Toyota deserves some credit just for continuing to duke it out in the full-size pickup market. That’s no easy task when the market is dominated by offerings from Ford, Chevy and Ram and all of the competition seems to roll out annual upgrades to stay ahead in a fiercely competitive segment. Toyota let us have a go in their redesigned-for-2014 Tundra and there’s a lot to like, starting with the stout V8, slick 6-speed auto and an interior that should all but erase memories of the cramped pickup cabs we endured in the ’90s. Not everything catches the class average though, like an EPA combined rating of 15 mpg and some interior materials that leave a bit to be desired in something designated Platinum Edition. For our full opinion you’ll need to tune into our video review above.
Big Ol’ Honking Pickup Truck
We tried to lead with something more insightful, but that is pretty much the best way to describe the third-generation Toyota Tundra. It’s big. Very big. Every aspect of it seems purposely designed to out-scale the domestic competition once and for all. In fact, I don’t think the pictures do it justice (and I took the pictures!) It almost has the look and feel of a three-quarter-ton Ford Super Duty. It’s as if Toyota overshot the half-ton class and landed in a five-eighths-ton class of one. Clearly this Tundra makes up for Toyota’s last two half-hearted foray’s into the full-size pickup realm with girth to spare. But there is more to being a successful pickup truck than size. Has Toyota done their homework? Read more…
Hear that nervous clattering noise coming from the North? That’s the sound of Detroit shaking in its old, worn-out boots.
After watching the Japanese steal sales year after year in the small, midsize, and luxury car markets, the folks in northern Michigan are surely biting their fingernails at the thought of Japan swooping in for another conquest. This time, though, the fight will be over the mainstay of all-American transportation — the full-size truck.
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