Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 crowned 2008 Canadian Truck King Over three days, eight judges drove 23 new trucks more than 4,400 kilometres in a combined total of 200 hours of testing to determine the winner of the 2008 Canadian Truck King Challenge. And the results are in: the Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 is the Canadian Truck King for 2008. Read the article | Sidebar: The tests
Judging the Truck King Challenge CanadianDriver's Grant Yoxon and Jil McIntosh participated as judges in the 2008 Canadian Truck King Challenge. Jil describes the "daunting" task of judging 23 trucks in three days. Read the article
The Challengers
Click the category links to read our assessments of this year's contenders:
Mid-size trucks The midsize pickup category was divided into "under V6", which included the five-cylinder GMC Canyon ($41,105) and the four-cylinder Toyota Tacoma ($24,310), and "V6 and over", which was the V8-powered Dodge Dakota ($34,980) and V6 Tacoma ($38,955).
Half-Ton Pickups (Under 5.0-litre)/Work Truck While there were four trucks in this general class - two Toyota Tundras, Dodge Ram and GMC Sierra - it was further broken down into a secondary Work Truck category, where Toyota and GMC went head-to-head. The two Work Trucks were 2WD only and did not go on the off-road course; both were Regular Cab configuration.
Half-Ton Pickups (Over 5.0-litre) The eight trucks in this category made it the largest in the field; as all were 4x4 models, all were taken on the off-road course. Due to time and equipment restrictions, most of the vehicles went through the burdened test carrying a 700-lb weight in the box, but the Toyota Tundra long-box and the Ford F150 towed a trailer.
Three-Quarter Ton Pickups Three trucks met in this ring: the Dodge Ram, GMC Sierra, and Ford F250. All were 4x4 models and were taken through the full off-road course, and all three towed a trailer loaded with a Jeep Wrangler.
One-Ton Pickups Four trucks fought this battle, but because the two Fords were so very similar, we took only one on the towing and off-road course. All were diesels with dual rear wheels. Partly because it's not their reason for being, and partly because the path just wasn't wide enough, all one-tons stayed out of the woods, and off-roading was restricted to a log-strewn ditch and a series of dips and mounds.
