Yahoo Autos 2000-2006 Toyota Tundra | Used vehicle spotlight
Lots of Americans love the idea of owning a pickup truck, especially a large model like the Toyota Tundra, but don't really want to be stuck driving one on an everyday basis. The plus and minus columns are familiar to just about everyone. Unmatched usefulness, stout powertrains and the ability to tow and haul large goods all stand out as strong positives. On the downside, fullsize trucks are huge — overkill for a large percentage of buyers — don't get great gas mileage, and tend to be expensive on the used market.
The first generation of the Toyota Tundra sought to bridge the gap between ultimate capability and manageable size. In terms of sales, it didn't exactly set the world on fire — American buyers voted with their wallets and proclaimed that bigger is better, which is why the most recent Tundra for 2022 is just as big as its domestic counterparts. But those who just want solid utility, strong reliability and decent resale value have good reason to consider a 2000-2006 Toyota Tundra.
Why the first-gen Toyota Tundra?
We've already laid out some of the reasons you may want to consider a used Tundra, but we'll expound. Toyota's first attempt at a fullsize(ish) truck in America was called the T100. It was a solid truck but deemed too small by American standards. The Tundra — which incidentally was known internally as the T150 before Ford said, with some legitimacy, that it sounded too close to F-150 — replaced the T100 for the 2000 model year. The Tundra was bigger than the T100 and offered a V8 engine option, though the base V6 was adequate for light duty.
These early-2000s Tundras proved durable and reliable, oftentimes racking up hundreds of thousands of miles and proving bulletproof in the process. While larger than the T100 and midsize trucks like Toyota's own Tacoma, they were sometimes disparagingly called 7/8ths trucks because they were still just a tad bit smaller than their American competitors. But that means they are just right for some people.
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Which Toyota Tundra to choose?
If you can find one, a low-mileage Tundra ought to prove useful for many years. The base engine changed from a 3.4-liter V6 to a sturdier 4.0-liter unit with 236 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque in 2005. That same year, the top-spec 4.7-liter V8 got a boost to 282 hp and 325 lb-ft. The 2006 V8 was rerated at 271 ponies and 313 lb-ft, but it's the same engine rated using different metrics. Due to the upgraded powertrains, the 2005 and 2006 models are the most desirable.
