After having spent a little over six months with our long-term 2016 Toyota Tundra Platinum CrewMax we have had lots of opportunities for moving trips, road trips, shopping trips to big-box stores and daily commuting. It is during these commutes that we have noticed not only how comfortable the big truck is, but how well it acquits itself in traffic.
Equipped with individual coil-springs and multi-leaf rear suspension the Tundra’s ride is agreeable and less truck-like. Road imperfections are less noticeable and not a concern. Potholes and road seams feel less so and more like tiny blips as the Tundra rolls over them with ease and confidence. Even road noise is kept to a minimum and as our Expert Review stated: “For a truck, we were pleasantly surprised at how quiet the Tundra’s cabin was, even at highway speeds.”
Also: See the 12 Kelley Blue Book Best Buys of 2017
It’s the power
On any given weekday Southern California’s notorious 91 Freeway from Corona into Orange County can be daunting. In the morning everyone, and I do mean everyone, is headed west. The Tundra with its 361-horsepower 5.7-liter i-Force V8 offers up the right amount of power when and where it is needed – onramps and merging. Push down on the accelerator and the V8 roars to life easily pushing the Tundra onto the freeway. Normally it’s the smaller compact cars that weave through traffic with ease, but in the Toyota Tundra this type of maneuverability is also possible especially with the help of the blind spot monitor. It is a necessity on any truck, but it is almost a requirement when trying to navigate from the fast lane all the way over to the right and onto a connecting onramp in heavy traffic.
Our Tundra Platinum is nicely equipped with leather-trimmed seats, 12-way power adjustable driver’s seat and 6-way power adjustable passenger seat, as well as a cavernous rear seat that easily swallows up passengers and cargo once the seat is folded up. Also worth noting is the power sliding rear window that has been used to haul exceptionally long conduit from the hardware store.
While the Toyota Tundra may not have the same offerings as say the Ford F-150 or Chevrolet Silverado it is still a dependable and rugged commuting partner. When properly equipped it can provide the comfort and convenience needed for a daily driver, albeit one that must traverse the freeways and streets of Southern California.
See past reports for our long-term 2016 Toyota Tundra…
