2002 Toyota Tundra SR5 from North America - All Comments

Thank you 11:57. I've posted that several times myself.

Toyota/Lexus is still on top. Always were. Lexus has had that honor 13 years running. Since the creation of Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, the bar was raised, and the Big 3 can't compete.

14:16 I really liked the toaster analogy as it is absolutely dead on... when is the last time you remotely got excited to run out and buy a toaster? I cringe when I see the potato shaped uninspired styling prevalent today. I parked next to a Prius... no offense, it gets high gas mileage, but when repairs hit, and I have seen $2000 comments on repair of the electric steering lock, and who knows what the battery system will cost to repair at some point. But a toaster is a toaster; they get thrown away.

I guess I appreciate the timeless styling with many of the classic cars I have owned, and even today there is a resurgence in replicating these vehicles again. If you are content with an A to B vehicle, more power to you, but I shudder at many of the vehicles that people are currently buying to put a little fuel in and then point in somewhere.

I like opening my garage, and having intense satisfaction. Sure last month.. Aveo was up 39%... Malibu up 34%... CTS up 18%... Vibe up 65% and I prefer domestics, but honestly I do not like the direction the auto manufacturers are heading. It's all about MPG... sure a potato shape does great in a wind tunnel, but in my opinion there is more focus on how people fit inside, and then they ride around in the ugliest vehicles. It only gives one more incentive to work a lot harder and not be herded into boring bland vehicles (hence the toaster).

I hope I never lose the passion of driving, styling, performance and handling... putting a gas nozzle in and pointing a vehicle to point B somewhere seems likely over the unfortunate high price of fuel. I guess you can add a few import car options to make your toaster into a 4 slice instead of a 2 slice.... sorry not enough to remotely stir any driving passion however.

07:09 The 'ugly' and 'uninspired' remarks are opinion, which you're entitled to of course.

The imports are still without a doubt the better cars, and in MY opinion, much better looking and more fun to drive.

I know this is a Toyota review, but since we're on the subject of import/domestic, I just bought a Hyundai Accent, my aunt just bought an Aveo. The Hyundai looks, drives, and performs better in every way as far as I can tell. The Aveo feels like all small GM cars feel, sloppy. Like a Cavalier.

My Hyundai has more of the 'European' feel in the corners, like Honda does. And the interior in my Accent completely embarrasses the Aveo's interior.

You can reminisce about muscle cars if you like, but those days have long since been over. Nobody makes them anymore, and the Big 3's cars are as bland as any. There are cars that attempt to be like the old muscle cars, like the Charger and the new Mustang, but they aren't. Muscle cars were powerful and simple, no options, just 3 or 400 horsepower and a steering wheel.

Those days are gone. So, if you want to discuss modern cars, the best ones are made by Japanese manufacturers, as usual. Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Infiniti, Honda. GM, Ford, and Dodge fell behind years ago and have been stumbling all over themselves trying to catch up. Not even a close race.

When I bought my last new car I wanted a SPORTY car. In test driving dozens of cars, only one filled the bill without bankrupting me: The Mustang. It was 5 grand less than the Camry "toaster" and is rated higher in overall build quality and reliability. If I wanted a basic appliance, I'd buy a Chevy Aveo or Ford Focus.

I DO believe we need to conserve fuel, and most of the time I drive my second car (a GM compact). Even it, however, has black-out wheels, 60-series tires, cold air induction and is bright red. I don't get excited over "toasters".

Well, you can call the imports 'toasters' if you like; that means nothing to me. What you can't do is say that the domestics build them better, because that is simply not the truth in any case. My import 'toaster' will outlast your GM compact and with less problems, as usual.

I guess my imagination is seeing new retro design 2008 Challengers... new Camaros... Mustangs...

I loved Toyotas late 60 Roadster, mid 70's Celica GT's (a direct take off on the Mustang design) and Supra Turbos, and I hope Toyota comes out with the new concept sports car.

Again why argue over a toaster... Toyota has high sales at the moment over fuel pricing, but also many complaints on reliability and mechanical issues on late models.

And the warranty quite frankly is lousy... saying the domestics have a great warranty and Toyota does not have to have a good warranty is a cop out in my opinion. If anything, they should far exceed the competition, and not have the least remote instance to even discuss after 36000 miles. Bring it in no questions asked; after all it's a Toyota right? No discussion on domestics even to comment about... have a new Toyota, it's fixed. Seems clear to me after reading how the import fan says how perfect they are.

Although Hyundai is much better built and reliable than the comparable Toyota (the Yaris, which is one of the "World's 10 Worst Cars") I certainly don't agree with comment 10:37.

My best friend has a Hyundai Accent. It is a great car, but I've also driven the Aveo (which the commenter obviously has not). The Aveo interior is as good, if not better, than the Accent.

I have driven my friend's Accent a lot, as for some time he was unable to drive and I would drive for him on trips and use his car because it is very economical. In no sense of the word could I call the handling superior to the Aveo (which I have also driven). I certainly could not call the Hyundai's handling "sporty". It is just a basic transportation appliance like the Aveo, Corolla, Civic, etc.

Both the Hyundai and Aveo are made in Korea, and both are superior to Toyota. The Aveo is smoother and rides better. Neither will exactly end up being a sought-after classic.

19:25 This is a tired argument about the Toyota warranty, and you domestic guys are trying to spin it around in a way that makes no sense at all. What if you owned Toyota? Think about it: you're making a quality product, people are buying it because they know that, and you can't keep them on the lot. Which is exactly the case; I know; I just bought a new car last week, and the Toyota salesman wouldn't drop a nickel in price. Why? Because he knows that the public knows that that car, along with any Honda, is the best car on the road, and that someone else will come along if I don't buy it, and will pay full price for it. Why sell it to me for cheaper? He's not an idiot, he can get full price based on Toyota quality proven over and over again.

SO...why spend money to extend the warranty if people are buying them as is? That would be stupid. People know they'll buy a Toyota and most likely, the damn thing will never break down, or not at least for the first 200,000 miles or so.

GM, on the other hand, makes crappy cars. People also know this, so, GM HAS TO offer a longer warranty in order to sell cars. If you're buying a GM, you might be thinking, "well, it's a cheap piece of crap, but at least it has a longer warranty". Which is how they sell them, and that logic is still dumb. 100,000 mile warranty is only as good as the company that backs it up, and 100,000 miles is nothing anymore, even for a crappy GM car. When that runs out, you're screwed. Buy the Toyota, and drive it twice or three times that far with no trouble. If GM only offered as long a warranty as Toyota does, NOBODY in their right mind would even look at one.

09:56 You're replying to my comment. I have driven the Aveo, and it's what I would expect from GM, which is to say not much. Neither the Aveo or my new Hyundai can compare in quality to Toyota, I've driven them all.

I would have never consider buying a GM product, for plenty of obvious reasons, and I only bought the Hyundai because I had a set price in mind that I wasn't going over, and couldn't get the Yaris for that price.

My new Accent seems to be a good car, I really like it, but the comments about the Aveo are way off. I read several reviews from several different car magazines, and other sources, such as Consumer Reports, Edmund's, etc., and the Aveo is rated dead last in every single one of them. After looking at it, it was easy to see why. Of course I drove it. That's part of the reason why I didn't buy one.

I find it ironic that somehow, amidst the "Domestic versus Import" argument, the Aveo got thrown into the argument, and that a number of GM fans are lining up to claim that it's somehow superior to Toyota or even Hyundai.

What if the badge was changed to what the Aveo really is, which is a Daewoo. Remember Daewoo? They sold them in the US for a few short years. They were supposed to be the next big car maker, and were compared to Toyota in the 70's in terms of what they offered in regards to value. Well, the cars were terrible. I know someone that actually had one. The engine destroyed itself one day. One of the pistons rods broke, broke the crank, and the rod and crank came flying out of the engine. They were truly awful products and when Daewoo went bankrupt, GM bought their automotive division for a song.

The only reason GM bought it was because it gave them a super easy way to suddenly have a line of extremely cheap cars in which to re-badge as Chevrolets, which would allow them to more easily get into the European market with lower end Chevrolet models that were significantly cheaper than the competition.

Here in the US, they're exactly what they are in Europe: cheap, inexpensive, and poorly constructed cars. They are in no way, shape, or form a "domestic" car. So let's not fool ourselves.

In regards to Hyundai, well I rented a Hyundai Sonata last week. The quality is actually quite nice for what these cost. It was comfortable, spacious, and got decent fuel economy. But as the previous poster mentioned, they're not quite up to par with Toyota. But the fact that Hyundai made terrible cars just 10 years ago is testament as to how far they've come.

As far as the Yaris, well I'm not exactly a fan either. Not EVERY car or truck that Toyota makes is golden, and in my opinion the Yaris is pretty ugly and cheap. Then again, these cost about as much as an Aveo, so you get what you pay for in my book. I'm also not a huge fan of some of Toyota's other cars because they seem a bit bland. But their trucks are fantastic.

In regards to fuel prices, well I think it is safe to say that no matter what side of the fence you reside, the types of vehicles we drive, how we drive, and so on are going to be changing dramatically. We can talk all day long about the good ole' days, muscle cars, and sock-hops, but that kind of lifestyle and the resources it required are entirely unrealistic or practical by today's standards. You might very well be driving an electric car or truck in coming years, while cars and trucks with V8's will have gone the way of the horse and buggie.

I've been paying close attention to the Chevy Volt program, which if completed will offer a dramatically different approach to manufacturing vehicles. We'll see how that turns out. But in the meantime, I still feel that if given an overall assessment, the engineering quality of Toyota is still better than what GM, Ford, or Chrysler produces. The proof is in the results, and with the consumers who buy their products.

I agree 1735, just set aside 4-5 K for a new trans or engine replacement as many have faced with imports at low mileage.

I believe advertising is a very strong medium. In many cases people will rush out and buy without fully researching new vehicles thoroughly on consumeraffairs.com, and late model import issues on Toyota and Honda. Maybe you have been lucky, and I was for many years with Honda/Toyota, but no more. I would buy a Hyundai; at least it has a 100,000 mile warranty.

The service shops have you over a barrel; no warranty is no warranty... wait til it happens to you too, and maybe you will not put down domestics...

Why am I driving new domestics is an better question. Great import service would have kept me for life instead of 1969 to 2004 with new imports. I would say I was a loyal customer, but I am not tolerating engine and trans issues again.

With no repairs, my only real outlay is feeding V8 domestics, but it's not much more than having to buy 93 octane in my VTEC new imports anyway. I like not being in the shop anymore as well.

I test drove an Aveo and a Corolla the same day. The Aveo was very quiet and very smooth riding. The Corolla engine rattled and knocked as if it were going to fly apart at any second, and the ride was bone-jarring. I could care less what magazine writers think. The Aveo is a better built car. (and NO it is NOT a GM, it is an import).

Driving all small compacts is a better description, than to say all of GM... if your budget allows it. I love when someone condemns an entire manufacturer, and then you hear it's low end comments as usual.

Claiming that an Aveo is a better car than the Corolla is like saying that a Yugo is superior to a Honda Civic. But if you want to buy one, go for it.

Also - regardless of whatever car you own, 4-5k for a transmission replacement is about the going rate no matter what vehicle you drive. It's just that Toyota, Honda, and Nissan tend to have less problems with theirs, so you would be less likely to have that procedure done anyway.

Having never owned an import that ever made it to 100,000 miles without a major engine or transmission failure, domestics look VERY good to me.