I have an '04 Ram Hemi QC, fully loaded with lots of aftermarket parts. Programmer, CAI, Banks Monster Exhaust, chrome 20s and so on. I have 47k miles on it and never wrecked, and is the best looking Ram around. Once I hit about 35k miles, I started feeling every bump and crack in the road, seats started breaking down, engine didn't seem as peppy (and I very seldomly hot-rodded it), and I started getting really disappointed in my Ram. It is my 3rd Ram ('00 and '98, and had a '97 Z71 before that and it was worse) and looking back now, I have seen the same trend; truck starts "wearing out" way too soon. My truck now has never even been off-road.
I had been reading about the new Tundra for well over a year now and was very excited to see my first one nearly 2 months ago. I test drove a 5.7L DC and couldn't believe it. Toyota has made a sharp looking truck, and looks are very important to me, but not everything. I was so impressed with the ride quality, the interior, handling, the unbelievable powertrain, and I could keep going. My biggest "wow" factor is on the inside, where I think truck manufacturers never give enough attention to. I couldn't believe how comfortable the seats are, how much storage there was, and how relaxed the driving position is. I am 6'9", well above the average man's heighth, and I have a terrible time being comfortable in any automobile. My biggest complaint about my Ram is that the seats are pieces of $hit! For a truck that stickered at over $35k, why in the world does Dodge put a damn folding chair in their trucks covered with a thin layer of cheap foam and cloth/leather. Ford and Chevy are no better. Even my wife, who is 5'8" is completely comfortable driving this truck. I have test driven more trucks in the last 2 months than anybody should ever be allowed to, but I wanted to make sure that I would have the most comfortable, best performing, most powerful, and best looking truck out there. I am extremely particluar and very picky on some things, and my truck is at the top of that list. Most times, you can't have it all in a vehicle. There is always something that could be better, or one can always say stuff like "if I could get a locking tailgate like the Ford's on my Dodge, then it would be perfect!". But for me, in my opinion, Toyota has made the best truck that I have ever seen. Period. There is always something that I am dissatisfied with whenever I have owned or test driven a truck. Other than a few aftermarket upgrades like billet grilles and chrome wheels, and some heres and theres, there is nothing I would really change. I really believe that it is the ultimate truck on the market and is the exact truck that I have always longed for. Everyone else in the industry, and I mean everyone, has alot to improve on. And I think that Chevy, Ford and Dodge should be down right offended and embarrassed. Not only for their shortcomings and laziness for their now inferior truck products, but also for the fact that Toyota is now more American (and especially more Texan) then they are.
Even the new Sierra Denali, which is nice, doesn't do it for me. The driver seat is cramped for me even comparing it to the Ram, Tundra and Titan. I don't understand GM's logic on some of their design features. Why is the radio/NAV under the air vents, causing you to look further down and away from the road? Why is there hardly any storage in any of their crewcabs? Why does it take at least 2 seconds for even the 6L to respond and do something when you put the hammer down? Why are there fuel ratings way off than any of the road tests? I talked to a guy the other day with the 6L in his GMC and he said he has never had better than 14.2 MPG with 70% of those miles on the highway. That's terrible.
I don't want to come off like one of those born-again Tundra guys or something, and I know my heighth contributes to alot of my opinions. But I have done extensive research on every full-size truck, test-driven the hell out of all of them, researched re-sale values, read dozens and dozens of reviews and hundreds of threads and message boards, and with that being said, it is an easy decision for me now. To me, the Tundra is like my mom's Lexus LS 460 in the way it drives, performs and its abundance of comfort and luxury. I have been calling it the Lexus El Camino and I am going in tomorrow and ordering a new 5.7L CM Limited and can't wait to get rid of my Dodge. Like I said, looks great, but drives like a freakin wagon. Very dissappointing and I don't know if I will ever buy a traditional domestic truck again.