2004 4x4 Truck Of The Year Vehicles

Toyota Tundra Double CabHighs*Toyota fit and finish*Power drop-down rear window*115-volt AC power outletLows *Mini truck engine*Huge turning radius*Small brakes

VerdictToyota's a drivetrain swap away from taking on the Big Three

Toyota has opened the door to the next level of passenger capacity with its new Double Cab Tundra pickup. It seems that all of the fullsize truck manufacturers need to build a four-door truck for those families or businesses that have to haul both supplies and laborers (farm kids), and Toyota is no different. With the same high-quality Toyota interior amenities and exterior fit and finish, as usual this was a clean looking, though very long (140.5-inch wheelbase, 230-inch overall) truck. Based on an entirely new ladder-frame chassis but using the same 4.7L I-force V-8, the Double cab was solid-riding but lacked power, even compared to the regular-cab Tundra. Except in smaller SUVs (4Runner, Lexus), we found that the iForce just doesn't cut the mustard, especially against the competing fullsize trucks. We have plenty of confidence in the build quality of Toyota, but feel that they missed something in the power-to-weight ratio on the Double Cab Tundra. That being said, we did enjoy the smooth shifts of the four-speed automatic; and the fact that the entire rear window can slide down was a major plus that none of the competition has matched.

The TRD Off-Road package we received supplied us with progressive-rate springs, Bilstein gas shocks, a suspension tuned for off-road use, and P265/70-16 BFGoodrich tires on 16-inch aluminum alloy wheels. Unfortunately, none of this could help the fact that something in our frontend stopped working, leaving us with only rear-wheel drive for half of the test, and since we lacked any locking rear differential, we were stuck. The rumors pointed toward the front axle disconnect, but a verdict was never reached. It was a letdown, since the truck had done so well on the early off-road trails and had finished average on the acceleration testing (it beat the F-150 but got hammered by the Titan). Maybe it was a fluke, or maybe the extra body and frame weight of the truck needs a little more strength from the drivetrain. Toyota, you have impressed us before so how about a big-block V-8 or maybe a diesel?