All Entries in the "Toyota Tundra Reviews and Comparisons" Category

2009 Tundra vs. 2009 F150 – Part Three- Ride, Handling, and Comfort

Here’s the third and final portion of our 2009 Tundra vs 2009 F150 comparison, where we compare ride, handing, and comfort, and announce a winner. Make sure to read part one, a mechanical comparison, and part two, comparing features and pricing, before reading the overall results.

RIDE:

For 2009, Ford added six inches of length to the F150’s leaf springs to enhance both capacity and ride quality. Ford seems to have emphasized compliance in this suspension – driving off the highway and onto a gravel access road we couldn’t feel any difference in terms of noise, vibrations, bumps or jerks. Frustrated, we slowed to a crawl and found erosion ruts at the road’s edge before we felt any difference in the ride quality. Even then, the difference didn’t come in the form of any perceptible bounce.

The Tundra gives you more feel for the road with a stiffer suspension tuning, but that better feel results in a few more bumps and jolts. Still, for a truck, the ride is excellent. Neither of these vehicles will impersonate the ride you get in a new Lincoln Towncar, but the F150 is just a little closer.

Winner:

2009 Tundra vs 2009 F150 – Part Two – Features and Pricing

Here’s part two of our 2009 Tundra vs. 2009 F150 comparison. This time, the focus is on the features and pricing of the two trucks. Read part one, the mechanical comparison.

INTERIOR:

Ford re-designed the interior of the 2009 F-150, and while it maintains a solid, uncomplicated truck aura, the finishes are improved, as is space in the SuperCrew (engineered with a flat floor for better storage) once the seats are flipped up. The headroom in the Ford SuperCab and CrewCab is slightly larger than the Tundra, the legroom slightly less. Both trucks offer a variety of nifty options and features, but the coolest options for the F150 are the Tool Link that uses Radio Frequency Identification so you can run inventory on the tools you’re carrying from the front seat, and the handy variety of steps available to get in and out (be it in and out of the cab or the bed).

The Tundra’s dash and interior finishes aren’t great: modern and clean, but not really on the same par with top-of-the-line luxury rivals. The smaller, recessed gauges on the dash disappear once you put on your sunglasses, and some of the center stack controls can be hard to reach. Seats are comfortable, however, visibility is great, and storage is superb. This is one of those nebulous areas where personal taste comes in. If your truck interior is doomed to dust, your seats covered with dirt, dog spit and spilled coffee, who really cares what it looked like in the dealer’s lot.

Tundra makes selection simpler with only the basic model in three cab and two bed configurations and the SR5 and Limited packages.

Winner:

2009 Toyota Tundra vs 2009 Ford F150 – Part One – Mechanicals

Ford insiders often acknowledge that the F150 is the heart and soul of the company, and for good reason. The F-Series pickup is the best selling vehicle in the USA, and one of the best selling vehicles in the world for the last 30 years or so. The F150 is ubiquitous, as American as apple pie, and it arguably sets the standard in the world of full-size pickups.

In other words, the new 2009 F150 is stiff competition for the Tundra. After a

Kelly Blue Book Declares Tundra Has Best Full-Size Truck Resale Value

Despite the “perfect storm of economic issues” cited by Eric Ibara, director, market valuation for Kelley Blue Book, the Toyota Tundra was declared to be have the best resale value of any full-size truck model for 2009.

If you were looking for one more reason to buy a 2009 Tundra (in addition to a great engine, spectacular tow rating, safety, top-rated reliability, and Toyota quality, there you have it.

Read all about 2009’s best resale value awards on KBB.com.

2008 Tundra vs. 2009 Dodge Ram Part Three – Ride, Handling, and Comfort

The third and final installment of our 2008 Tundra 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 comparison compares the ride, handling, and comfort of the two trucks. If you haven’t read part one – Mechnicals – or part two – Features and Pricing – then you might want to take a look.

RIDE:

We have to insert our caveats here. Both vehicles were tested empty. Also, it’s important to remember the most subjective judgments concern ride, handling and comfort.

The Ram rides like a car. Indeed, that was Dodge