2007 Toyota Tundra - First Drive

Because Toyota mounted massive disc brakes on the Tundra (with 13.9-inch rotors up front; 13.6 in back), the smallest Tundra wheel is 18 inches in diameter. Our TRD-optioned tester was shod with P275/65R18 BFGoodrich Rugged Trail T/As, which worked very well on the pavement and were fine on the graded dirt roads that made up the "off-road" portion of our test.

The Tundra's road manners are first-rate. Only when traffic lanes (or brushy trails) got narrow did we feel its bulk. Otherwise the truck was agile and well-planted, with an ultra-smooth ride over pavement and dirt. We felt virtually no axle hop on- or off-road, and even high-speed railroad-track and cattle-guard crossings didn't upset the Tundra's composure.

If anything, some of the journalists on our trip criticized the Tundra as "too nice," thinking that a truck shouldn't ride as well or as quietly as a well-appointed SUV. But our experiences in the new fullsize GM pickups, and now the Tundra, tell us the ride-and-handling bar has been raised. Nowadays you don't have to compromise comfort for capability, and we predict the more "trucklike" entries in the field will soon feel very old-fashioned.

On the inside, the Tundra is cavernous. Head, leg, and elbow room are generous at every seating position. This is especially true in the CrewMax, which offers limousine-like acreage for rear-seat passengers and the industry's first sliding and reclining rear seat. Up front you'll find full instrumentation in the dash and burly knobs for the climate controls. The door pulls, inside and out, are oversized too, for ease of use when wearing work gloves.

The Tundra is packed with interesting and usable features, from a tilt-and-telescope steering wheel and center front console (in trucks with bucket seats) big enough to accommodate a laptop computer and hanging file folders, to a backup camera in the tailgate aimed to assist by-yourself trailer hookups. That tailgate even has internal dampers so it won't slam down when you open it.

Two big questions about the Tundra won't be answered until closer to its February launch: price and fuel economy. When asked about cost, the Toyota execs gave the usual "value-packed" and "we'll be competitive" speech. As for mileage, the onboard computer on our 5.7L Double Cab showed about a 12-mpg average over our test loop. Granted, much of that was spent on steep, winding grades at high altitudes-not ideal for maximizing fuel economy. But we wouldn't be surprised to find that the powerful 5.7 is thirsty too. At least it's happy drinking 87 octane.