2007 Tundra SR5 Test-Drive

[Jeff Kleb]

I test-drove a 2007 Tundra yesterday. All I can say is - Dayum! - that sucker is one fast full-sized truck.

My g/f works part-time at the local dealer and she said they were having a special sale on the Tundras and that I might want to check it out. I dropped by, as their lot is just minutes from home and I pass by it every day. My 4Runner's lease doesn't run out until January.....so I figured, "What the heck?"
:bigok:

They had several of them on the lot, but the one I drove was a regular cab SR5 4x4 with that awesome 5.7-liter "iForce" V8 engine. 381 horsepower and 401 lb/ft of torque and pulling it through a six-speed automatic tranny. Not too shabby, eh?

You would not believe it, but this truck hauls a$$ by anybody's definition. I think it is like a Mustang GT with a cargo bed. Toyota engineers did a great job with the torque curve on this thing. It pulls like crazy from just about any RPM and seems to shift almost seamlessly - unheard of in a full-sized pickup truck. The default for the traction control is always "on" unless you manually select to override it; which is good because you would cook the rubber off the tires if your right foot was not careful and you did not have it engaged.

The payload is 1800 pounds and the towing capacity is 10,000 pounds - and this is "only" supposed to be a half-ton truck.


It rode very well for a "big" truck and the road manners were almost on par with the 4Runner. There was a bit more road noise, though, which is understandable because of the open bed behind me. The interior is very nice, with a huge amount of room behind the bench seat. They have a hard plastic recessed "tray" along the floor to keep dirty, wet or greasy stuff from messing up the carpeting & upholstery.


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[Jeff Kleb]

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Toyota did their homework with this truck, which comes in three trim levels. The 'base' model is just a work truck - manual crank windows, manual A/C, steel wheels and a few basic amenities.

The next step up is the SR5 - power windows, nicer interior trim, better wheels, etc., etc. They offer a TRD package, too, which includes special wheels, skid plates, Bilstein shocks and other related goodies.

The Limited is the top model, and pretty much makes the Tundra a luxury car with a cargo bed and leather seats. Yep, you do pay for it, though. One Limited Crew Max they had on display was all decked out and ran more than 38 thousand dollars.
:bash:

Toyota sells this truck in the three aforementioned trim levels, but they also have two bed lengths and three cab sizes. There is the 'regular' cab available - with bench seat for three and a column-mounted gear selector. The center seat folds over into a large center console if there is not a third passenger. Again, there is a ton of space behind the seat - probably as much as there used to be in "super cab" trucks of just a few years ago.

The mid-size "Double Cab" has two large doors and two smaller ones for rear passengers and offers surprising amounts of rear seat room suitable for most folks. The "Crew Max" has four full-sized doors and is the choice for ferrying around six large construction workers. This tank is almost as large as the F-Series used by most highway departments. The Double Cab has a console-mounted shifter, and I think the Crew Max trucks do as well. That would make it less comfortable for a the guy stuck in the middle of the front seat.

I am not really in the market for a full-sized truck, but would recommend it as a choice for someone who was considering a Titan, F-Series or a GM offering. That 5.7 is definitely the way to go, but you should have a lot of stock in Shell & Exxon. The EPA mileage was 14 city/18 highway for the 4x4 model and 16 city/20 highway for the 4x2. I bet real-world driving might be a bit worse.

They also offer the 4.7-liter "iForce" V8 and the venerable 4.0 V6 from the 4Runner, although every one I saw yesterday had either of the two V8 engines under the hood. Perhaps only the base truck has the 4.0; I am not sure.

Toyota has some very good incentives on the Tundra right now - probably because of high gas prices and the truck's appetite for unleaded fuel. They're running 0% APR or $3500 cash back (note how they won't ever refer to it as a rebate) in order to get more people to buy them - not common for Toyota these days.

On a related note, there is rumored to be a small Caterpillar diesel in the works for the Tundra......and they're a sponsor of Toyota racing. The 5.7 barely fills the engine bay of the new Tundra, so it does make sense that a larger iron-block diesel is under development. It would easily fit in there. Do it, Toyota!!!!
:biggrin2:

Well, sorry for going on so long - but suffice it to say that I was very impressed with the '07 Tundra. Owners of this truck are going to "show their tail lights" to quite a few so-called performance cars out there. The Tundra would be a good truck for work or play - aside from its heft and thirst.

 

[charlier180]

Last week I was at my Toyota Dealer for maintenance service on my 4Runner.
While there I took a look at the new Tundras on the lot. Talk about a BIG truck (compared to the prior Tundra model).
They had a mixture of the different models. One thing that left me somewhat disappointed was the short bed of the Crew Max (ie 4 dr) model.
If Toyota ever comes out the a Heavy Duty version they had better bring out a bigger bed.

While looking at the Tundra I ran into a current Tundra owner.
He commented about the size of the new model and did not care for the looks of it either. Thought it was not very attractive.

BTW Jeff, has your G/F's dealership had to deal with any of the 5.7L Tundra engines with the cranks that fail?
One has to wonder if Toyota has determined just how many of the defective cranks are out there and which Tundras will have to hve their engines replaced.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Never heard my g/f mention anything about the problems with the Tundra's crankshaft.......but she's not in service. She's part-time on weekends with office stuff, answering phones, paging sales reps, etc., etc.

I'll ask her about it, though, and see what she says.

 

[TheBlueWave]

I heard the 5.7 camshafts were snapping on some folks. Seems to be another one of Toyota's "growing pains", prompting some recalls.
I liked the size of the old Tundra and wish they would have kept offering that truck, kinda like a Dakota for folks like me who tow boats, while the larger one would be good for people who need it for work. Or they could offer the 4.7 v8 in the Taco .
Now that Toyota owns a stake in Isuzu, diesel offerings are likely to come out, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them offer 3/4 and full ton heavy duty light trucks. Still, GM and Ford continue to outsell it. I think less and less people will be buying them for daily driving and most sales will come from folks who need them for work.

 

[Falls]

Its not a growing pain of Toyota , its a mechanical item and if not mfg'd correctly will fail. They can't all be perfect....lol. Everytime a new model comes out either import or domestic , there are always glitches. I'm sure the one's rolling off the assembly line now already have the problem taken care of I would guess/hope.

I have never driven one but love the max. crew cab 4x4 short box.. I do think it a awful big truck , almost overkill in size. I like the older style better , but the new one will grow on me. I think its also to low to the ground.

To bad about the Cshaft issue. I wonder how wide spread of a problem it is ??

If I was going to by a full size pick up today I would by a Chev. or Ford.

 

[SciRunner]

I was looking at the DC SR5 4WD 5.7L which has 6 seat belts and a column shifter. What I found odd was that the DC SR5 4WD 5.7L is almost the same price as a DC Tacoma 4WD 4L Long Bed but has more stuff (carmax.com price comparison).

 

[Uneek]

I love the CrewMax. If I was in the market a year later, I would consider that and the 4Runner. The regular cab short bed with the 5.7 V8 is what I would call the modern day hot rod. My rep says, he's gotten a bunch of requests from customers for that specific config.

There were 20 cases of broken camshafts reported. But I believe that bad batch could've made it into 30k engines, don't recall the specifics of the article. The bright side is, if the camshaft breaks, Toyota is putting in a brand new 5.7 for replacement, not a bad deal for someone who uses their truck hard or racks a ton of miles on.

 

[Thai]

There were 20 cases of broken camshafts reported. But I believe that bad batch could've made it into 30k engines, don't recall the specifics of the article. The bright side is, if the camshaft breaks, Toyota is putting in a brand new 5.7 for replacement, not a bad deal for someone who uses their truck hard or racks a ton of miles on.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28343

The main problem with this engine issue is that the current owners do not know when the engine will blow. It's like a time bomb. Most will not see the problem, but how safe do you feel about taking your Tundra into the woods or on a long vacation?? Even if Toyota knows which vehicle are affected (assumingly based on VIN number), then will Toyota replace every single engine affected?? If not, then how will the Tundra owners handle it, knowing that you can only get the new engine AFTER it blows?? How safe does that make the current owner feel??

 

[Thai]

Jeff, great review!!

As with anything, i would not buy a first year redesign model. Since you're leasing, then it is different. The Tundra redesign is very much unproven in terms of durability (under heavy use & towing) and reliability.

As for 3/4- and 1-ton trucks, i doubt that Toyota will make anything until they have a diesel engine. And when you get into this "niche" of 3/4 and 1-ton trucks, you are talking about extremely loyal Americans. It would be a tough sell for Toyota.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Jeff, great review!!

As with anything, i would not buy a first year redesign model. Since you're leasing, then it is different. The Tundra redesign is very much unproven in terms of durability (under heavy use & towing) and reliability.

As for 3/4- and 1-ton trucks, i doubt that Toyota will make anything until they have a diesel engine. And when you get into this "niche" of 3/4 and 1-ton trucks, you are talking about extremely loyal Americans. It would be a tough sell for Toyota.

I am pleased that enjoyed my comments. I tried to be thorough while it was fresh in my mind. Anyway, I did like the truck.......but probably am not really in the market for one. The test-drive was more of a fluke than anything else and I gave a new salesman a chance to impress his manager by "convincing" me to drive one.

The EPA window sticker is enough to raise my hackles. 14 city and 18 highway (4x4 model) for the 5.7-liter is slightly worse than what my V6 4Runner gets. Doh!
:bash:

Anyway, Toyota did their homework regarding features and add-ons to make this a very good "work" truck that still looks good taking your favorite lady out on the town. For something with such big brakes, thick tie rods and a sturdy axle, you know the truck is going to get the job done.

Sure, the big GM trucks, the Dodge Ram and the F-Series have loyal followers; no doubt. However, throw the (rumored) Caterpillar turbodiesel under the huge Tundra hood and the race will be on.
:awais:


P.S. My 4Runner's lease expires in January and I like the truck; but I still have an itching for a new Mustang GT. Perhaps it is a mid-life crisis.....who knows?

 

[Thai]

P.S. My 4Runner's lease expires in January and I like the truck; but I still have an itching for a new Mustang GT. Perhaps it is a mid-life crisis.....who knows?

A Corvette is the mid-life crisis drug of choice. My neighbor just got one...looks nice!

 

[Jeff Kleb]

A Corvette is the mid-life crisis drug of choice. My neighbor just got one...looks nice!

Yeah, a 'Vette would be swell - but that is way out the budget. I work for a living, remember?
:bash: :awais: