Test Drive: 2007 Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 4×4

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Photo Gallery: 2007 Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 4×4

Surrey, British Columbia – Toyota is making a fresh assault on the North American truck market with an all-new and bigger Tundra. Designed and built in North America for North Americans, the ’07 Tundra is now a genuine full-sized pickup and it comes in a wider variety of cab and cargo bed offerings, with more towing capability.

While showing a friend my test Tundra Double Cab I released the tailgate latch and let it go. His hand went out instinctively to catch it before it crashed to halt on the hinge straps. To his surprise, but not mine, the tailgate’s fall was magically cushioned before impact and it gently came to rest.

Call it clever or cool or not really a big deal, it does show that uncanny attention to detail, innovation and product quality that Toyota now brings to big truck design. In addition to the torsion bar assisted tailgate (with a concealed strut) there’s a new 381-horsepower V8 engine, standard four-wheel disc brakes, standard electronic stability control and traction control, a limited slip differential, a heavy-duty cabin heater (on Canadian models) and an optional cargo box rail system with moveable tie-down anchors.

2007 Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 4×4. Click image to enlarge

The Tundra has three body styles: a two-door Regular cab; a Double Cab with smaller front-hinged rear doors; and a full four-door CrewMax. There are three cargo bed lengths and it comes in three different wheelbases. And there’s a choice of Deluxe, SR5 or Limited trim levels.

The two V8 engine choices are a 4.7-litre, which can produce up to 271-horsepower and 313 lb-ft of torque, or a 5.7-litre that can generate up to 381-horsepower and 401 lb-ft of torque. Both engines feature dual overhead cams, 32 valves, variable valve timing and come with a heavy duty battery, starter and alternator.

The transmissions used are five-speed or six-speed automatics and there’s a choice of 4×2 or 4×4 drive-train configurations. Towing capacity is now a best in class 4,895 kg (10,800 lbs) and the cargo box payload capacity is up to 860 kg (1,900 lbs).

My test Tundra Double Cab SR5 4×4 came with the standard cargo box and the 4.7-litre engine. A base price of $36,500 was enhanced by an optional off-road package that boosted the price to $40,825.

2007 Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 4×4. Click image to enlarge

In case you missed the new Tundra’s bigger proportions, the styling makes a big appearance statement. A massive chrome grille, big headlights, oversized bumpers and flexed muscle fenders are rather intimidating.

Big front door handles are designed for work glove-wearing hands, but apparently the Double Cab’s rear passengers have daintier digits (photo). I do prefer the forward hinged doors to the “suicide” alternative generally found on this size of cab.

From the rear, the Tundra looks like a — truck. The tailgate was lockable and as appears to be the trend these days, the cargo box walls are quite high (566-mm/22.3-inches) and capped with durable vinyl. My tester also had a rail system with sliding anchors (photo) that can be used to tie-down cargo.

It was a bit of a climb into the driver seat of my 4×4 Tundra – the sturdy A-pillar grab handles were certainly welcome features. The off-road package added a power adjustable driver seat that was wide and comfortable.

2007 Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 4×4. Click image to enlarge

Compared to the ’06 Tundra, Toyota has increased interior length, width, height and distance between front and rear seats. My Tundra came with the ultimate centre console, a mobile office storage system with room for a laptop and letter-sized file hangers.

In fact, storage places abound in the Tundra cabin. There’s a double glove box and the lower one has a damper on its drop-down door. Even the front door pulls have built-in little storage packets (photo).

Once enthroned in the driver’s seat you’ll notice that all-round visibility is exceptionally good. The side mirrors are a decent size, but I expected them to be bigger, given the general extra-large theme.

Exceptionally large control knobs for the heater and vent system were in character, although they reminded me of the knobs on my new barbeque. Here again fine tuning with work gloves (or oven mitts) on is not a problem.

2007 Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 4×4. Click image to enlarge

In terms of safety, size does matter, as you really feel safe sitting high while riding in a vehicle this big. My Tundra also came with a complete occupant protection system including side curtain air bags. Standard active safety features (ESC, ABS etc) are excellent too.

The lower child seat anchorages were very easy to use but the rear seat top tether anchors are a little different. You slip the tether hook though a webbing loop directly behind the seat, run it across the seatback and attach it an anchor behind the adjacent seat position. It’s easier to do than it sounds and provides a good tight fit.

On the road, the steering wheel initially felt kinda big, yet still not out of place. On the road it had a lighter feel than I expected, but steering feedback was good. The turning circle was also better than I expected, in fact, it’s slightly tighter than the ’06 version.

The rigid, live rear axle lets you know its there occasionally, especially on rough roads, but overall the ride was impressive (for a pickup). Apparently Toyota has conjured up some interesting rear suspension tweaks that improve stability and steering response while towing. Non-parallel rear leaf springs are designed to suppress load-induced rear steering.

2007 Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 4×4. Click image to enlarge

My test Tundra came with the smaller 4.7-litre V8, a very nice engine that’s been around few years. The larger 5.7-litre V8 is new this year. This is an amazingly sophisticated truck engine that can change valve opening duration as well as timing for optimal power and fuel economy.

The five-speed automatic transmission was smooth and offers adaptive downshifts while braking on a downhill grade. A six-speed automatic comes with the 5.7-litre engine.

Bigger, with more power, more towing capability and more comfort, the Toyota Tundra finally makes it to the big league.