By David Colman

Hypes: Prodigious Off-Roader, Stylish, Made in USA
Gripes: TRD Exhaust Noise, Annoying Cruise Control

Sometimes it takes an old school truck like this Tacoma to reaffirm that the simple virtues are best. Take the key to the Tacoma, for example. It’s small, light weight, and unpretentious looking. And you actually need to insert it into a slot on the steering column and twist it clockwise to start the Tacoma. After testing an endless stream of keyless entry vehicles with starter buttons instead of key receptacles, I found the Tacoma’s throwback system such a delight that it made me wonder why manufacturers ever gave up on it.

The rest of this Tacoma follows suit. It has a full-size spare, for example, mounted under the bed for easy access in case of emergency. Because its side windows lack the auto-up feature so common today, you can actually place that plane of glass exactly where you want it without fighting a computer system for control. It has no paddle shifts attached to the steering wheel, but the sturdy floor-console mounted shift lever features sharp detents for each gear. The front seats aren’t 14-way adjustable, but they’re still more comfortable than you would expect given their simple manual controls for backrest angle and fore/aft positioning.

This back-to-basics brand of practicality extends to the pickup bed, which features “heavy duty all weather flooring,” a $50 option. The interior sports $165 worth of “all weather mats and door sills” which look utilitarian enough to cope with the muddiest boots in sloppy weather. On the right rear wall of the truck bed is a 3-pronged 115 volt receptacle with spring actuated, self-closing cover. This nifty device allows you to plug in any electric device, affording 400 watts of output while the truck is idling, or 100 watts when underway.

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By Alex Kramer

Pros:

• Smooth, powerful 5.0L V8 engine
• Surprisingly luxurious interior
• SuperCrew cab means plenty of room for passengers
• Decent fuel efficiency, especially for such a large truck

Cons:

• Ride gets choppy over rough pavement
• Shorter bed length limits cargo capacity

The big news for Ford truck fans this year is an entirely new engine lineup for the best-selling F-150. Replacing the underperforming 4.6 and 5.4 liter V8 engines is a quartet of new motors, including two new V8s, a new base model V6, and even a turbocharged V6.

Although putting a turbo six in a full-size truck is a risky move for Ford, the 3.5L EcoBoost engine has the goods, producing 355 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, and up to 22 mpg on the highway, a potent combination with gas still close to $4 a gallon. The base 3.7L V6 engine is also an overachiever, making 302 hp and earning 23 mpg on the highway. With numbers like these, even hard-core truck owners might be convinced to abandon their V8s.

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By contributing editor David Colman

Pros:

• Enough torque from the diesel-powered dinosaur to move mountains
• Super comfy interior

Cons:

• 8 grand extra for the diesel engine option
• No 4-wheel-drive

There are still a few escapees from the LaBrea Tar Pits roaming our highways, and this brutal Ford is one of them. At over 20 feet long, and 7 feet high, this F-250’s skeleton ought to be on display at the Museum of Natural History. Joking aside, though, if you plan to tow a big boat or mobile home, the Super Duty Diesel is just exactly what you need. The F-250, with a minimum tow rating of 11,800 pounds, will rise to meet any occasion, especially if you equip it with the new 6.7 liter Turbo V8 Diesel, which produces an amazing 735 lb-ft of torque at just 1,600 RPM. With that much grunt on hand so low in the RPM spectrum, you need to take extra care not to spin the rear wheels, especially when the eight foot cargo bed is empty. In fact, the F-250 really needs 4-wheel drive to maintain traction in damp conditions, because it’s way too easy to get this rig sideways in the wet in rear wheel drive.

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By contributing editor David Colman

Hits:

• Now with four full-size doors with the Supercrew version
• New cab configuration increases interior volume and allows for more comfort for rear passengers
• Large 36 gallon fuel tank
• Unique Raptor motor roar
• SelectShift automatic transmission as close to a manual transmission as an automatic can be

Misses:

• Large 36 gallon fuel tank
• Uncomfortable upright rear seating position

If Popeye owned a pickup, the Raptor would be it. When you fit the 6.2 liter, 411hp engine to this 4×4’s beefy frame, you’ve got way more muscle than a tin of spinach. No other truck in our care has ever engendered so many conversations. Most of them began with the question, “Is that the Raptor?” because lots of truck fans have been on the lookout for this stout rig since it was announced at the beginning of the 2010 model year. However, the mid-year addition of the $3,000 optional 6.2 liter V-8 motor, which produces 434lb-ft of torque, is just what the hefty 5,850 lb Raptor needed to make it fly. If you need a power boost for passing, the 6.2 is your ticket to the fast lane. On back roads, just drop the massive shift lever into second or third gear, and the Raptor will jump obligingly when you prod the accelerator. On the freeway, in the “Drive” gate, a stomp of the gas pedal instantly drops the rig into passing gear. The 6.2 liter V-8 rocks the truck slightly at idle, and sounds like a motorboat at full chat. It’s a delightful motor that failed to use a full tank of gas during a week of heavy-footed driving.

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by Tony S.

Pros:

• Benchmark motor
• Quiet ride
• Towing and hauling capacities
• Great interior

Cons:

• Somewhat bumpy ride
• Tiny door rattle

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By Kurt Gensheimer

Blings:

• V-8 power out the ying-yang with up to 20 MPG
• Interior nicer and more spacious than my office
• Terrific seats
• Slick features and accoutrements

Dings:

• What, no diesel option?
• Difficult to maneuver in tight places
• Major understeer

Ruling: Diesel or no, the Tundra is 100 percent American and 100 percent for real.

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