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I drove a Toyota Tundra and a Chevy Silverado to see which full-size pickup is better - and the winner was clear
I drove a Toyota Tundra and a Chevy Silverado to see which full-size pickup is better - and the winner was clear
Jun 15, 2019, 17:34 IST
Let's start with the underdog — the Toyota Tundra 1794 Crewmax, tipping the cost scales at about $53,000, landed at our test center in suburban New Jersey last year.
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The Tundra has been around since 2000 and has amassed a loyal following, even as it fails to seriously compete with the big three.
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You're not going to confuse the Tundra for anything other than a full-size pickup. Ours had a 5-foot-5 double-walled bed and a power-sliding rear window, as well as a "Super White" exterior and LOTS of chrome.
The 1794 backstory is intricate: The oldest cattle ranch in Texas, near San Antonio, dates to 1794. The property is where Toyota built its US pickup-truck factory.
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Tundra badging on the liftgate was subdued.
A 5.7-liter V8, making 381 horsepower, lives beneath the hood. This motor supplies 401 pound-feet of bone-crunching torque. The Tundra can tow 10,000 pounds.
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The six-speed automatic gets the job done, but I found it to be antiquated relative to the competition. Fuel economy is a thoroughly unimpressive 13 mpg city/17 highway/14 combined.
The 1794 Tundra is a close second to the plush Ram 1500 for sheer interior bliss. And although the rear seats aren't as comfy, they're plenty roomy.
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The great thing about pickups is — Duh! — hauling capacity. And with the 1794 edition, you get the best of both worlds: cargo room to burn in the back, abundant premium-ness up front.
Infotainment works fine, with GPS navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, device integration, and satellite radio. The touchscreen interface, however, is small and rather outdated — it's more or less the same as what I have in my 2011 Prius.
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The Tundra is a solid truck. But it's also an old truck.
Let's move on to a pickup that is in no way an underdog: a "Summit White" 2019 Chevy Silverado. It's the fourth-generation of the nameplate, but it's a full-size pickup that can trace its lineage back to the early 1960s.
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This is going to be a battle of the white full-size pickups!
The new Silverado tips the scales at 5,000 pounds — several hundred less than the outgoing generation, thanks to lightweight steel and aluminum.
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My $57,000 Silverado LTZ Crew Cab ...
... came with a short bed, but a larger box is available. (The base work truck is just under $30,000.)
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The Silverado could be outfitted with a 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, a 4.3-liter V6, a 5.3-liter V8, a 3.0-liter inline-six-cylinder diesel — or, in the case of my tester, a 6.2-liter V8. This configuration can tow 12,000 pounds.
The 10-speed automatic is operated by a very old-school column shifter.
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The "Gideon/Very Dark Atmosphere" interior is oddly named, but still quite pleasant, if a bit on the utilitarian side. The rear seats, as in the Tundra, were a roomy bench design. My Silverado tester, while nice, wasn't as fancy as the Tundra.
My tester came with a tonneau cover for the box. It can be folded back to reveal the bed in all its glory. The spray-on bedliner is a $500 extra.
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The 8-inch center touchscreen isn't huge, but it is responsive, with a few buttons and knobs to fall back on.