Toyota Tundra reviews

2007 Toyota Tundra Interior Features

Interior ergonomics are way above par for full-size pickups. The seats are comfortably cushioned without being soft, with modest side bolsters in front. Deep seat bottoms provide ample thigh support. Fabric upholstery feels durable, likewise the leather, which is more of a heavy-duty grade than luxurious.

Visibility is unparalleled; even the rear seat entertainment system's drop-down LCD is only barely noticeable in the rear view mirror.

Dash-mounted controls, most of the more critical and frequently used large knobs with solid detents, show preference to work gloves over polished fingernails. The steering wheel, the largest in any Toyota, is properly scaled for the largest Toyota pickup. The floor-mounted shift lever feels more natural and more precise, with the manual-select gate on the driver's side of the gate, than the column-shift, but neither transmit any sloppiness.

The Tundra has a roomy cab. In occupant measurements, the '07 Tundra generally gives up little or nothing to the competition, although where it trails, it's sometimes by more than an inch; for example, in hiproom where the Ford F-150 offers almost 2.5 inches more in front, the Dodge Ram almost two inches more both front and rear. However, in all-important rear seat legroom in the double cab, likely the biggest seller, only the Dodge Ram tops the Tundra, with the F-150 coming up two inches short.

Generally, the CrewMax is more comfortable for rear passengers. The back seat in the CrewMax is closer to the 40/20/60 front bench seat in shape and contours with deep seat bottoms and a slide-and-recline feature. The Double Cab rear seat is the most bench-like. Dogs may prefer the Double Cab, however. With the seats folded for cargo, the Double Cab has a significantly lower load height, which should make it easier for canines to get in and out.

The passenger seatback in the Regular Cab folds forward to present a flat work/writing area, and there's room behind the seat for a mid-size generator and a five-gallon bucket. This is besides bins, both open and capped, for tools and such.

If there's fault to be found on the inside the 2007 Toyota Tundra, it's that it's overloaded with features. Especially the up-level interior, which some might say tries to be everything for everybody. But even the base, front bench-seat cab surprises with the number of goodies.

There's a bi-level glove box, with an upper compartment big enough to hold a mid-size Thermos bottle. The lower compartment, more than twice the size of the upper, is lighted and fitted with a damped door. Front door map pockets are molded to hold two, 22-ounce water bottles; likewise, rear door map pockets on the CrewMax. Double Cab rear door map pockets hold one bottle. Front door armrests house flip-out compartments beneath the power window switch plates; models with manual windows forgo these conveniences.

Column-shift Tundras have two, flexible-sized cup holders in a slide-out tray beneath the climate control panel and two more in the backside of the fold-down center section of the 40/20/40 bench seat; in the double cab, still two more fold out of the base of the backside of the front seat center section, in the CrewMax, yet another two in a rear seat, fold-down center armrests. The console in floor-shift models contains three cup holders, two in a lift-out plate covering a large compartment; between this and the shift gate is a narrow slot, concealed beneath a snap-out cover, that Toyota notes is just right for a Thomas Bros. map/guide book. The seat bottom in the center section of the 40/20/40 bench seat pivots forward to reveal an otherwise fully concealed compartment.

The crowning touch of the new Tundra's interior is the center console compartment in the uplevel cabin trim, the one with bucket seats. This compartment transforms the Tundra cabin, for all intents, into a road-going office, to a greater extent than any of the competition. The