Silver Sky Metallic 2008 Toyota Tundra Limited Double Cab 4x4 with Graphite Gray interior 
Half-ton pickup trucks are pretty well the exclusive domain of the domestics. North America is the only true market where vehicles like these are sold, and it’s here, where gas is cheap and plentiful, relatively speaking, and the need to tow and haul big stuff like camper trailers and recreational boats, not to mention their commercial uses, makes them the most popular vehicle type sold. Part of that statement is false. No, not the gas part, or their popularity, although that’s been slipping lately due to cheap gas not being quite as cheap. What’s false is that full-size pickups are the domain of the domestics. You see, the Japanese have been trying to get in on the half-ton action for a long time. Nissan’s been providing an alternative since 2004, with the Titan, but the brand that’s been trying to make headway in the segment since 1993 is Toyota, first with the T100, followed up by two generations of Tundra.
The first generation Tundra wasn’t so much a full-size truck as a 7/8th size one, in terms of size and capability. But Toyota wasn’t about to show up to the sandbox with the potential of getting sand kicked in its face the second time around, and with the new Tundra it’s brought the same sort of A-Game as it did with the Camry and Corolla. Having been on sale for just about a year now, the Tundra has done a commendable job at ranking high on capability and eating up market share in both private and commercial sales, despite a downturn in the light truck segment. Looking at sales, so far this year there are only two trucks that have posted year-over-year sales gains to date; one is the Ford Ranger and the other is the Tundra. Commanding nearly 20-percent of the total market with sales looking good to hit over 200,000 units this year, the Tundra has cut itself out a piece of the half-ton pickup truck pie that was almost as big as GMC last year. Toyota hasn’t done badly for itself; not in the slightest.
And how was it that Toyota managed to crack that “all-American” barrier? Well, the midsize sedan segment was the property of the domestics too, not too long ago, and they blew that, but that’s another story for another time. With regards to the Tundra, to simplify things they built it from start to finish the American way. It was styled by CALTY in California, engineered in the Big 3’s backyard, Detroit, and is built in two different plants, one in Indiana and one in Texas. The truck on the whole was also only meant for North Americans, which allowed Toyota to specifically focus on the things Chevy, Ford and Dodge buyers look for.
Because pickup trucks are no longer workforce specials, real inroads have been made by giving them the attributes of cars (rather, luxury SUVs) without losing an ounce of strength. Size, for instance, is a big one. Every configuration that the Tundra is offered in, regardless of cab or bed length, is longer than its equivalent Big 3 rival. And in terms of interior room, although not the super-sized CrewMax, the Double Cab shown here provides acres of legroom. I’ve been in the back of a CrewMax, and its legroom rivals that of long-wheelbase six-figure German limousines. The Double Cab still offers more legroom than your average midsize sedan, and with flip up rear seats, passengers aren’t the only thing you can carry in the cab.
Hoist yourself up into the Tundra’s cab and right before your eyes is the most modern-looking half-ton pick up cabin ever created. It’s much less cookie-cutter, flat-dash, boring stuff, and much more organic and actually quite cool looking. The silver-backed dashboard, with its gun-barrel style sunk-in gauges spills over into the console, which is half silver and half piano-key black. The console, lovingly named “Phantom of the Opera”, is comprised of giant, easy-to-push buttons and easier-to-twist knobs that are impossible to fumble, even with the thickest work gloves on. Though the Tundra doesn’t have soft-touch plastics (something I was expecting; this is Toyota we’re talking about), fit and finish is the best I’ve ever seen in a truck. It didn’t look or feel cheap, to the eyes or to the rap of knuckles. And due to the need to remain in control when you’re piloting a vehicle as big and bulky as this, the Tundra offers best-in-class height travel for the seats, plus a tilting and telescoping steering wheel.
If there’s something to criticize about the Tundra, it’s that its ride, when empty, is firm and bouncy. This is something that a lot of pickup trucks are prone to, but in the case of the Tundra it’s more pronounced than in the Ford F-150, Silverado or Titan, which may have a little something to do with its tow and payload ratings that are right up there at the top of the class. If Toyota’s going to compete, you know that they’re not going to stress their truck’s skeleton out. Things do calm down significantly once its leaf springs have something more than an empty bed to hold up.
2008 Toyota Tundra Double Cab
2008 Toyota Tundra Double Cab
