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2008 Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 4X4 5.7L Road Test

Half-ton pickup trucks are pretty well the exclusive domain of the domestics.

Toyota designs a truck that can stand toe-to-toe with its American rivals. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

North America is the only true market where vehicles like these are sold, and it's here, where gas is cheap and plentiful, relatively speaking, and the need to tow and haul big stuff like camper trailers and recreational boats, not to mention their commercial uses, makes them the most popular vehicle type sold. Part of that statement is false. No, not the gas part, or their popularity, although that's been slipping lately due to cheap gas not being quite as cheap. What's false is that full-size pickups are the domain of the domestics. You see, the Japanese have been trying to get in on the half-ton action for a long time. Nissan's been providing an alternative since 2004, with the Titan, but the brand that's been trying to make headway in the segment since 1993 is Toyota, first with the T100, followed up by two generations of Tundra.

The first generation Tundra wasn't so much a full-size truck as a 7/8th size one, in terms of size and capability. But Toyota wasn't about to show up to the sandbox with the potential of getting sand kicked in its face the second time around, and with the new Tundra it's brought the same sort of A-Game as it did with the Camry and Corolla. Having been on sale for just about a

iForce: a force to be reckoned with. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

year now, the Tundra has done a commendable job at ranking high on capability and eating up market share in both private and commercial sales, despite a downturn in the light truck segment. Looking at sales, so far this year there are only two trucks that have posted year-over-year sales gains to date; one is the Ford Ranger and the other is the Tundra. Commanding nearly 20-percent of the total market with sales looking good to hit over 200,000 units this year, the Tundra has cut itself out a piece of the half-ton pickup truck pie that was almost as big as GMC last year. Toyota hasn't done badly for itself; not in the slightest.

And how was it that Toyota managed to crack that “all-American” barrier? Well, the midsize sedan segment was the property of the domestics too, not too long ago, and they blew that, but that's another story for another time. With regards to the Tundra, to simplify things they built it from

Interior is nicely styled and, compared with the rest of the pickup segment, very, very modern. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

start to finish the American way. It was styled by CALTY in California, engineered in the Big 3's backyard, Detroit, and is built in two different plants, one in Indiana and one in Texas. The truck on the whole was also only meant for North Americans, which allowed Toyota to specifically focus on the things Chevy, Ford and Dodge buyers look for.

Because pickup trucks are no longer workforce specials, real inroads have been made by giving them the attributes of cars (rather, luxury SUVs) without losing an ounce of strength. Size, for instance, is a big one. Every configuration that the Tundra is offered in, regardless of cab or bed length, is longer than its equivalent Big 3 rival. And in terms of interior room, although not the super-sized CrewMax, the Double Cab shown here provides acres of legroom. I've been in the back of a CrewMax, and its legroom rivals that of long-wheelbase six-figure German limousines. The Double Cab still offers more legroom than your average midsize sedan, and with flip up rear seats, passengers aren't the only thing you can carry in the cab.

Even if you don't opt for CrewMax, there's plenty of legroom in the back of the Double Cab. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

Hoist yourself up into the Tundra's cab and right before your eyes is the most modern-looking half-ton pick up cabin ever created. It's much less cookie-cutter, flat-dash, boring stuff, and much more organic and actually quite cool looking. The silver-backed dashboard, with its gun-barrel style sunk-in gauges spills over into the console, which is half silver and half piano-key black. The console, lovingly named "Phantom of the Opera", is comprised of giant, easy-to-push buttons and easier-to-twist knobs that are impossible to fumble, even with the thickest work gloves on. Though the Tundra doesn't have soft-touch plastics (something I was expecting; this is Toyota we're talking about), fit and finish is the best I've ever seen in a truck. It didn't look or feel cheap, to the eyes or to the rap of knuckles. And due to the need to remain in control when you're piloting a vehicle as big and bulky as this, the Tundra offers best-in-class height travel for the seats, plus a tilting and telescoping steering wheel.

If there's something to criticize about the Tundra, it's that its ride, when empty, is firm and bouncy. This is something that a lot of pickup trucks are prone to, but in the case of the Tundra it's more pronounced than in the Ford F-150, Silverado or Titan, which may have a little something to do with its tow and payload ratings that are right up there at the top of the class. If Toyota's going to compete, you know that they're not going to stress their truck's skeleton out. Things do calm down significantly once its leaf springs have something more than an empty bed to hold up.

What makes the stiffly-sprung suspension such a big issue for me is that the rest of the truck, from a refinement standpoint, is quite frankly amazing. Toyota has done a superb job in making the Tundra quiet, shielding occupants from wind and road noise, while keeping NVH through the seats and steering wheel low. I've heard the Tundra nicknamed

381 horsepower, 401 lb-ft of torque. An engine that really means business. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

the Lexus of pickups, and in that regard I can't help but agree.

The Tundra may be badged as a Toyota, but for all intents and purposes this is an American truck. From the driver's point, the feeling of size and width is just like the F-150, while on the highway or on surface streets it could be any truck built by the big three. It does, however, feel a touch sharper and a little more alert in terms of its steering and braking. The Tundra's 5.7-liter i-Force V8 engine is a fantastic powerplant with oodles of power and torque, not to mention its traditional rorty V8 sound, but this is a state of the art pushrod-free 32-valve DOHC V8. This gives the engine a tremendously smooth character, and one that Toyota deemed actually good enough to use in its range-topping SUV, the LX 570. In terms of outright output its 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft give it more power and torque than any other quarter ton pickup truck with the exception of GMC's Sierra Denali. Like the Denali, the Tundra comes with a six-speed automatic, though its shifter is mounted on the floor instead of the steering column.

Another advantage of purchasing a Tundra is that all models come standard with V8 power. If it isn't the 5.7 under the hood, it'll be the 4.7, which makes

If you like to off-road, the TRD package is for you. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

271 horsepower and 313 lb-ft of torque. Toyota's estimates, from the start, were that 60-percent of Tundras would be equipped with the bigger engine.

Being the newest full-size truck on the block, the latest Tundra has observed the contenders and placed its bets accordingly, in terms of safety equipment. Four wheel discs with ABS, Brake Assist and Brakeforce Distribution help to control the truck when it comes time to slow down. Stability control is also standard; it's extremely valuable when piloting a truck this big and this heavy, but the surprise to me is that stability control only operates while the truck is in 2WD. The second you switch it out to 4WD, it's disengaged. But, that point aside, the Tundra also has a full three-point seatbelt and a headrest for every occupant, no matter where they are, and each truck has front, side seat and curtain airbags. The Tundra also happens to be the only half-ton pickup truck awarded with the IIHS' Top Safety Pick for 2008.

Safe, practical, powerful, well-built and great looking, I have no questions about whether or not the Tundra is seriously competitive; it measures up favorably against its rivals. But, that said, will the Tundra be the new sales champ? It's doubtful. As it stands, there's a lot of loyalty in the pickup truck world, moreso than with cars. Loyalty is something that needs to be earned, and the Tundra, while a great truck, just hasn't been around for four or five generations to establish it. However, if Toyota keeps up the work with the Tundra, it may uproot the players here in the same way that it's won the hearts and minds in the car world.

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