2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 from North America - All Comments

Here's something to ponder. Toyota as a whole will more than likely out sell GM this year.. So tell me who's to blame?

But not in the truck segment... the most popular vehicles sold in America. They lag far far behind.

To 7/5/07 16:03-

Well, since you asked Toyota lover, the Ford F-150 has been the best selling vehicle in America for 24 straight years, and the best selling truck in America for 29 straight years. This year will be no different. How is that for bragging rights? Despite what you may think in your dream world, domestic pickup owners are not heading down to the Toyota dealer in droves to trade for a Tundra. The sales numbers back this up. Your Tundra is still last in sales. And that is the bottom line.

As far as your comments about the big three losing billions, stay tuned this Summer to the contract negotiations with the UAW. The days are over when a UAW member is paid $25.00 an hour to sweep the assembly line floors. A contract has already been finalized with Delphi, where the wages were slashed to realistic levels. The big three will finally be on a level playing field with Toyota and Honda, who do not face the same union burden.

In the full size truck segment it seems logical to drive what professional and commercial contractors own. Applying car comments on larger trucks has no bearing. If you want a little 4 cyl mini pickup and want to compare economy over function with trucks comparing with fuel efficient cars maybe...

10:59...why wouldn't you want a recall on a defective import truck engine? My expectations are at a higher level....I need a powerful engine, strong transmission and rear to pull my boat. Imagine straining this engine with a tow load or dropping a rear. I could not accept this. Sorry; domestic full size 100,000 mile warranty is the only way to go in my situation.

12:26 Give it up. Toyota unquestionably makes more reliable, longer lasting engines than Ford or Chevy. I guess with a GM, you can hope your precious warranty will tow your trailer around. Meanwhile, the Toyota will still be on the road, running strong. Those are the facts.

12:26-

I never said whether I wanted a recall or not. I was simply stating a fact that there has not been a formal recall as of yet. It does seem like there should be one though, as they are guessing as to how many problem trucks are out there. I would hate to own one of them, as it would never be the same to me following an engine swap at a dealer.

I currently own a 2002 5.3 Chevy Silverado Z71 4WD extended cab. 86,000 miles on it. Towed my 23' center console all over Florida to go fishing.

Only 1 recall on steering column. No unplanned maintenace! No broken interior or exterior body parts.

Looking to get a new truck and have researched and test drove:

Nissan Titan: Good power, nice iterior, handling in the middle of the pack, limited choices, too boxy for me. Handling not as good as Toyota or Silverado, but better then Ford.

Ford F250: Good power, nice interior, but Nissan and Toyota seemed nicer. Based on price and feature seems like best value for dollar coming off the lot. Resale issue though. Low road noise, but handling was not up to par with other trucks on winding roads. note: I am biased against Ford's since I had problems with Probe and Aerostar in the past.

Toyota: Loved the room and interior design. Great handling on road and highway driving is NICE. Off road I noticed some rattling and just not as solid feeling as new Silverado or Ford. Was kinda bouncy actually. POWER-POWER-POWER...succckkkk, the sound of the gas going into the engine.

New Silverado: Interior improved over spartan past, but still lacking compared to other three. Exterior.. loved it, especially the reduced body gaps. The 6.0 engine is comparable to the others with not enough difference to matter. Not as "quick" in acceleration as the Toyota, but handled better on and off the road. Off-road. WOW, I had a blast. So much so I went to another dealer later on for another test drive (I should take the Ford to the same place to be fair since the off road test for the Ford was the sie of a rail road track).

Over all, I do like the new Chevy, but since I will be driving this truck 120 miles a day for 2.5 hours I want the interior comforts as well.

So.. My decision is based on:

Gas mileage - Chevy with the 5.3. Adequate power for my needs.

Handling - Based on highway, which is 95% of my driving. Edge to Toyota over Chevy.

Interior design - Toyota.

Exterior Looks - Chevy.. barely. But like Toyota, Ford as well. Nissan.. too boxy.

Price - Hmmm, Edmunds says Toyota much more expensive over time (gas and maint?). feature for feature current rebates makes Toyota more bang for the buck off the lot. Chevy is not offering much on rebates right now and I understand that they are not going to be aggressive with trying to offload 2007 inventory this August.

So, I think I will go with the Toyota IF I can find a dealer that does not try to play games which is what Toyota dealers are known for.

I have owned a 5.7 regular cab long bed Tundra since April. Before this I owned a F-150 reg cab long bed with I-6 that I drove for 16 years. Ford has better ride quality, but the Toyota outperforms the Ford in every other category. I may be premature in my assessment of the toyota, but so far I have no complaints. The 6 speed transmission makes this truck IMO. Gas mileage is actually better than I was getting in my old inline 6. My old Ford was a fairly reliable truck, I think I had 3 recalls on it over the first 5 years, all taken care of. Don't make much of the camshaft problem that only affected about 20 Tundras, Toyota has taken care of the problem. I feel I made a good decision in this new Toyota, only time will tell. In response to the comment about cost to drive in first five years, It has been fairly reasonable with the other three Toyota's that I have owned, usually just wear items, nothing major. Hope this helps alittle in your search for a pickup. One last thing to look at is the trade-in value of Toyota's compared to the big 3. Good luck!!

Thoughts based strictly on the largest of cabs - Toyota's crew max versus Ram 150 mega cab...

Priority 1 - large cab with plenty of room and comfort, with 2 growing boys, and personally growing up in a cramped hind-quarter of a 'crew-cab'. Basically the mega cab and crew max are a push.

Priority 2 - Functionality and build out. For this one just needs to sit in the rig, without a salesperson, and really take in all the amenities and engineering.

For cab size, Ford and Chevy/GM don't really have a comparable rig to the Dodge mega cab and Toyota's crew max.

Based on price and initial drive, I was sold on the Ram... tight, plenty of room, attractive, and since I only pull a 4000 lb utility trailer and 20' boat; no need for a diesel or 3/4 ton. Started shopping price and features among dealers here in the NW.

Literally stumbled onto the Toyota crew max 3 weeks into my search - after my wife reminded me of my earlier Toyota's (4 runner, FJ land cruiser - each with 200,000+ miles).

Stopped by a Toyota dealer en route to purchasing the Ram mega cab and the rest is history. No comparison in any aspect of the decision, and once again a proud (made in America this time) Toyota owner.

Price is deceptive... yes 3-4K more for comparable equipped rigs, however,... MANY standard features on the Toyota are options on others. Aside from the far superior engineering and basic ergonomics (the Dodge dashboard looked comparable to my 10 year old Suburban), the Toyota came standard with all towing features and much more. i.e. tow hooks, tow pack built into the frame, both 5/7 prong plugs, rear slip differential, etc... all standard. Fully retracting power window versus a shoe-box sized opening, modern dash and controls, tailgate features, power, speed, ride, and of course, reputation (not to mention my personal experience of 500,000 miles on 2 different Toyotas going back over 20 years,... the extra 3,000 dollars was a wash in added features, and in the long run a bargain.

Growing up in the midwest, it was always American or nothing, a simple choice of diehard ford or Chevy lovers. My recommendation to anyone truck shopping is to drop the foreign bias and attempt to really look at and feel each vehicle with open eyes. Now that the Tundra's are designed, engineered, manufactured in the USA, there are no more excuses.

Can't tell you enough how little of a comparison, and how easy my decision was... it was black and white to me, and I'm a truck idiot!

02:16 It should be an easy decision for anyone, but some people just can't let go of their 'American' made bias, which means nothing anymore. These are the same people whose houses are full of computers, appliances, stereo's, video games, etc., ALL made in China or Taiwan or something, but for no valid reason, buy a Ford when a Toyota that's built 10 times better is available.

Oh well, it takes all kinds to make the world go round I guess. Hope you enjoy your Toyota as much as I enjoy mine.

20:41 is comparing a 16 year old truck to a brand new one. What is up with that. I hope that the Tundra works good. Seeing it is brand new.

The Ford F-150 sales are not faltering at all. I work for a Ford dealership and we sell one or more F-series per day. The lot keeps emptying and refilling itself of new pickup trucks all the time. A few Tundra's have been traded in for F-150's. Also, a few Avalon's and brand new Camry's have been traded in for Fusions and 500's. Certain vehicles have dropped in sales, which is causing Ford's problems. Vehicles like the Explorer and Expedition are suffering because of their lack of necessity along with their gas guzzling attributes. The F-150 has never had a problem in sales and the Fusion, Taurus, and Edge are slowly making up for the drop in Crown Vic's, and SUV's.

Also, to the comment about 99% of Tundra drive-trains lasting longer: 99% of Tundra drive-trains have never been used for anything, buy satisfying egos. They were never meant to be real work trucks for farmers and construction workers, and they probably never will be. I never see one that's even dirty because all it does is sit in someone's driveway with an empty bed.

Also, I drive one of those "rare" F-150's with 288,000+ miles on the odometer. So pardon me, but I don't see the point in giving 10,000 extra dollars for a truck that's useless when I clearly can save 10,000 dollars and get 300,000 miles out of a Ford that is used to haul auto parts nearly everyday.

As for what makes a Ford, Chevy, or Dodge better than a Tundra, take a tour through the 2002 Tundra sections and read the review with 500+ comments if you want to see what a truck is really made of, and what makes the original Tundra fall short. The new Tundra is a better improvement with the exception of the 10,000 dollar extra price, the aluminum engine, and the mass of followers who don't do anything with trucks, but wussy them up because they can't handle a real truck with a real work suspension and a real work engine. It's too hard on their delicate bottoms, so they need one that feels like a car -- seems to me they really just need a car. Quit ruining trucks! Chevy and Ford would have never had to make their rides more supple if it weren't for wimps crying because they want a truck that's really just a car. Fortunately for you people, Toyota heard your cries and answered with the Tundra: a car with a bed. If anyone were going to do work with a truck, they would get a domestic, because they know these trucks were designed for the purpose of work for 100 years now. Since when has a Toyota ever been notorious for hauling multiple tons and pulling double its weight? They never try hard to target these standard attributes.

Also, if anyone believes those idiotic "demonstrations" of those Tundra's doing those magic tricks on those Toyota commercials, it just proves that you never do anything with a truck. If you did, you would know that there is no way on Earth a truck can go flying down a steep ramp and stop a 10,000 lbs trailer without jack-knifing out of control. Also, if a Tundra or any other truck had a semi-container hanging off of a cliff with a cable attached, it would be dragged over the cliff, tires screeching and all. Those commercials are really stupid, and it shows that Toyota has nothing real to show anyone, so they have to use rigged tricks to wow people. Only an idiot would floor board his truck towards a cliff and lock it up, just to hopefully get it stopped within two inches of the edge. A Peter-built semi truck would struggle to do all of these tricks.

You people will perpetuate the same argument for the rest of eternity with your Tundra's. You'll never tell of anything strenuous you've done with your truck, you'll just reiterate the same rhetoric about our trucks being crap and yours being able to stomp ours even though you physically don't have the mass and the metal to back up your big mouths. If anyone ever wanted to take their Tundra and have a ramming contest with me, I would be more than happy to do so. Do you really think your Tundra scares me or anyone else who uses a truck for its real purpose? Does it make you proud to bash your own country's products? If you are so proud that Toyota is taking over your country and making you their work-slave, then go to Japan and celebrate.

You say my Ford is crap? Well, if by "crap" you mean a truck that is built like a tank, that cost thousands less than other trucks, that can last up to 300,000 miles on its original engine, can haul over a ton in its bed without squatting, can pull double its own weight without even hindering the drive-train or brakes, then yes, my Ford is indeed "crap" and I'm proud to save money and get lots and lots of service out of it.

I'm also proud that my country and its companies, despite corporate corruption, have been able to to produce such strong vehicles that help real Americans do real work. The rest of you can continue putting on your lipstick while you drive down the road with a heavy load of milk, bread, and butter weighing your leaf springs down in the bed of your Tund-ry, uh I mean Cam-dra, woops, I mean tundra.

22:36 A little edgy aren't you? I would be too if I were a Ford salesman.

The F-150; uses gas like a tank, lasts up to 30,000 miles on the original drivetrain. You sell ONE a day, huh? Wow, I'm impressed. Considering Tundra sales went up 146% last month, the ones you sold must the only ones sold in North America last month.

The Tundra drinks gas, too. Tundra's sales would have to increase by 700% to match that of Ford. Just keep chanting so it will come true. Also, I'm not a salesman; I work in the parts dept.