Living Large
Putting over a grand on the clock and living with these three performance-oriented haulers for two weeks quickly brought out the good, the bad, and the ugly of day-to-day life.
Given its abundance of cubby space, decent seats, and useable second row, the HI-PO hauler Dakota also does it in relative comfort. With its wide buckets that serve up good lumbar and thigh support, we were disappointed that lateral grip is lacking for hard cornering expeditions. While you may have to hang on in the twisties, the seats do offer a high level of comfort level for long cruises.
The white-on-black gauge cluster is easy to read at a glance, and secondary controls are intuitively laid into the center stack. We're especially fond of the high-mounted stereo and HVAC selectors that simple to adjust without taking your eyes from the road. In back, the rear seat is fairly upright, making it a better place to carry gear than people.
Since the TRD handles like a go-kart on steroids, and accelerates with the velocity of a Porsche Boxster, we were hoping to find interior upgrades to hold its occupants firmly in place. No such luck: the S-Runner retains its stock buckets--with good thigh and lumbar support--except they seriously lack lateral bolstering to hold driver and passenger under high-g maneuvers. If we had our druthers, we'd set in a pair of Celica GTS seats, which offer great lateral, lumbar, and thigh support.
The S-Runner's clean black-on-white gauges (with red illumination) are also easy to read day or night, however, we wish blower-boost and oil-pressure instruments were thrown into the mix to complement the truck's sporty attitude. Climate and radio controls wear large buttons and dials, making selections a snap at speed.
Cubby space isn't as plentiful as in the Dakota, though the Xtracab provides a good dose of interior cargo-carrying capability for personal items.
Our only major livability gripe with the TRD comes in the rubber department. With its ultra-sticky compound, the Toyo RA1s offer little grip when cold (letting the rear slide around corners until heat is generated into the tires) and tend to pickup everything--especially sharp metal objects. Three flats later (that's more than we see on most off-roading adventures), we're convinced the best route is to opt for a good set of ZR-rated rubber (a set of Michelin Pilot Sports can be had for less than the Toyos), that will provide near comparable performance on the track, confidence in rain, and better protection from road hazards.
If there's one aspect of the Ford that disappointed, it's the interior space. Granted, the SVT is designed to maximize front-to-rear weight balance (hence the standard cab), but when the weather's sour, it's tough to get a couple guys and their gear into a space for two and a half burly men.
The Lightning's seats were the best of the bunch, with grippy suede upholstery and excellent lumbar, lateral, and thigh support. Easy-access storage space is lacking, although there are two storage compartments behind the seats, the passenger side of which hides the standard issue six-disc-CD changer. Secondary controls are within a fingertip's reach, and the white-face gauges are easy to read.