Motor Trend 2000 Truck Of The Year

For a vehicle segment in which models often go a full decade without a major redesign, there's a lot happening today in the world of pickups. And this year's Truck of the Year competition is a showcase for several of those hot new trends.

Truck buyers looking for musclecarlike performance will find it in the new breed of high-potency pickups. And one of the most fun-to-drive models is the Ford F-150 SVT Lightning, sporting a 5.4-liter/360-horsepower supercharged SOHC V-8 that blisters the pavement enroute to a 5.4-second 0-60-mph time. It's a truck that has new Mustang GTs fighting to keep up.

But if you're looking for a real work truck, instead of a speed demon, the new passenger-friendly extended-cab models are becoming more inviting, with vastly improved roominess and easier passenger access. Excellent examples of this welcome trend are the new Dodge Dakota Quad Cab, featuring room for six real grownups and the Nissan Frontier Crew Cab, with its four full-size doors and enough passenger space to feel like an open-bed SUV.

Meanwhile, Toyota's entry into the full-size pickup class remains one of the most closely watched moves in the segment, and with the all-new V-8-packin', ultrarefined, made-in-the-U.S. Tundra blazing the way, it's a challenge to be taken seriously.

Four groundbreaking new trucks. Yet, only one can win. Let's get to it.

The Contenders:Dodge Dakota Quad CabFord F-150 Svt LightningNissan Frontier Crew CabToyota Tundra

The notion that only the domestic "Big Three" can build a proper full-size pickup has finally been eclipsed. In making good in on its longstanding promise to directly challenge U.S. producers of full-size V-8 pickups, Toyota has delivered an exceptional new offering: the 2000 Tundra. On sale since last June, this bold upstart has sent shockwaves through the industry-and handily rolled off with our Truck of the Year award, as well. Although first full-year sales volumes are projected only at about 100,000 units, its mere presence ensures that the Ford/Chevy/Dodge big-pickup game (total volume over 2 million units) will never be the same.

Taking on these huge sellers (the Ford F-150 is perennially the largest-selling vehicle in America) required Toyota to marshal all its U.S.-based resources. That process yielded not only one superb truck, but a top-notch network of suppliers and a brand-new $1.2 billion assembly facility in Princeton, Indiana. To better accommodate the record numbers of people now choosing pickups as primary personal-use vehicles, the broad-based Tundra lineup includes regular and Access Cab configurations; base, SR5, and Limited trim levels; two- and four-wheel drive; and a choice of V-6 or V-8 engines. Factor in a host of buyer-specific options-from primo sound systems to a TRD-spec off-road package-and you've got the makings of one outstanding pickup. Priced from just under $15,000 for a base regular cab to around $30,000 for a fully loaded 4WD Access Cab Limited, the new Tundra delivers a wide range of choices, as well as a dose of solid value.

Our editors found that the Tundra blends the best people-pampering attributes of a passenger car with the rough-and-ready capabilities of a true work truck. It definitely has talents well beyond those of the previous T100 truck, Toyota's initial foray into the larger-than-compact pickup realm. Although with a 128.3-inch wheelbase, 75.2-inch width (79.3 on limited mod-els) and 217.5-inch length, the Tundra does still give up a smidgen to its full-size counterparts from Chevy, Dodge, and Ford a bit in terms of pure size. But one payback for that modest tradeoff comes in greater maneuverability in traffic and easier parking.