press releases from Crewe, England where they're built) if they set me up with a loaner. Oh, and BMW, are you listening? We've written more than a few words on your frabjous plant in South Carolina you know. ;)