Why Toyota Tundra is So Popular These Days

I have a 2016 tundra and even though the gas mileage is horrendous I absolutely love this truck. It’s a monster on the highway and tows my toys with ease. The only thing I hate about the truck is the stock radio is total garbage.

It's too bad you can't get the larger gas tank without giving up the bench seat. Also, hopefully the android system will be better than the infotainment system boondoggle.

Here, I’ll save you the read:
Toyota is the only one that doesn’t suck. Every other truck is a game of roulette with regard to any quality whatsoever

Sales are up slightly because Tacoma production has been shifting from the US plant in San Antonio to the Toyota plants in Tijuana Mexico and soon, the Tacoma plant in Guanajuato Mexico. That production shift has helped free up production capacity slightly for the Tundra.

Of course the Tundra has a decent reliability reputation. Any manufacturer can put out such reliability when the truck has been essentially unchanged for nearly 14 years. The reality is that the Tundra uses a weak and flimsy frame, the 5.7L v8 is a massive gas guzzler, and the interior is filled with nostalgic into components from 2002. It's a mediocre, gas guzzling truck that charges a premium for a faded image Toyota reliability.

I've got a 2005 Double Cab TRD with 185k on it. My Dad bought it ten years ago, stating he would drive it until he died. He did (though much earlier than he expected), and I've decided to do the same. There a couple of million mile Tundras on the road, so I'm sure this one will last me the thirty or so years I've got left.

I own a 2014 tundra crewmax and absolutely love it. Drives and feels like it did when I purchased it. I tow a 8,000 travel trailer and on tow mode barely fella like I'm pulling anything. As long as I drive a truck it will be a tundra

Since 2007, this truck has overachieved. It was so advanced AT THE TIME, that Toyota did not have to radically update the mechanicals. The 5.7L has 9 throttles: a main, and one for each cylinder. It has variable induction, a forged crankshaft that is three times stiffer than a cast one, and of course, they debuted the Triple Tech frame/chassis. Ford has copied that, GM copied the damped tailgate, and no one has offered STANDARD 4-piston, floating caliper brakes (MUCH longer brake life and even pad wear). All of this adds up to a truck that lasts, is less expensive to maintain, and has tremendous resale value.

I have a 2016 Tundra. It was an upgrade to my mast one, a 2007. The 07 model was grwat, only issue was the fuel gauge didnt work for the last 3 years. Ill would gauge my fuel level with the miles on the odometer. That 07 runned runned great for the 100k plus miles that I put on it. No complaints. Great trucks.

I have a 2006 with 200,000 miles on it. Drive it over a hundred miles a day. Never had any mechanical issues. Great truck. Looking at the new ones and wonder if they are as good.

2016 tundra up to date is the best truck I have owned over the last 30 years. Not the most updated or best on fuel but when I work out how much it cost to run over the last three years compared the 2010 Silverado and 2014 ram it has actually saved me money. Brakes have out lasted the others by double no repair bills like the Ram and Silverado. So ya gas is about $350/450 more a year to run. (If you do the numbers it might surprise you) I tow a work trailer so no 1/2 ton is great.
But when a truck is down at the shop getting repaired it can take a day or more of your time plus $$$ it is never a convenient time or very predictable when it’s gonna go down. Getting gas takes a couple minutes and very predictable.
Tundra is in need of a update no denying that but
Considering it last full update was 2007 it’s not that far behind the others.
My main reason to purchase was the reliability rating.... there’s a lot of nice trucks to choose from and the tundra wasn’t even on my list until I talking to my friend who if a ford technician with years of experience. As nice as the ford looks and drives he suggested that I look at something else so the tundra it was and very pleased to date

Popular? Toyota sells 150k Tundras a year, a tiny fraction of the number of full sized pickups any of the Big 3 sell annually. A better question is why is it that Toyota's full sized trucks don't sell better. Particularly given Toyota's stellar reputation for reliability. The answer sadly it blame Toyota's accountants. Toyota has become an automaker where product planning isn't by engineers and designers burt rather conservative accountants. Tundra, Tacoma and 4Runner are all dinosaurs. The accountants' strategy is to minimize cost and squeeze out every Yen they can from existing models no matter how outdated (The 4Runner has a 5-speed, the Tundra a 6-speed. Very Y2K of them..) That's what the top price they can charge for a loaded Tundra barely hits the mid-point pricing of the line of any of the American brand competitors.

If Toyota returns to a company run by technologists and engineers rather than bean counters, I think they could come up with a competitive full sized truck. Thus far their position in the segment has been tenuous at best.

The low price due to Toyota's aging design and small market share in the segment is beneficial for those who want a well-equipped reliable truck at a very low (compared to similarly equipped alternatives) price. I'm tempted to replace my aging Ram 1500 with a Tundra TRD Pro off-road. Though the new Rams (and F-150s and Sierra/Silverado's) all have better interiors, better comfort features, etc. than the Tundra, if you have an old Big 3 truck, you don't have those things and Toyota is selling a truck today that is similar in interior materials and features to the truck you have now, except that you do get Safety Sense, which is a useful suite of features for distance travelers. And you get it for about the same price you paid for your old truck when it was new, whereas buying a new Ram, F-150, etc., you'd be looking at paying $15k+ more than you paid 8-10 years ago for a given trim tier.

So Toyota's New Old Stock Tundra has a place in the market, but it's definitely NOT competitive and the comparative sales figures reflect that fact.