I'd like to point out that, even though nobody is saying that I am, I'm not complaining about the fuel economy. I am merely stating what it is. I (sorta) knew what I was getting into when I bought the truck.
That being said, I'm enjoying the responsiveness of a 381hp V8. This truck is tuned differently than the van, for comparison's sake. Whereas the van wasn't exactly a slouch (283hp is nothing to sneeze at), the transmission was quick to upshift and slow to downshift, in the name of efficiency. The Pentastar also needed lots of revs to start making any real power. The truck, on the other hand, has a transmission that is eager to downshift, and the V8 makes a lot more power and torque down at low RPM. The van was more of a slow burn. While not exactly, 'slow', off the line it took a while to build up steam, but once the Pentastar got to about 4500rpm, then it could really move. The truck on the other hand, put it in 4HI, goose the throttle, and it positively leaps off the line, and just keeps going.
The biggest thing that makes me smile? The cooling fan on startup. So, most modern trucks and cars have electronically controlled cooling fans that only come on when the computer tells it to. The Tundra has one of the old-style fans that is driven by a mechanical connection to the engine, and has a clutch. When you first start the truck, the cooling fan runs for about 30sec before it declutches. When you start the truck, you get a loud 'whooshing' noise for 30 seconds, then it stops and you're left with the tick of the injectors and valvetrain, and the burbling of the exhaust. This is so reminiscent of trucks from the 90's. It reminds me of the Rams that my Dad had when I was a kid, that had similar startup sounds. Then you pull out of the driveway, and even at low throttle, the V8 makes all the right, deep, bass sounds. This truck is so old school in some ways that it brings me back to my childhood, and I absolutely love it.
