When me and my wife bought our house it took us a long time to get exactly what we wanted.
Some choices were too old, some not the right design, some didn't have what we needed and some were in the wrong neighbourhood.
When looking for a house the words usually used are location, location, location. I guess it means that a bad house in a good location is better than a bad house anywhere else, so a good house in a good location would be ideal. I'm not sure what the third location means, but saying location, location seems to be missing something.
So what happens when you are looking for a vehicle?
Well, location really doesn't make any sense, and although power often does make sense, it is not for everyone.
So what would be the right words to use when looking for the perfect vehicle?
Well, when asked what vehicle to recommend to people who ask, I tell them you have to narrow it down to what type of best suits your life, as in truck, SUV, car, minivan and so on.
Once you get that done you need to buy one that fits your arse.
Now although this may sound a bit crude, what I mean is you have to make sure you are comfortable in the vehicle. Some people like to have their seat higher, others like to have the armrest in a certain position, others like the seat to go way back so they have more leg room, some like soft seats and others you just can't keep happy no matter what you do.
As a vehicle is generally the second largest purchase you will make apart from your home, it better be good and be what you want, because as you will most likely drive it every day and often on long distances you should feel comfortable in it.
So maybe the term should be comfort, comfort, comfort.
So you have decided you need a truck as you do some camping, you have a tent trailer or boat, like the utility of a truck and have a couple of kids. Well then you need a truck with four doors, one that can haul a decent bit of weight, has a trailer towing package, good power and has inside room for the kid's toys on long trips.
The Toyota Tundra SR5 with off road package checks all the right boxes where these items are concerned. It also checked all three comfort boxes, because even though it may not have a DVD player for the kids for long trips, you could just do what I do and load their juice with Nyquil before we leave. Or you could just get a netbook, throw some movies on it and you're off to the races.
The Tundra certainly has the power needed for that camper with 381 horsepower and 401 foot pounds of torque, a 9,700 pound towing capacity and 1,377 pound payload. There are plenty of options including satellite radio, telescoping wheel, Bluetooth, bed rail system, two glove boxes, several storage bins on the ceiling between the front two passengers' heads, storage bins on the door armrests, USB, AUX, VSC, TCS, ABS, EBD, BA, smart stop technology and front and rear sonar for those who have trouble parking.
But the Tundra's big selling point for me is comfort, comfort, comfort. The seats are just right, with the driver's seat being powered, they can easily handle someone bigger and heavier than me. The arm rests are in just the right place and the centre console is absolutely huge. Also the Tundra soaks up road irregularities that in other vehicles would have your kidneys begging you to ask for another fight with Mike Tyson.
Now even though these are usually the larger comfort items, two that are often overlooked and may be even bigger, are the noise level and the gear changes.
You will not always be driving on city roads, which means at times the surface will be smoother, so Mr. Tyson can stay at home.
But the truck will always be running when you are driving it (I hope), and you will always need to change gears. And the Tundra passed these with flying colours, and no matter how you look at it, the noise entering the cabin and jerky gear changes can get real tedious real quick. The gear changes in the tundra are about the smoothest I have had in a truck and the amount of road noise entering the cabin in minimal.
Yes, if you have kids or a nagging spouse in the cabin the noise level may be quite a bit higher, but if you have had either of them for more than a year or two you should have learned to tune them out by now.
Hammer the gas in manual mode and shift when you feel you need to and the Tundra just keeps pulling. I even had to ask myself if it had changed gears, and after talking to myself for a few minutes I decided to go back down the gears and up again to make sure it was changing gears.
It was, but it was so smooth I just kept changing gears to see if I could catch it out. Although there is certainly a roar when you hammer your right foot it is something you want to let the windows down to hear better. If all that noise enters the cabin, then putting the windows down in the tunnels on the way to Vancouver as you pin it at the beginning of each tunnel would be pointless.
In the Tundra, specific instructions for tunnel driving should be printed in the driver's manual.
The Tundra is definitely comfort, comfort, comfort, and no matter what the shape of your arse it should be a comfortable fit.
Vehicle type:
4-door Truck
Transmission:
6-speed manumatic
Engine:
5.7-litre V8
Horseppower:
381 @ 5,600
Torque:
401 @ 3,600
Price as tested: $44,496
Mileage:
16.6 /100km 17 mpg city
12.1 l/100km 23 mpg hwy
