First Impression: 2008 Toyota Tundra 5.7 V8
There are a lot of things that can be said about the new Tundra. It’s remarkable in a lot of ways: it’s the first real bid by a foreign manufacturer at the full-size truck market here in the US, and it’s the first one done right. It’s built in San Antonio, Texas - domestic parts content is somewhere near 80%, which is a bit weird. It has the capabilities of a truck, but rides sort of like a car. It’s got a rather arresting appearance.
So there are a lot of impressive and surprising things about the new Tundra, in theory and in execution. But one stands out above all the others: this truck has a TON of power. As in, like, occasionally more than you’re really comfortable having.
The Tundra has far and away the best powertrain in the class - a heavy duty six-speed automatic transmission mated to a 5.7L 32v VVT-i V8. This combo makes a total of 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft of torque. What’s neat is, since the transmission has so many ratios - and very steep double overdrives - this allows Toyota to run a ridiculously short 4.300:1 final drive ratio. Which means that acceleration in the lower gears is just plain alarming.
No vehicle that is this large, weighs this much, and has aerodynamics this similar to a refrigerator should accelerate like this. Plant your foot in the carpet and the Tundra will pin you in your seat. ToMoCo claims the single-cab 2WD Tundra 5.7 can do 0-60 from a standstill in 5.68 seconds. I believe them. Just to put that in perspective, when the first SVT Mustang Cobra came out in 1993, SVT claimed a 5.9 second 0-60 run. Whoa.
Besides the massive powertrain, this is an impressive truck. The ride/handling compromise is impressive considering the Tundra is rated to tow 10,800 pounds. The brakes are massive and quite powerful - 13.9″ ventilated discs in the front, 13.0″ solid discs in the rear with four-piston calipers. Serious hardware. The interior is surprisingly spacious and has more storage space than you could ever need.
But really, I’m glad that Toyota puts a 115mph limiter on this truck. I’m afraid to think of exactly how much inertia a Tundra has at 140+ miles an hour, and how much damage it could do if it hit something. An alarming prospect, indeed.