CAR GAZING
Tundra gaining popularity
Toyota truck is powerful, refined
By Derek Price
It's been two years since Toyota introduced its bad-boy Tundra pickup, replacing a smaller, wimpier truck by the same name.
It wasn't the first full-size Japanese truck to hit the market – that honor goes to the Nissan Titan – but it is the most successful so far.
Just look to small-town America for proof.
Drive to virtually any rural town, and you're almost as likely to see a big Tundra as you are a new Ford, Chevy or Dodge truck. These massive Toyotas are breeding like crazy.
There are three main reasons the Tundra seems to be taking over America:
One, it's brawny. It can tow more than 10,000 pounds with a 5.7-liter V8 that makes 381 horsepower and 401 foot-pounds of torque. Those are all huge numbers that are on par with, and in some ways exceed, its supersize American competition.
Two, it's refined. Even though it's built for hard work, it doesn't feel like you're driving a work truck. There's less bounciness and harshness than in most full-size pickups, and it's even fairly quiet and smooth on the highway. It's like driving a saber-toothed Camry.
And three, it's got the Toyota name. Whether it deserves it or not, Toyota has a reputation for making bullet-proof cars, and buyers assume this reliability magic will wear off on the Tundra.
OK, there's a fourth reason, too. Toyota seems to be beating Budweiser at its own game, buying up all the TV time during football games. You can't watch pro sports without hearing a man with gravel-filled lungs talking about how tough the Tundra is.
One thing you'll notice about the Tundra is how massive it looks,even when parked next to its domestic-brand rivals. It feels huge inside, too, with a Crewmax cabin that can hold not just five people, but five 300-pound wrestlers. Comfortably.
There's plenty of storage space, too. Consider the storage compartment under the center armrest. This space alone can hold two half-gallon jugs of milk with room to spare (I know; I tried it). It's almost silly how much space there is.
Of course, with all that space and power there comes a major downside: fuel consumption.
My test truck – a four-wheel-drive Crewmax with the biggest V8 – was only rated for 13 mpg in town and 17 on the highway. Granted, you can choose a smaller engine (either a 4.0-liter V6 or a smaller 4.7-liter V8), but even the rear-wheel drive V6 model is rated at 15 mpg in town.
Toyota likes to brag about its "green" credentials, but it curiously never mentions the Tundra when courting environmentalists.
On the other hand, lots of pickup buyers choose a truck based on how well it gets a specific job done – towing, hauling cargo, whatever – and fuel consumption isn't much of an issue. They just need the best tool for the job, and the Tundra might be that tool.
One thing's for sure. When you see this Toyota parked at a rural Western-wear store, the domestic brands will know they've got some serious competition from abroad.
(Derek Price is a newspaper editor and freelance writer living in Texas.)
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