I purchased the Tundra to replace a 1997 Ford Explorer that I had pretty much driven to death. With the introduction of the Nissan Titan for 2004 the Toyota dealerships are really pushing the sale discounts of the 2004 Tundra so it's pretty much a buyers market. I purchased the 2003 Toyota Tundra Access Cab 4WD Limited. The truck came with all available options, i.e. leather interior, wood accents, TRD suspension package, bed liner, bed cap, off road & towing package, and most importantly mine had the dealer installed supercharger package already on it. I never got a clear explanation of why the dealer installed the TRD supercharger and with an extra 100 hp I have no complaint.

I'll start off with the engine performance. As I stated above I have the TRD Supercharger installed on my Tundra. Stock HP is around 240. With the Supercharger it is roughly 350Hp and about 400lb torque. Since this is a Toyota produced dealer installed option it is covered under the 100,000-mile power train warranty. I traded trucks with a friend who has a '03 Tundra to get a comparison of the difference. To sum it up; The difference is HUGE. One ten-minute drive was all it took for my friend to go home and place an order to have the TRD supercharger installed at the dealership. I use the truck to pull a 16' enclosed utility trailer that is full of tools and junk I use for work. The Tundra has no problem pulling the trailer up and down hills and the mountain passes of I-90, and I-5 in the Northwest. My trailer weighs about #4500 and has the aerodynamics of a brick. The Tundra has no problem crossing the passes and maintains a steady speed of ~70 mph going up hill. To do this I must disable the Overdrive. The Tundra will not pull going up hill with the overdrive engaged.

Transmission shifts are flawless and do not jerk. The 4WD engage with just a push of the button. I use the 4WD HI pretty often and I have been impressed with its operation (no grinding noise when it engages, no stuttering or hesitation when it shifts back to RWD)

The fit and finish of the interior is superb. The front seats are firm but not so much that they cause aches and pain. The rear seats are really just there for show or kids. No adult could fit back there for any length of time. The rear seats are perfect item storage and equipment. I have been contemplating removing the rear seats to give me some more storage space. The rear access doors are well made and do exactly what they are advertised as; access to the rear of the cab. I really like the power sliding rear window, it was a good addition. The center console was well thought out with two 12vdc-power outlets, nice deep center storage and an upper storage area under the armrest. The stereo is good for my purpose. It's the premium 6 speaker 6 CD with easy to use controls on the steering wheel.

I have found the breaks to be very good on this truck. I have read that the 2002-1999 Tundra suffered from poor break performance. I have not experienced poor performance from the breaks on the '03 Tundra. There are drum breaks on the rear but they seem to work just fine. ABS is standard so it shouldn't be an issue. Just remember that it's a truck and not a sports car. The handling is good for a truck suspension is responsive and doesn't have excessive side to side roll. Once again, it's not a sports car. It's a Pickup.
As you might imagine I drive the Toyota a good bit. I fully expect to put over 250,000 miles on it before I get a new one. I guess the only knock I have against it is the supercharger. Sure, I really do need the extra power but that comes at a cost. With the supercharger you have to use 91 or higher-octane gas. If you don't then the engine will knock and ping like crazy. So, with a 26-gallon gas tank drinking $1.80 per gallon gas, it gets a bit pricey after a while. With the trailer I get on average 13-14 mpg at 70-75 mph. Without the trailer I get 17-19 mpg at 70-75 mph. I can't really complain because the Tundra really does pull the trailer with little or no effort. I had a Warn 9.5si winch installed on a 'modified' T-100 winch bumper. Since the winch and bumper are pretty heavy I had to have some heavy-duty progressive rate coil over springs installed on the front. I have not and will not have the suspension lifted. Other items I have had installed are a XFM satellite receiver, a Kenwood TM-D700E Dualband Mobile Radio, and a mobile satellite Direct-Way transceiver dish (I do a lot of remote site fieldwork).

Overall I have been very impressed with the Tundra. The build quality is outstanding, towing power is exceptional, and it's a proven design with few if any defects or NTSB recalls.

Amount Paid (US$): 32,000