2008 Toyota Tundra Limited Double Cab 4x4 with a 6 inch lift, presented by Chris Moran from Chicago Cars Direct.
We took delivery in June 2007 and passed the 40,000-mile mark 11 months later. It was a mostly trouble-free experience. The big T thrice traveled from Ann Arbor to California and back and made runs to Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, and assorted other racing facilities around the heartland. Through all of this duty, heavy and otherwise, we experienced only one operational glitch that prompted an unscheduled service stop. Actually, we experienced this hiccup—an instrument panel speckled by warning lights—more than once. But aside from a temporary loss of cruise control, the warning lights seemed unrelated to any real problems. This was confirmed by our local Toyota dealer, who ran diagnostics, cleared the trouble lights, and pronounced the truck healthy—no charge—so we went our merry way.
There were eight scheduled maintenance visits, mostly devoted to routine service such as oil and filter changes, tire rotations, and various inspections. Add them all up and you have a tab of $628, which may seem a tad steep but compares favorably with our most recent long-term full-size pickup, a Nissan Titan [August 2005]. The Titan required five routine service visits for $736 in all.
Feeding lots of horsepower and moving lots of mass doesnt pay dividends at the gas pump. The EPA projects this Tundra at 14 mpg in the city, 18 on the highway. Considering its workload, we werent surprised that our average mpg came in below the urban projection—13 mpg without a trailer, 12 mpg when towing one. Our fuel bill for the full test was $13,600.
So, aside from two or three episodes of mysterious warning-light hysteria, no problems. But it would be a mistake to view our collective Tundra experience as one essentially uninterrupted voyage of bliss. Several logbook scribes thought the Tundra was just too big, though this only proves that you cant please everyone. But there were also complaints about interior materials that seemed below Toyota standards, particularly the tweedy cloth upholstery, which could use greater stain resistance. A few drivers judged some of the secondary controls to be difficult to reach, and the audio system had very few friends. No crispness, wrote one critic, and a ton of bass that the speakers cant handle. Awful!
Several drivers remarked on spongy brake-pedal feel, a demerit that also popped up in our long-term test of a Toyota Tacoma [February 2007], and braking distances were so-so, though we must also note that the Tundras 70-to-0-mph stops improved by 10 feet—to 191 feet—in testing at the end of its stay. Its also fair to note that this distance is not bad by the standards for this class.
Towing performance, to our surprise, drew mixed reviews. Tundras with the 5.7-liter V-8 are rated capable of towing as much as 10,300 pounds, and our test truck managed the 5000- and 6000-pound loads (flatbed trailer plus car) hitched up by some of our club racers without even breathing hard. But it was a different story with Larry Websters big 24-foot enclosed trailer, which weighs more than 7000 pounds loaded. Rigs such as that one have the aerodynamic properties of hauling a billboard, which sapped some of the Tundras zeal, and Webster never was able to completely cure a slight trailer sway at freeway speeds.
On the other hand, the logbook reflected generally high praise for the Tundras ride quality, its on-center steering response, its abundant power, and its remarkably quiet operation. Performance improved as the miles rolled by—6.0 seconds to 60 at end of test versus 6.2 seconds at its start—and the iForce V-8 did not consume any oil between changes. We also were impressed with the durability of the Michelin LTX A/S tires, which performed well in all conditions and appeared to be only halfway through their tread life when wed finished our test.
Those who found this truck too big would obviously find any similar full-size truck to be excessive, particularly in a time of rapidly escalating fuel prices. But for those of us who have a real use for a big-job pickup, we think theres no question that the Tundra has achieved parity with the other big boys
We took delivery in June 2007 and passed the 40,000-mile mark 11 months later. It was a mostly trouble-free experience. The big T thrice traveled from Ann Arbor to California and back and made runs to Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, and assorted other racing facilities around the heartland. Through all of this duty, heavy and otherwise, we experienced only one operational glitch that prompted an unscheduled service stop. Actually, we experienced this hiccup—an instrument panel speckled by warning lights—more than once. But aside from a temporary loss of cruise control, the warning lights seemed unrelated to any real problems. This was confirmed by our local Toyota dealer, who ran diagnostics, cleared the trouble lights, and pronounced the truck healthy—no charge—so we went our merry way.
There were eight scheduled maintenance visits, mostly devoted to routine service such as oil and filter changes, tire rotations, and various inspections. Add them all up and you have a tab of $628, which may seem a tad steep but compares favorably with our most recent long-term full-size pickup, a Nissan Titan [August 2005]. The Titan required five routine service visits for $736 in all.
Feeding lots of horsepower and moving lots of mass doesnt pay dividends at the gas pump. The EPA projects this Tundra at 14 mpg in the city, 18 on the highway. Considering its workload, we werent surprised that our average mpg came in below the urban projection—13 mpg without a trailer, 12 mpg when towing one. Our fuel bill for the full test was $13,600.
So, aside from two or three episodes of mysterious warning-light hysteria, no problems. But it would be a mistake to view our collective Tundra experience as one essentially uninterrupted voyage of bliss. Several logbook scribes thought the Tundra was just too big, though this only proves that you cant please everyone. But there were also complaints about interior materials that seemed below Toyota standards, particularly the tweedy cloth upholstery, which could use greater stain resistance. A few drivers judged some of the secondary controls to be difficult to reach, and the audio system had very few friends. No crispness, wrote one critic, and a ton of bass that the speakers cant handle. Awful!
Several drivers remarked on spongy brake-pedal feel, a demerit that also popped up in our long-term test of a Toyota Tacoma [February 2007], and braking distances were so-so, though we must also note that the Tundras 70-to-0-mph stops improved by 10 feet—to 191 feet—in testing at the end of its stay. Its also fair to note that this distance is not bad by the standards for this class.
Towing performance, to our surprise, drew mixed reviews. Tundras with the 5.7-liter V-8 are rated capable of towing as much as 10,300 pounds, and our test truck managed the 5000- and 6000-pound loads (flatbed trailer plus car) hitched up by some of our club racers without even breathing hard. But it was a different story with Larry Websters big 24-foot enclosed trailer, which weighs more than 7000 pounds loaded. Rigs such as that one have the aerodynamic properties of hauling a billboard, which sapped some of the Tundras zeal, and Webster never was able to completely cure a slight trailer sway at freeway speeds.
On the other hand, the logbook reflected generally high praise for the Tundras ride quality, its on-center steering response, its abundant power, and its remarkably quiet operation. Performance improved as the miles rolled by—6.0 seconds to 60 at end of test versus 6.2 seconds at its start—and the iForce V-8 did not consume any oil between changes. We also were impressed with the durability of the Michelin LTX A/S tires, which performed well in all conditions and appeared to be only halfway through their tread life when wed finished our test.
Those who found this truck too big would obviously find any similar full-size truck to be excessive, particularly in a time of rapidly escalating fuel prices. But for those of us who have a real use for a big-job pickup, we think theres no question that the Tundra has achieved parity with the other big boys
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