22 Tundra

Rented an SR5 Tundra today.

 

Pros: The new engine kicks butt. I have to admit I was skeptical since I've always felt that a V8 should be the engine of choice for a full size truck. But this turbo six is impressive. Smooth and powerful, I found myself at one point doing 90 without realizing it.
Ride and handling are a lot better than the previous generation. Turning circle is good for a full size. Brakes have a more solid and linear feel.The access cab has decent room.
The back up camera is excellent. I was impressed that it had a wider angle view than the previous camera. It made manuvering in a tight parking lot much easier.
The transmission is pretty good. A little rough when cold but it smooths out once it warms up. It downshifts well when you want power. Toyota should put this tranny in the Tacoma.

 

Cons: The switchgear is a mess. Buttons are scattered all over the place almost as if Honda designed it. The infotainment system is faster than the one on my Tacoma but pretty much everything has to be done on the screen. Trying to do somethings was pretty confusing and time consuming. I really wish Toyota would just license either Chrysler's or KIA's system and be done with it.
The too-big front grill is flimsy. Some of the interior plastics are also pretty flimsy. I noticed in particular the plastic that surrounds the bottom of the front seats will probably crack before too long. It thumps when I got in and out of the vehicle. The center console is a strange design and also not very solid. The rest of the interior seemed up to the usual Toyota toughness.

 

Hard to believe that’s a rental spec truck with the trd package.

Nice way to test out a new tundra anyway

 

Thanks for the review.

I have a 2nd gen getting long in the tooth. I'm figuring 3-5 years I'll be shopping for a 3rd gen.

 

Did you find anything about the Tundra that would have you chossing it over another fullsize truck?

This Tuck share so many of the same features that the other three offer.

 

Conclusion: Overall I liked the truck. I could see myself owning one once it's been on the market for a couple of years and Toyota is past letting their customers find all the bugs in a new design.
Unfortunately I had no opportunity to tow or haul anything so I can't speak to those aspects. One thing I liked overall was that this new Tundra drives and handles like a smaller truck compared to the previous generation. Still has plenty of interior room but doesn't feel like quite the behemoth like the old truck.

 

I would’ve bought the previous generation because it was easily the most reliable full size on the market.
Hopefully this one will be at least somewhat as good. Reliability is the most important feature to me.

 

Reliability is number one for me too. This is why I am going to wait 2 or 3 three years before I get one. When the new redesign Tacoma came out there was a lot of bugs with this truck but after two years Toyota worked them out

 

Just had my first look at the new tundra. It was a platinum and it looked really good. I did not drive it because it was sold. A few things that bother me. The front seats are very small and the interior does not look that large. It look like the interior of a Tacoma in terms of size. The sales guy provided me a first hand education about the truck. For one I thought the hybrid model aided in conserving gas. He told me the hybrid only provided more power that is it. I was under the impression that the hybrid allowed the truck to run on electric power at low speed like under 20 mph. Nope. I have to really reconsider now. I wanted my next truck to run off of electricity to some degree