Toyota Tundra test drive Standard cabin since 2006 pickup

Second generation Toyota tundra

The second generation of Toyota Tundra, dating back to the 2008 model year, this symbiosis of a frantic truck and a solid pickup, officially do not carry a large pickup from Toyota in North America, which debuted in 1999, was loved not for beauty or comfort.
Yankees voted with a wallet for Tundra for two purely economic reasons. Firstly, with subsequent sale, this model minimally loses in price and quickly finds the next owner. And secondly, you can ignore the guarantee (good with the reliability of everything is OK) and spending only on cheap mineral oil once a kind of 4050 thousand km. So the second generation of Tundra, which is a purely American product, which is also important for patriotic citizens of the United States, went along the beaten path. There is a good name, the design is fundamentally the same as the predecessor, and the number of configurations exceeds three dozen. Moreover, the differences in them are quite significant.
 
I don't want to choose
Three cabins are offered to choose from: two -door with one row of Regular Cab seats, with two rows and four doors of Double Cab, and with an enlarged legs space of the rear passengers Crewmax. The cargo platform exists in three versions: the shortest 1.68 m (for Crewmax it is the only one), and the maximum is 2.47 m. It should be noted that with the largest cargo platform the total length of the Double Cab is 6.28 m, so putting such an elephant to the standard parking spaces very much not easy. In addition, there are three types of interior decoration: from simple to chic. The number of seats depending on the cab and configuration changes from three to six.
With a double shift
There are also three engines: basic V6 4.0 l (236 l. P.), Known in the former Tundra and other models of the company. Next are two I-FORCE V8: 4.7 l (231 l.), Also installed on the first generation of the model, and the latest 5.7 l (381 l.) With a directly excavator torque of 544 nm. It uses a double control system of gas distribution phases with electronic control (Dual VVT-I), where inlet and exhaust valves are driven by separate distributions. This modern motor, despite the large volume and high capacity, meets the strict requirements of modern environmental standards and is economical in most operating modes.
 
Only automatic KP is combined with motors. For 5.7-liter, this is the latest 6-speed machine, and for the rest 5-speed. In models equipped with a factory towing device, the transfer number of the main transmission is higher than the standard ones. What is not surprising, because the maximum permissible traction force for modification with the most powerful engine is almost five tons (with the rest it is the least 500 kg). Since the Tundra pickup, created for the American market, it is offered both with all -wheel drive and without it. In versions of 4x4, the front axle connection is manually rotated by turning the corresponding switch, and on models with the V8 engine, this can be done during movement. The same switch also turns on the reducing gear in the handout. In the rear bridge, a high -wheel drive version has a high -friction differential (ALDS) with the Active Trac with electronic control function. However, you can read about all the features in catalogs, so we better share our impressions of the dough.

Matter: Toyota Tundra
 

 
Quiet in the tundra, as in the forest
The first thing that rushed into the ears was excellent soundproofing, because it is no secret that Toyota is somehow not very good with this business. On the go, Tundra with the Double Cab cabin did not reveal a pick -up disease manifested with an unloaded platform: the back did not live her life, did not jump along the road and did not interfere at all. Although the design of suspensions of this car is the most traditional. In front, an independent circuit with double levers, springs and reptile stability with a diameter of 35 mm. Behind the small springs with subressor, which reduce the bouncing of the wheels and compensate for the rolls at uneven loading. The tiny radius of the turn was very surprised. Later, when studying the catalogs, there was also a figure: for a modification that was we the test, with a platform of medium length, this parameter is 6.7 m. At the moment, no one has such indicators among large pickups.
Go to the point
At the wheel, you do not feel like a truck driver. The overview is excellent, everything is at hand, the steering wheel is quite informative. The car in the management is a very obedient like a passenger car. The machine operates like a representative of a representative class. The programs are softer softly, on time and without jerking. And you can notice the moment of switching mainly by the tachometer. Acceleration to a hundred of this hefty pickup with a 5.7-liter engine according to factory data seems unrealistic for 6.2 seconds. It was not possible to measure the accuracy of numbers with devices, but in the sensations it seems like the truth. Despite such a agility, Tundra does not provoke embroidery between rows in the stream. Unless it is very pleasant to crush the gas pedal stronger when overtaking
 
There are many pockets and messes in the cabin, including secret ones. Anti -boom (Traction Control) and the stabilization (Vehicle Stability Control) systems included in the basic equipment of all versions are made disconnected. There is a rear view camera, a musical system of the Hi-End class, climate control, cruise control, Bluetooth. As for the fuel consumption, according to the owner, in the route mode 120140 km/h with an ATV in the body, no more than 17 liters of combustible fuel flies into the body. Well, since Tundra is an American track, then she is enough for 92nd gasoline.
During a photo shoot, pickups on road rubber crawled on slippery stones and concrete blocks. And this is without slipping and the howl of the motor, only at the moment. I did not even have to turn on a reduced gear.
There is tuning
Those who wish to improve the pickup will be pleasantly surprised by the assortment of original accessories. The catalog offers various liners in the body, partitions, footboards, caps on the cargo platform. Well, TRD (Toyota Racing Development) prepared a modernized exhaust and brake systems, a tuning suspension, and some of the body parts. For use on bad roads, there is Off-Road Package, which includes a stiffer suspension, 18-inch BFG T/A tires on enhanced disks, fog lights and anterior towing hook.
The market for large pickups has not yet matured, and it is not clear whether it will ever happen at all. The circle of those who need to tow in our directions heavy trailers, say, with a yacht or campper. However, if you consider Tundra with a residential module on the platform as a travel machine, then this is another matter. Still, because we have a full -fledged SUV with a large road clearance, powerful engines and from a family with a good reputation.
   
   

 
Author: Evgenia Lyubimova, photo of Alexander Ortnova-Baranova
 

Source: Magazine 4x4 [January /2009]