Tundra vs Sierra-Silverado Part Two: Features and Pricing
Jason | Feb 18, 2008 | Comments 26
The second part of our Tundra vs Sierra Silverado comparison will evaluate the relative cost of the two trucks and compare the features of both. (Read part one if you missed it.) We’re only going to highlight the features that are unique and non-commercial. In other words, something the “common man” would want and buy.
INTERIOR:
Plastic. Love it or hate it, it’s a big part of every modern vehicle interior. GM’s reputation for using cheap plastics in their interiors (even in the lofty Corvette), isn’t going to be dispelled by their half-ton truck offerings. It’s OK, but nothing special. We’re pretty sure Ford has the best interiors in the truck business. If you’re interested in hauling people in the backseat of your truck, the GM product will probably disappoint you their too. The GM rear seats are cramped and uncomfortable, even in the crew cab. While the rear seats in the extended cab GM are pretty close to the doublecab Tundra in terms of numbers, and to a lesser extent “feel”, the CrewMax Tundra has substantially more legroom than the Crew GMs (about 6″) and feels substantially bigger. The Tundra’s optional telescoping steering wheel (not available on Sierra-Silverado) and standard power seats on the SR5 (as compared to optional equipment on LT1/SLE1) surpass as well.
The Tundra’s interior matches up well against the GM Sierra-Silverado, with both offering simple controls and average to above-average materials. While the GM trucks offer dual glove boxes, just like the Tundra, they aren’t as big. Truth be told, just about everything is bigger in the Tundra’s interior. It’s roomier and it feels more open. The seats feel a little more comfortable in the Tundra, but that might be the Tundra’s better door armrests talking. Our elbows weren’t very comfortable on the GM doors. The two trucks are both pretty quiet – we didn’t get out a decibel meter, but the Edmunds.com tests showed these trucks are all about equal in terms of noise.
WINNER: Tundra. Similar quality, features, and comfort usually result in a tie, but the Tundra’s bigger interior edges out the Sierra-Silverado.
EXTERIOR:
If only Toyota understood the value of picking and choosing every option as well as the domestic truck makers…GM trucks offer more configurations than Toyota, and for some people this is a big feature. Tundra’s biggest advantage on the standard equipment list (excluding all the safety features, covered later) is the standard limited slip differential. Both trucks offer cargo management, easy to open and close tailgates (only standard on the Tundra), towing mirrors, and a multitude of color/chrome options. The Tundra’s parking assist is better, offered both front and rear, and the back-up camera isn’t available on the GM trucks. The Sierra-Silverado feature OnStar, adjustable pedals, rain-sensing wipers, and heated washer fluid not available on the Tundra. GM has always done a good job of offering lots of cool features on their trucks, especially on the GMC.
The GM trucks offer three different suspension systems too – smooth ride, handling & trailering, and high performance, but we’d like to note that the standard suspension is the “smooth ride”, leading us to conclude that is the cheapest configuration. Perhaps they’re just labeling their less capable suspension as “smooth”, so we’re reluctant to give them too much credit here. One other key difference – the GM trucks come with 17″ wheels standard, the Tundra 18’s. In this world of ever-increasing wheel size, the Tundra’s stock wheels look better under the standard truck than the GM trucks with 17’s. Looking at the two trucks side by side, the Tundra definitely seems beefier. It’s taller, has more ground clearance, and the larger wheels “fill out” the Tundra’s wheel wells better. Of course, that might just be that the GM trucks fender flares are over exaggerated. Since looks are so subjective, we won’t tell you which one looks better (cough *Tundra*) because it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
WINNER: This is tough. The GM and Tundra both offer unique features, the GM is easier to customize, but the Tundra has a slight advantage in standard equipment. Since the easiest thing to quantify is the Tundra’s standard limited slip differential, tailgate assist, and 18″ wheels, the Tundra is the winner…but it’s very close.
SAFETY
The Tundra is the run-away winner here. Standard traction control (not even available on the GM trucks), standard brake assist (also not available on Sierra-Silverado), and standard stability control (available, but not standard on the GMs), and finally the Tundra’s standard side airbags (not available either) and side-curtain airbags (available but not standard) are all tremendous advantages for the Tundra. Crash test ratings for the two trucks differ – the GM products score 5 stars in government crash tests, where the Tundra only scored 4 stars. The latest generation of GM trucks has not been tested by the IIHS. The 00-06 GM models scored “marginal” in their last IIHS tests, while the 00-06 and 07-08 Tundra models all scored “good”. Regardless of which test you place your faith in, it’s safe to assume the Tundra is safe in a crash and less likely to get in an accident in the first place. At the very least, it’s common sense that the Tundra is substantially safer in a side impact.
WINNER: Tundra by a mile. The Tundra’s more advanced safety systems combined with standard side airbags make up for any ground lost to the NHTSA 4-star rating (especially considering the great IIHS test results). Just like their push-rod engines and 4-speed transmissions, GM seems to be behind the curve in terms of safety technology. But hey, what about those rain-sensing wipers?
PRICING
If we compare a 2008 SR5 Doublecab 5.7L Tundra 4×4 with option A, tow hitch, auto-dim mirror, and floor mats (MSRP $33,215) to a 2008 Extended Cab 6.0L Silverado SLT1 4×4 with ez-lift tailgate, side curtain airbags, power driver’s seat, and the heavy-duty tow package (MSRP $34,980), we come up with fairly equivalent trucks. They’re not exactly the same, but close. The comparable 2008 GMC Extended Cab 6.0L Sierra SLE1 4×4 with ez-lift tailgate, side curtain airbags, power driver’s seat, and heavy duty tow package has an MSRP of $35,690. The Tundra has an MSRP to MSRP advantage of about $1,800 – $2,500, but that doesn’t take any incentive differences into account.
As of Feb. 2008, GMC and Chevy are both offering $3000 cash back on the Sierra and Silverado, and Toyota is offering $2200 cash back on the Tundra. That reduces the Tundra’s price advantage to $1,000 – $1,700 when compared to 6.0L GM trucks with the max tow package. Of course, without the 6.0L the GM trucks are less expensive, but they won’t tow or haul as much and they won’t compare to the Tundra in terms of power.
WINNER: Tundra. Not only are the GM trucks more expensive on the sticker, they’re also more expensive after incentives. The Tundra also offers some equipment that’s simply not available on the GM trucks.
Next up, the final installment of Tundra vs Sierra-Silverado Part Three: Ride, Handling, and Comfort.
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Filed Under: Toyota Tundra Reviews and Comparisons
Oooopppps! Gotta recalculate that pricing – the Tundra now has $4000 to $5000 in incentives sitting on the hood. Geee I wonder why that is since it is such a superior product.
I have to give GM there que. I had curb view mirrors which Toyota can only dream of. You don’t need a reverse camera to park along in the street. Also why is Toyota stuck on these phoney guages? Can you tell me the operating temp of the motor in degrees? Not on a Ford or Toyota. I like to see real numbers here… These c to h or l to h is for people who only knows how to put gas in a vehicle. I wish Toyota get on the ball with this. A real truck owner towing something would like to see how the temp is doing…
Hexmate, Go figure…. You see they do allow rebates on superior trucks just as well as the other trucks.
Consumer Reports is not recommending the Tundra 4×4 because of 4WD drive line problems. What do you know about this? Will Toyota have a solution soon? One person mentioned having a front differential problem and the service writer telling him it would take some time to get the improved part. Snow and ice is an issue here at 8000 feet elev. in the Rockies. I have had excellent reliability from Toyota trucks and like the Tundra design better. I have been looking at the 2500 HD with Duramax 6.6L Diesel as it can tow over 12000 lbs. The Tundra with 10000 lbs tow capacity comes up short for an 8500 lbs tractor and its Hefty trailer. I’d rather buy the Tundra but suspect the 2500 HD may be a better bet. I guess I could hire the tractor towed on the rare occasion it is needed but what is the point of having a big truck if it cannot do the work. Thanks for the article. It is timely for me.
Tundra will have a diesel out by 2010. It will out tow the HD Duramax.
Ed – First of all, Consumer Reports is describing a problem that Toyota issued a recall for after most of the CR data was collected. I like CR, but their methodology is a little suspect…they use surveys from readers, but in order to publish the results they need to have a “cut off date” for these surveys. I suspect that next year the Tundra will be the recommended truck once all the bugs have been worked out and more surveys have been collected. Based on your description it sounds like you’ll need to tow more than 10,000 lbs with this vehicle. If that’s the case, I really can’t recommend the Tundra. I think it’s better to tow that much weight with a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. They weigh more, they tend to have stiffer, stronger suspensions. Don’t get me wrong – the Tundra will tow up to the weight it’s rated for (and probably a little more) with ease. But if your trailer weighs substantially more, it would be unwise to tow with a vehicle that’s not rated for the load. I’m glad our article could help.
I’ve been truck shopping for a while lately, and have a few comments regarding safety between the two trucks.
“Standard traction control (not even available on the GM trucks)”. Partly true, but only because GMC has a true locking differential (rather than traction control) as an option. Additionally, GMC has true all-wheel-drive mode on their 4×4 model, which Toyota does not.
“The 00-06 GM models scored “marginal” in their last IIHS tests… At the very least, it’s common sense that the Tundra is substantially safer in a side impact.” This is a biased statement, especially since the new GMC-900 body hasn’t been tested by the IIHS. The NHTS result of 5-stars for side impact “without side airbags” shows just how strong the GM cage is. Tundra received 4-stars WITH side air bags. For folks considering a crew-cab truck, the GMC comes standard with stability control, and from what I’ve read, it works excellent. I agree completely that Toyota has done great in the safety department by adding these features as “standard”. I would also add that good head rests in the Tundra at all positions is much appreciated for people like me looking to haul a family. In fact, the head rests were probably more important to IIHS when assigning the Tundra the “safe pickup” award in 2008. My guess is that the GMC will come close when they finally get around to testing it, but will be hampered by lack of a head rest in the rear, center position or in the front, center flip-up console seat. Tundra has head rests and shoulder straps in ALL SIX positions of the front-bench versions.
All of this just to say that “Tundra wins by a mile” is a bit over the top. I would personally put my family in either and feel very good about their safety in a crash.
Music – Good points. I disagree that AWD is better than 4WD. Some people need that locking front diff. on their trucks when they’re off-road. However, most people most of the time will find AWD better (but not substantially so). The NHTSA side impact test results for the GMC must be very new, as they weren’t available when this comparison was written (or at least we didn’t see them). There’s definitely an advantage in side air bags and side air curtains, but the difference probably isn’t as substantial as we stated. Our bias here is that traction control, EBD, and stability control systems are cheap and highly effective. Failing to offer a vehicle with these options is hard to understand…it’s a few hundred dollars worth of parts and it could save someone’s life. In any case, point taken. Thank you.
admin – Thanks for replying. I just re-read my post, and realized that I had an error. The Tundra hasn’t yet been tested by the NHTSA for side impact, so that was a “slip of the mind” on my part. The GMC has been tested, and received 5-stars front and side, with and without side-curtain airbags. I completely agree that these should be standard equipment, and also feel that good headrests should be standard at all seating positions. As for traction control, that isn’t so straightforward. The locking differential that GM uses is very good, but traction control would defeat it’s actuation. It’s a “one or the other” sort of thing. I cannot understand why GM only puts stability control on their crew-cab as “standard”. It probably has to do with most buyers opting for the 4WD model, which has “Auto 4WD” mode. Nonetheless, stability control should be standard on all vehicles. Honda is leading the way for the masses with their “safety for everyone” campaign, which I am happy to see.
All good points – it’s nice to have an intelligent discourse on this post. TC seems better than a locking diff – nearly the same results in most situations, but increased safety with the TC system. But, just like the 4WD AWD argument, they both have their strong points.
I ended up buying a GMC Sierra Crew cab, since it best suited my particular needs, wants and price. After doing so, I discovered that the GM “stabilitrak” system DOES include traction control. So my statement about it being a “one or the other” feature was a bit off. My current truck has the locking rear differential, traction control and stability control. It seems to me that I would have to disable traction control (via the button) for the locking rear diff to engage, but I’m not really sure? I do know this, in auto-4wd mode on steep, freshly wet, slick pavement… if I punch it at low speed going uphill, there’s no slippage. I can’t tell what engages or how… but it’s amazingly quick and efficient, whatever it is.
I’m not writing this to brag on the GMC, just to correct my earlier post. (I remembered it!) I’ve read that most (all?) GM trucks will have “stabilitrak” starting in 2009, but I haven’t confirmed it.
GMC SIERRA!!!
Who wrote these reviews, I have rtead a lot of them from Edmund to motor trend and this ranks up with Trucktrend saying a Tundra is better at towing then a HD of another manufacture. Who ever wrote this must know the trucktrend editor. Show me a Toyota that can tow 18k-24k.
Mickey wrote: Tundra will have a diesel out by 2010. It will out tow the HD Duramax. Where is it? Oh that’s right there is more important issue to workout before dreaming of trying to make a HD. How’s that frame, no issues with the gas pedal I hope. That’s ruff. Can’t make a frame for a 1/2 ton no way are they ready for the big boys!
Anonymous comments are hard to take seriously.
Ditto Jason he reads when he wants too. Didn’t notice that it was back in March of 2008 when the Diesel HD version for Toyota was still in the plans. But that’s okay hence your sentence Jason how can you take him seriously.
Hexmate – You’ve had 165 opportunities to argue with me in the previous thread, and you’ve even had the last word. I’m done with our back and forth – let’s move on.
tch! tch! Hexmate. We already know the truth. Now go find something to do with yourself.
The thing there Hexmate is you can’t handle the truth and that’s why you keep on trying to antagonize Jason. You’re proving how much an a$$ you can be.
Jason, what is it with your shadow? Every time you make a comment someone has to follow it up and it isn’t usually Hexmate. Pet him on the head, give him a treat and tell him to go lay down already.
Ditto, yhea. I whole heartedly agree.
So what you’re saying there anonymous only applies to me? Look at yourself commenting for Hexmate and your tag along commenting for you. Who knows there anonymous maybe you are Hexmate and the Mouse!
Mickey is a frequent commenter and he chimes in regularly on just about every post…the fact that he responds to my comments doesn’t mean that he’s my “shadow” – it means he’s on top of things and likes the site. For that I am grateful.
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I’m also grateful for Hexmate, anonymous comments, and everyone else who comments here. Comments make the site better, keep me on my toes, and help point out the “other side” that I sometimes neglect. Thank you all.
Hey guys. Just to make a few things clear. All wheel drive vehicle differ from part-time 4wd, like in the tundra, in that they have a center differential to go along with te front and rear differential. This allows the front axle to get its requirement of more rpm around a curve than the rear. In our part-time 4wd tundra there is no center diff, just a transfer case that when engaged in 4wd it locks the front+rear driveshafts together. This is why we can’t or definitely shouldn’t drive our part-time 4wd’s on good traction pavement. If the front requires more rpm than the rear and their is no center diff then there is a lot of tension within the transfer case and on the drive shafts.
The bad thing about all wheel drive is that if one of the 4 tires gets stuck in the snow, the whole truck won’t move. All the energy going into the center diff will travel down the path of least resistance. In a 4wd truck, since the driveshafts are acting as one, if one of the front tires loses traction, the rear tires will still get all that torque. But if say the front left tire and the right rear tire become stuck, then your 4wd truck will be stuck. I don’t care if you have limited-slip diffs or not. Only thing that will ge you out is a locking rear diff and or front diff. Only a few all wheel drive trucks/cars are made with the ability to lock the center diff, which basically makes it a part-time 4wd like the tundra, and also have a locking front diff button and a locking rear diff button. Some examples of those off-road beasts are the mercedes g500, the hummer 3, and jeep rubikon. Barring that, unless that all wheel drive has a locking center diff, the best choices is to just have a 4wdin case you run into trouble. But for taking turns better and being able to using it on rainy pavement, the all wheel drive is better. The limited slips will do the trick on wet pavement and you will get torque to all 4 tires, around turns and all. But if you slip off the road into a snow or mud patch. Your screwed.
Not necessarily true about AWD’s. Yes if you get it stuck the path of least resistence will prevail. If you apply slight brake pressure on some all 4 will lock in, thus there will be no path of least resistance. What it comes down to is know your vehicle and know how to drive. Lockers are good for intense situations a example would be rock climbing with a manual transmission. In that situation you only have 2 feet and three pedals, it doesn’t add up. Trying to hold slight brake pedal while feathering the clutch and gas isn’t easy. Newer vehicles use the ABS to apply brake pressure to shift the power from tire to tire.
Tom – Great point about knowing your vehicle. I think that talking about the difference between a true locking rear diff and a limited slip diff is important, but it should come with the qualifier that most of the time for most users, the difference won’t be noticeable. Case in point – I remember when the new Ford Escape came out. A lot of people said the lack of a ‘real’ transfer case would hurt the little SUV. 10 years later, it’s one of Ford’s best sellers. The point: most vehicles exceed our needs in every typical situation. It’s only the atypical situation where problems come up.
Anonymous, every car manufacturer has had a recall. So do go gloating like GM has be on top of there game with no mistakes. That us why they lost 38% of their market to the Japanese auto makers and after 30 long years they are trying to appeal to the consumer and compare their products against the because they are the standard in the auto industry. Here’s proof, GM want want to go into the subcompact market so they teamed up with Toyota and created the prism aka the corolla. What was their most reliable car during that time 88-94 it was the prism. They wanted to see how toyota assembled their cars and what made them a sucess. Did they take notes from Toyota to get better they sure did and toyota did the same thing. Now they have a product or truck that is equal to or better than theirs.