Here’s a new one – Motor Trend’s recent 2009 F150 vs 2009 Toyota Tundra comparison found that the Tundra had the following advantages:

  • The Tundra handled better.
  • The Tundra had more visibility.
  • The Tundra had more room.
  • The Tundra had more power.
  • The Tundra was a better towing rig both up and down the hill.
  • The Tundra was less expensive.

The winner? Why the F150 of course! I’m not making any of this up folks – all of that info was in the article.

Here are some quotes for you:

“It takes time to appreciate the F-150; the more days and weeks you spend with it, the more tools appear in its Leatherman arsenal. Easier to read instruments. A flat rear floor. The integrated trailer controller with sway mitigation. The tailgate step. The optional 36-gallon gas tank. And on and on and on. The F-150 is the more three-dimensional truck.”

Fair enough – everyone is entitled to their opinion. As we said in our own F150 vs Tundra comparison, the better of the two trucks will depend on what you’re looking for. Some people will choose the Tundra’s superior power, some will choose the tailgate step and 36 gallon tank.

“Some of the Tundra’s additional interior space derives from its notably cab-forward, stubby-hood profile, a bulldog attribute that’s been a turnoff among truck aficionados…”

That might be the best explanation I’ve ever heard as to why some people think the Tundra is ugly. I don’t feel that way of course, but I suppose someone could. Question: Don’t big rigs have cab-forward stubby-hood designs?

“Power is a big deal in truckland, and here the Toyota has a major muscle edge, producing 381 horses, 401 pound-feet of torque, and a lot more crispness from its 5.7-liter V-8 than does the F-150’s 5.4-liter, which trails with a paltry 310 horses and 365 pound-feet. The result was a Ford spank-fest at the track, the Tundra hitting 60 mph in a scalding 6.5 seconds against the F-150’s lukewarm 8.1. And there seemed to be no Ford upside at the pump, either, the F-150 fumbling its theoretical EPA mileage edge (14/18 city/highway to the Tundra’s 13/17) as both yielded an identical 16.2 mpg along our trip. Double drat.”

We all know that the F150 is underpowerwed, but this just goes to show that every comparison test will achieve different fuel economy results. It certainly does cast a little doubt on the Ford videos claiming that the F150 will drive farther on one tank of gas though, doesn’t it?

“Dropping the Tundra’s transmission into manual mode automatically dumps two gears (if you’re in fifth or sixth when you do so), but at that point you have the option of choosing any of the six ratios. By contrast, the Ford offers only D321, and going from D to 3 slowed it down more than I wanted, so controlling descent requires either shifting back and forth between D and 3 or tapping the brakes every so often…”

An interesting observation that I hadn’t read before – good work Motor Trend.

The bottom line here – as we said in our own F150 vs Tundra comparison results, these two trucks are basically tied. Motor Trend seems to be saying that the Tundra is better in most measurable ways, but the F150 has a more refined design.

Thoughts?

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