This morning I needed to buy about 10 storage containers (the 12-gallon size). We'll be stuffing them into various crossover SUVs when we take photos of their cargo bays. None of those crossovers happened to be around, so I looked around the garage and spotted the 2007 Toyota Tundra.
When I wheeled my cart out of the Home Depot and loaded the stacked containers into the Tundra, it was comical. It was so much more truck than this task required. I'd suspected as much before I left, but frankly I wanted an excuse to drive the Tundra. There's not much more I can add about its drivetrain, which is simply excellent, but I will add that I like the steering, too. The weighting is good, and it feels accurate. That said, after a week of driving crossovers, I slightly misjudged the Toyota's width when pulling into this space.
I also used our truck's navigation system to find a quicker way back to the office. As much as I like the slick joystick interface in recent Honda products I've driven (Accord, TSX, Pilot), there's a lot to be said for this Toyota touchscreen setup. My favorite thing about it is that you can enter both a house number and a street name without switching screens. The fact that the nav screen itself is a long reach from the driver seat isn't a big problem for me, because my arms are fairly long and you have to be stopped to program it anyway.
One other note: The "Maint Reqd" light is on, so our Tundra is ready for another oil change.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 20,333 miles
louiswei says:
12:38 PM, 06/18/08
Nothing beats a nice touchscreen, NOTHING.
Okay, maybe telepathic but that's another topic all together...
carmizvi says:
12:43 PM, 06/18/08
Louis: Nothing?
OK, seriously, I hear ya. It's just a smidge more intuitive than a separate navigation device/joystick/whatever. The smudgy screen's a bit of an annoyance, though.
estreka says:
12:43 PM, 06/18/08
I had a Garmin this past weekend as I went down to Yellowstone. I've NEVER been a nav person, but I must say, I really liked it. I would still never pay $2K for a nav unit, though.
cheslin says:
01:42 PM, 06/18/08
High quality voice control does... you can actually use it while driving, and you don't smudge up your screen!
cruiserhead1 says:
01:46 PM, 06/18/08
so should we start calling you "Monkey Arms Riches"? ;P
Tundra- best truck with the worst timing
lvranger says:
02:29 PM, 06/18/08
^^^ +1, and the worst interior.
eriches says:
03:47 PM, 06/18/08
cruiserhead: You're off the Xmas card list.
cruiserhead1 says:
12:55 PM, 06/19/08
uh,oh... ummm...but long arms are so sexy...they lengthen the legs and highlight the face.... umm...and...and...
desmolicious says:
02:43 PM, 06/19/08
are great for swingin' through trees..