2009 Tundra vs 2009 F150 – Part Two – Features and Pricing

Here’s part two of our 2009 Tundra vs. 2009 F150 comparison. This time, the focus is on the features and pricing of the two trucks. Read part one, the mechanical comparison.

INTERIOR:

Ford re-designed the interior of the 2009 F-150, and while it maintains a solid, uncomplicated truck aura, the finishes are improved, as is space in the SuperCrew (engineered with a flat floor for better storage) once the seats are flipped up. The headroom in the Ford SuperCab and CrewCab is slightly larger than the Tundra, the legroom slightly less. Both trucks offer a variety of nifty options and features, but the coolest options for the F150 are the Tool Link that uses Radio Frequency Identification so you can run inventory on the tools you’re carrying from the front seat, and the handy variety of steps available to get in and out (be it in and out of the cab or the bed).

The Tundra’s dash and interior finishes aren’t great: modern and clean, but not really on the same par with top-of-the-line luxury rivals. The smaller, recessed gauges on the dash disappear once you put on your sunglasses, and some of the center stack controls can be hard to reach. Seats are comfortable, however, visibility is great, and storage is superb. This is one of those nebulous areas where personal taste comes in. If your truck interior is doomed to dust, your seats covered with dirt, dog spit and spilled coffee, who really cares what it looked like in the dealer’s lot.

Tundra makes selection simpler with only the basic model in three cab and two bed configurations and the SR5 and Limited packages.

Winner: Storage goes to the Tundra, comfort is a tie, and luxury goes to the F150. If you throw in the cool features on the new F150, you have to give it the win, but if you don’t care about (or buy) these features, then…did we mention this comparison is close? Read below to see who won.

EXTERIOR:

Ford built toughness into the frame of the ’09 F-150; they also injected serious testosterone into the front end and sheer mass of the truck. You’ve got a choice of 13 colors and an equal number of interior upholstery and colors and wheel choices (most linked to specific trim lines). There’s also a good selection of cargo management options.

Tundra has all the functional equipment for storage, fewer (but not by much) choices of paint and interior. Since Ford (as well as Dodge) are playing catch-up with Toyota on both performance and functionality, there’s nothing you can’t do with the Tundra. In terms of looks, it’s all personal preference, but we like the Tundra’s looks better…but who buys a truck based on looks?

Winner: After a lot of debate, we decided to split the results between interior and exterior. Tundra will win one of these categories, and F150 the other. Which is which will depend on you – most of these features, options, and designs come down to personal preference and need.

SAFETY:

These trucks both offer a full suite of airbags, electronic safety systems, and excellent safety testing results. The F150’s 5 star government crash test ratings supercede the Tundra’s 4 star government crash test results. HOWEVER, the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) tested the Tundra last year and declared it a “Top Pick”, something that the new F150 matched a year later. The Tundra’s better braking system should be considered here as well – avoiding an accident is a safety feature as well.

The temptation to grant the F150 the win here is strong, after all, it did perform better in the government crash test. Still, the fact remains that in all other ways (and in the IIHS safety test) the two trucks perform nearly identically and share the same safety features. The Tundra’s slightly better braking performance compensates for the F150’s better crash test results, especially considering the government front crash test ratings are based upon a highly unrealistic “full head-on crash” that’s unlikely to occur in the real world.

Winner: Yawn – it’s another tie. Give the F150 credit for doing better in the government’s crash tests, but give the Tundra credit for stopping faster and offering all of these safety features two years ago.

PRICING:

Comparing two common builds – an XLT SuperCab F150 5.4L 4×4 and an SR5 DoubleCab Tundra 5.7L 4×4 – the price difference was pretty small. The XLT came with a partially “free” chrome package that sort of skewed the comparison. If Ford would allow us to configure the vehicle more cleanly, the prices would have come out closer. Still, the Ford, at $35,820 was only slightly more than a very similar Tundra at $34,387. It should be noted that an exact feature-to-feature price comparison isn’t feasible, so the take-away should be that the pricing between the two trucks is very close.

As far as incentives go, the 08′ Tundra offers $4,000 in rebates, and once the remaining units are cleared off the lots, Toyota will likely up the 2009 Tundra rebate from $1500 to something more closely matching the $3000 rebate currently available on the F150. As always, incentives are a moving target, but it’s resonable to assume that the F150 and the Tundra will be competing with each other in terms of dollars as well.

Yet the up front price is only half the story. Both Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds.com have found the Tundra to have the highest resale value of any truck. What’s worse, Edmunds listed the F150 as having one of the 10 worst resale values of all pickups. To be fair, the distinction isn’t as profound as it sounds…but it’s definitely not good. This is one of the other areas that the Tundra clearly outperforms the F150.

Winner: Tundra. Prices are comparable, but the Tundra’s superior resale value makes buying a Tundra less of a money-losing proposition.

The third and final part of our comparison is coming up on Friday – don’t forget to subscribe to our free email newsletter to find out who won.

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