With the 2007 Tundra, Toyota has decided to get serious about the light-duty truck market. Gone is what some derisively called a "7/8s" pickup. In its place is an honest-to-goodness, full-size, half-ton pickup that raises the competitive bar.
Other than some basic, no more than skin-deep styling cues that keep an appropriate modicum of faith with what has gone before, everything about the 2007 Toyota Tundra is new. From mundane features like four-wheel disc brakes to a cost-is-no-object, all-new 381-horsepower V8, from a re-configured assembly line in Indiana to the costly construction of a plant in Texas, Toyota has pulled out all the stops. That thinking extends to the number of variations offered.
The 2007 Toyota Tundra comes in three body styles: a two-door Regular cab; a Double Cab with front-hinged, secondary rear side doors; and a four-door CrewMax. It's available in three bed lengths and three different wheelbases. There are three engine choices, a V6 and two V8s, and a choice of five-speed and six-speed automatics. Rear-wheel drive is standard, four-wheel drive optional. Three trim levels, DX, SR5 and Limited, offer seating for two, three, five or six. In all, Toyota says the '07 Tundra has 31 different build configurations.
Payload ratings range from 1410 pounds to 2060 pounds. An available deck rail system in the bed anchors moveable tie-down cleats rated at 220 pounds. Maximum towing capacity tops out at 10,800 pounds, at launch best in class.
A DVD-based, GPS-linked navigation system with backup camera is available. So is a state-of-the-art, rear-seat entertainment system with a nine-inch LCD that's the equal of anything in the class. With the front bucket seats comes a center console storage system that's as close to a mobile office as any honest pickup should be.
Fully contemporary suspension design smoothes the ride and gets some interesting, geometric tweaks in the rear that improve stability and steering response. Standard electronic stability control, plus traction control and limited slip differential, adds a comforting level of occupant safety.
Clearly, the full-size pickup market is undergoing dramatic change. Nissan led the way with the Titan, but has been hampered by a limited lineup. Toyota wasn't about to make the same mistake, and it obviously hasn't, whether in a variety of models, powertrains, trim levels or interior features.
If Ford, Chevrolet (and GMC) and Dodge think they're hearing something behind them and are worried it's gaining, they're right. They are, they should be, because it is.