F-150 vs. new Tundra

[GEN14OWNER]

Maybe? I have to say the newer Ram 1500's are a pretty good looking truck.

Might even say they look a smidge nicer than the '22 F150 sport I ended up with.

RAM definitely has a better interior aesthetic design. I really loved the interior of the new RAM I test drove. And the fact is... that's where you're spending your time with the truck.

I've just had too many friends who bought RAM Trucks and ended up with VERY EXPENSIVE repair issues.

Toyotas have always felt plastic and cold too me. It seems like they've really dialed in what parts they need to build beefy enough to be reliable (which they are) and everything else is just the cheapest crap they can get away with. And Nissan has taken that to the "next level".

I know a lot of people might think I'm crazy but I drive my vehicles enough to become emotionally attached (or detached) with them and the F150 just has a personality that the foreign vehicles don't.

I love my F150 RSCB in an admittedly disturbing way. I just don't see that happening with a Toyota or a Nissan.

Ultimately, the two biggest reasons I bought the F150 were "Regular Cab Short Bed V8 4x4" (one game in town) and my local Ford Dealership is amazing.

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[Mauimaikai]

Toyotas have always felt plastic and cold too me. It seems like they've really dialed in what parts they need to build beefy enough to be reliable (which they are) and everything else is just the cheapest crap they can get away with. And Nissan has taken that to the "next level".

I used to work for a car rental company, so we always had the newest latest vehicles, and I always felt this exact same way about Toyota and Nissan being cheap plastic early 90s interiors, still to this day. The sad thing is their luxury brands are no better, the Infiniti looks the same inside as basically any Nissan, cheap plastic, outdated meaningless/lacking features. What's worse is even though I think Ford has gotten absolutely carried away with the price points once you start adding features, I then I look at their competition and I realize they aren't much cheaper, and they leave a lot to be desired. (Take a Honda Type R for instance, I can't imagine a more pathetic vehicle for $89K)

 

[GEN14OWNER]

I used to work for a car rental company, so we always had the newest latest vehicles, and I always felt this exact same way about Toyota and Nissan being cheap plastic early 90s interiors, still to this day. The sad thing is their luxury brands are no better, the Infiniti looks the same inside as basically any Nissan, cheap plastic, outdated meaningless/lacking features. What's worse is even though I think Ford has gotten absolutely carried away with the price points once you start adding features, I then I look at their competition and I realize they aren't much cheaper, and they leave a lot to be desired. (Take a Honda Type R for instance, I can't imagine a more pathetic vehicle for $89K)

I've never driven the high end Japanese vehicles and I'm a little surprised to hear that. I always assumed that they rivaled Mercedes, etc... since that's the market they shoot for.

 

[Harry Dangler]

Agreed. When I first saw the front grille, my first thought was it looked like a largemouth bass with it's mouth wide open.

Ha Ha that's exactly what I thought it looked like, and besides they are having issues with the waste gate on the turbo's If it goes out they have to pull the engine or remove the cab

 

[RJL1400]

I agree it looks like a large mouth bass, which I would be happy to catch, but not for a truck.

 

[tony72cutlass's']

I just can't get behind the new Tundra facelift. I prefer the prior generation, and think the design is rather off-putting.

i agree it kind of looks like they stole the grill off my John Deere lawn tractor lol

 

[Jeff1024]

Buddy of mine is shopping for a truck, knew I had just bought an F150, and was asking my opinion of the Tundra. I just happened to have an opportunity to park next to one at work a few days ago. Sent him this pic and I think he gets it now. The F150 looks like a truck....the Tundra looks like....well Im not sure what that grill looks like exactly.

Seeing them next to each other really illustrated that the F150 looks like a traditional truck that is here to do truck things. The Tundra has much softer lines, sits a bit lower, has less rake, and just looks smaller. Not saying its a bad thing, and I know the Tundra is more than capable, but its differently a different look.

 

[hotrodmex]

I've second guessed myself about a Tundra Limited a few times. I actually kinda like the styling not being a truck (looks better modded), and the MTM camera views are way ahead of the Ford, but It came down to a few things.

#1: Payload. Over on the Tundra boards they are bargaining their way into more payload that their stickers show, and still coming up a few hundred lbs short of what comparable F-150s can do. I would NOT be able to get my 1948 lbs in a truck equipped like my Lariat.

#2: No TOD type option.

#3: E-locker option. Have to deal with complex packages to get the e-locker, and buy a bunch of TRD stuff I don't want.

#4: Time Frame. Looks like you can't even order a custom one right now, even.

I get it, in that they sell far fewer, so they have to keep the options and groups tight to make it easier to allocate parts, and they are selling to a different market, so the truck is built around that.

This is my 3rd Ford truck, and I'm pretty fanboi on Ford, but if I could have ordered exactly what I wanted, and the payload was close, The decision would have been much harder.

For general content, here is a Tremor and a Tundra lumping around the desert.

 

[780]

I've second guessed myself about a Tundra Limited a few times. I actually kinda like the styling not being a truck (looks better modded), and the MTM camera views are way ahead of the Ford, but It came down to a few things.

#1: Payload. Over on the Tundra boards they are bargaining their way into more payload that their stickers show, and still coming up a few hundred lbs short of what comparable F-150s can do. I would NOT be able to get my 1948 lbs in a truck equipped like my Lariat.

#2: No TOD type option.

#3: E-locker option. Have to deal with complex packages to get the e-locker, and buy a bunch of TRD stuff I don't want.

#4: Time Frame. Looks like you can't even order a custom one right now, even.

I get it, in that they sell far fewer, so they have to keep the options and groups tight to make it easier to allocate parts, and they are selling to a different market, so the truck is built around that.

This is my 3rd Ford truck, and I'm pretty fanboi on Ford, but if I could have ordered exactly what I wanted, and the payload was close, The decision would have been much harder.

For general content, here is a Tremor and a Tundra lumping around the desert.

Agreed. I was coming from a '15 F150 and was all set to buy a '22 SR5 TRD Crewmax in Lunar Rock had a deposit on an inbound unit and everything. Decided to test drive and look at a new F150 cause I felt I should since the '15 had been decent. Glad I did. Loving our '22 F150.

 

[Calson]

I was interested in the Tundra until I saw how difficult it would be to get up and into the bed. Toyota actually made the new truck worse in that regard than the old model. Ram is OK with their tailgate but it costs $2000 to get. Ford with the $700 bed utility and tailgate package is the best that is available with any pickup being sold today.

In terms of looks I prefer the Ram over the Ford or theTundra. With GM there is no option for a gas tank larger than 23 gallons so they were quickly removed from the list of a possible new truck. It was not easy to find a Ford truck with the 36 gallon fuel tank as even the ones ordered with 4WD and the tow package nearly always lacked the larger tank and this is not something one can fix after taking delivery.

With Tundra there is only the one V-6 engine and no limited slip differential only "anti-spin" where the brakes are applied to the faster spinning wheel. But is was needing a step ladder to get into the bed that was a deal killer for me.

My primary complaint with the Ford F-150 is the terrible controls and user interface design that is a real PITA. The controls on the steering wheel require looking at the wheel while driving as compared to the paddles I had on my 2018 for changing stations or adjusting the volume. Only Jeep does a worse user interface as I learned when I rented a Cherokee in Alaska.

 

[PBXL]

I finally got to sit in the new Tundra. The interior was nice, but the front windshield and side windows are so small, it made the cabin feel claustrophobic. Visibility was very bad out in front of the vehicle. It feels like you are squinting and the high hood was a big obstruction to my view.

In the rear passenger area there is a hump for the transmission.

For Toyota, the Landcruiser is the flagship vehicle that is sold globally, and they are trying to reduce costs by putting the Tundra and Sequoia on the same platform. This leads to too many compromises on the Tundra and Sequoia for me as someone who has only owned Toyotas.

For Ford, the F150 is the flagship vehicle and it shows.

 

[turbospartan]

I looked at the Ram and the Tundra before deciding to buy an available F-150. The problems with the Tundra include its terrible access to the bed of the truck which was marginal on the old trucks but made worse with the body work of the new model. The F-150 has by far the best tailgate arrangement if one wants to get into the bed of the truck without a step ladder.

Can you expand more on the tailgate comparisons? My 502a is loaded and I didn't really get a choice for options since it was the only one available, and I've been doggin the power tailgate option because it seemed like a waste of money. Maybe it wasnt?

 

[05RubiconLJ]

So many things come to mind when reading through this post.
- I went from a Tacoma to the F-150, and have never regretted it...not once.
- Was deciding between the 2020 F-150 and the 2020 Ram and almost pulled the trigger on the Ram. It just didn't have the stance I was looking for in the higher trims (the Rebel stance is nice) and I don't know a ton of folks who have been happy long term with the Ram.
- Decided to wait and see what the 2021 F-150 would look like...and boy am I glad I did.
- My buddy, who is (was) a Tundra guy, tried to get me to hold off on ordering until Toyota released the Tundra. But, when that got pushed back a full year, I went forward with the F-150 and, again, do not regret it. He now drives a GMC Sierra AT4...talk about an antiquated interior (pre update).
- The Tundra is not appealing to me. I have owned two Tacoma's, a 1st gen Tundra, a 4Runner, a Highlander, and drove a Camry for work. I am not impressed with their new design language (although strangely the new Sequoia doesn't bother me).
- On the Lexus side, they have recently acknowledged that all this big grill stuff is off-putting to customers and is affecting their sales. Only a matter of time until that slows down to Toyota models.

All that being said, I am sure I will see a modified Tundra (maybe a Pro) and think "wow, that's cool", but Toyota won't see me walking in any time soon. My opinion, despite the issues folks have had, myself included, is that Ford has once again put the best truck on the market.

 

[Calson]

The rear bed access on the Tundra is truly terrible and inexcusable considering what Ford and Ram provide with their trucks. The new Tundra took a bad bed access design and made it worse.

Toyota is the only company that still does its product design in Japan and it shows. Mazda sales increased tremendously when they started using a California design group for all their cars - zoom zoom.

 

[Calson]

Can you expand more on the tailgate comparisons? My 502a is loaded and I didn't really get a choice for options since it was the only one available, and I've been doggin the power tailgate option because it seemed like a waste of money. Maybe it wasnt?

With my Chevy truck I added the AMP research swing out step and it was OK going up into the bed but coming back down I had to guess where the step was as it was out of sight. Same problem with the bodywork of the new Tundra truck. With Ram they have a couple of tailgate options including the split tailgate that gets it completely out of the way and would make it a lot easier to load heavy items. With my other and current F-150 I have to toss bags of concrete or garden soil past the tailgate. Ram also bundles the tailgate upgrade as a package and this greatly increases the price.

I love the Ford tailgate pull-out step and pull out grab bar. One of those great designs that other truck manufacturers should be copying but egos get in the way so much of the time.

For a few years Ram and GM and others had new LED headlights that were too narrow and provided very poor lighting of the highway. My 2011 GM truck had great headlights for night driving in the country and I was not about to sacrifice that with a new truck. The latest headlight designs from Ford, GM, and Ram, seem to have fixed the problem.

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