On the plus side:
The 5.7 makes 381 HP and 400 lbs torque- should be a towing machine
The 5.7 has an EPA of 20 mpg hiway
The 5.7 has an available 6 speed auto
The 5.7 has an available towing package with 4.30 gears and a tow capacity of 10,400 lbs- far more than you should be pulling with a pickup.
The new Tundra comes with a 10.5" rear gear set, std- 4.10 gears, optional 4.30 gears
The down side:
Hopefully, much larger and stronger ball joints- these have been an issue
City EPA is 16 mpg for the 5.7- I don't see it happening, more like 13
Hopefully, the 5.7 is not an interference engine like the 4.7- lose a timing BELT and you lose the engine as the valves crash into the pistons.
The 6 speed has a very low first gear and two overdrives, not much in the middle.
Turn radius for the double cab(not the big one) is 44', not for the newer malls
This thing weighs in right at 5000 lbs- it's big, maybe too big.
I agree that it looks like the American offerings. Hopefully the new Tundra has few debute issues. They should be fairly reliable as they have been doing a slug of testing around here. I don't see the new 6 speed as being as useful as it might be. The first gear is too low for normal driving and the final overdrive is right at .5. You certainly won't pull anything with that final gear and it may create issues with lugging the engine- we'll see. They did finally up grade the brakes to the proper size for the heft of the truck. I am not a fan of the wishbone type front suspension but it does offer a cushy ride. Too much maintenance and too many parts. I don't like the interior as represented in the news releases. It come with a console like the Ford Lariat. More plastic junk in the way as I see it. One thing about it though, it's huge. I can only guess that the maintenance is going to be typical Toyota- expensive and often. I plan on a test drive sometime this summer. My Ford has beat me for all its going to- time to change horses. Here's a look at the specs:
http://www.toyota.com/tundra/specs.html