2007 Toyota Tundra - Review

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To absolutely no one’s surprise, the new made-in-Texas 2007 Toyota Tundra is significantly larger than the one it replaces. That’s not much of an achievement; after all, Toyota only had to have the CAD systems juice every dimension up about 5 percent to get that job done. What is surprising is how clearly the new Tundra breaks with traditional Toyota truck philosophy. After 72 years building straightforward, simply decorated, relatively unadorned and conservative trucks, Toyota is now in the stylish truck business.

There’s an argument to be made that this paradigmatic design shift by Toyota really took place with the introduction of the 2005 Tacoma. Could be. But even the Tacoma is nowhere near as agonizingly self-conscious as this new Tundra.

Self-conscious though it is, there are elements of the new Tundra that can only be described as brilliant. And other parts that have to count as bizarre or disappointing.

The big part

Exactly how big is the new Tundra? That depends on which Tundra is being measured – Regular Cab, Double Cab, and mucho macho CrewMax. Excised from the lineup is the extended Access Cab that had been a staple of the Tundra line since its introduction back in 1999 (and this writer has owned one since 1999). By eliminating the extended cab model and adding a monster-spec crew cab, Toyota is aping the Dodge range of Rams. However all 2007 Tundras are, at least nominally, half ton models while Dodge restricts it’s Godzilla, the Mega Cab, to 3/4- and one-ton models.

The three Tundra body styles come riding atop three different wheelbases. The Regular Cab Short Bed (78.7-inch long bed) model has 126.8 inches between its front and rear axle lines while the Regular Cab Long Bed (97.6-inch long bed), Double Cab Short Bed (78.7-inch long bed) and CrewMax (66.7-inch long bed) stretch that to 145.7 inches, and finally, the Double Cab Long Bed (97.6-inch long bed) runs a vast 164.6 inch wheelbase.