In no one's estimation is the 2007 Chevy Silverado LT small. It is a very large truck: 19 feet long, more than 6 high and 6.5 wide. But it doesn't really feel that way. I even drove the Honda Fit subcompact the preceding few days, and the Silverado felt quite comfortable afterwards...
As you may know, a few months back I had an "incident" with our long-term Toyota Tundra. I remember that day, I felt somewhat intimidated by its size, which I never feel with the Silverado. So I thought I'd do a comparison, side by side. And they're nearly identical. The two trucks are the same width, but the Tundra's 1.2 inches shorter and 2.1 inches taller. But the Silverado feels a lot smaller, which is important when you drive. It's not remotely narrower, but it is just so much easier to back up, to move around in tight spaces, all of that good stuff. Must be a case of my favorite things: big windows, reasonable beltline, and big mirrors. The 3 keys to safe truck driving.
Senior Copy Editor Doug Lloyd @ 23,813 miles
louiswei says:
05:27 PM, 01/23/08
The car/truck doesn't drive small just because it "feels" small. Here's a cold hard fact which no one can argue with:
Silverado turning diameter: 46.9 ft
Tundra turning diameter: 44.0 ft
However, I do agree that the bigger greenhouse on the Silverado could well contribute to its smaller feel.
Also, is it a fact that Silverado has bigger mirrors than Tundra?
orangutan says:
05:29 PM, 01/23/08
Could it be that you drove the Tundra first (your first time driving a large pickup, if I remember correctly) and were therefore introduced to the nature of big trucks so that you were less surprised by what you found when you finally got into the Silverado?
funkymunky says:
05:55 PM, 01/23/08
Nope. I had driven the Silverado several times before I set foot in the Tundra. I was immediately aware of how big the Tundra felt, and how it was relatively hard to gauge the sides.
lazyhater says:
05:57 PM, 01/23/08
Maybe it is because the interior of the Chevy is smaller then the interior of the Tundra? That maybe one reason why it "feels" smaller? Because it is indeed smaller inside even though the outside dimension is the same.
Clever packaging have a huge effect on interior space, like the Honda Fit, it looks tiny outside, but is surprisingly big on the inside. Clever packaging!
billt9 says:
06:34 PM, 01/23/08
Belt line height is key.
The feeling of less visibility equates the feeling of a hulking unwieldy car.
Try adjusting the seat height of the driver's seat lower, even in the same car. It'll feel big and unwieldy.
aspade says:
06:59 PM, 01/23/08
Curb to curb turning diameter is only half the story. It leaves out area swept by the corner overhangs which is usually more important as tires are tougher than fenders.
According to the CR test, counting the overhang gives the Chevy 50 ft against the Toyota's 49.
toyota4life says:
07:35 PM, 01/23/08
Why all of a sudden it's Tundra vs silverado? are edmunds editors starting to fish for a good story?
firstwagon says:
07:53 PM, 01/23/08
Because after the new Dodge Ram comes out next year, no one remember the Silverado or Tundra. Might as well talk about them while people still care.
stovt001 says:
09:37 PM, 01/23/08
Low belt line and large windows and tires make any car or truck easier to drive, yet sadly so often these things are passed over in favor of pillbox styling and toy mirrors.
orangutan says:
12:05 AM, 01/24/08
toyota4life: Because those are the two pickups they have in their test fleet?
tryan says:
04:12 AM, 01/24/08
Are we still making excuses for our driver error? =)
Actually, if you get the towing package on the Tundra it comes with some pretty huge side mirrors that extend as well - definitely much bigger than the Silverado's standard ones.
You want bad mirrors? Try a Toyota FJ..
roar02ram says:
07:16 AM, 01/24/08
FINALLY! I thought I was the only one that thought that the Tundra had a hulking feeling that the Silverado (or the Ram) simply didn't. The Silverado "drives small" and never feels intimidating, while the Tundra just feels enormous & was not comfortable for me to drive even having spent 2 years with a Dodge Ram that I loved dearly.
sabastian says:
07:57 AM, 01/24/08
Is it possible to get larger mirrors on the Chevy because the standard ones look pretty small. A guy I know has an F-250 with extending mirrors for towing, which I thought was pretty clever and probably helps the truck feel even smaller when driving.
danielacosta says:
06:19 PM, 01/24/08
I think they both drive fine. I went from an 01 Silverado to an 05 Frontier Crew to an 07 Tundra DC. Second choice was the 07 Silverado. Lots of reasons why the Tundra was my choice, but the one everyone can relate to is acceleration from 60 on up. The Silverado feels normal, the Tundra 5.7 is a rocket by comparison. As others have already mentioned, Tundra's tighter turning circle is a big plus, too.