The first test I participated in was the trucks' towing and trailing capabilities. For this test, a 9,000 lb trailer (approximately 4 tons) was hooked to each vehicle. I tested, in order, the Ford F-150, the Toyota Tundra, the GMC Sierra, and the Chevrolet Silverado.
All the vehicles performed smoothly on the road. I was surprised, expecting more noise and body flex. The drive itself was almost car-like with none of the trucks sounding strained with their heavy load. The Ford, though, had the noisiest engine. Finally, the Chevrolet Silverado seemed the most strained during the obstacle part of the test where I drove quickly around various cones to simulate quick lane changes.
But the F-150's reaction was nothing compared to the Tundra. Not only did it suffer tire squeal, but my driving triggered its traction control system. I was quite surprised since none of the other three trucks reacted the same way and I had not changed my driving speed or pattern.
In the second half I raced the various trucks up a sloping road (7.2 % grade) to test their ability to quickly pass slower vehicles on mountain roads. Living in mountainous areas all my life, I could appreciate such capabilities.
The GMC Sierra easily bypassed the Ford F-150 and the Toyota Tundra. Engine noise from the former had me nearly shouting to my GM passenger and, again, the truck felt strained climbing the road. The Tundra's traction control activated again at launch, making it impossible for it to come close to the Sierra. I would later trigger the Tundra to shut down during the traction control part of the event.
I'll admit I was nervous during the next two tests. The first, Launch Feel and Braking, had me drive around 60 mph in a curve. While my fellow journalists may scoff at such an issue, I'm notorious among my family and friends for slowing down at the least sign of a bend in the road. But all the trucks handled beautifully, none of them straining at such high speeds; I never felt I would lose control.
After checking out the trucks' towing capacities, I tested each truck's braking system by decelerating from 60 miles per hour to a complete stop as quickly as possible. Images of being flung into the windshield danced in my mind as I slammed my foot on the brakes in my first test vehicle, the Nissan Titan. I shouldn't have worried; the vehicle stopped just fine without stress. I repeated the test in the Titan, Ford F-250, the GMC Sierra, and the Tundra. The Sierra did the best, shortly followed by the Tundra. The Titan's engine was noisy compared to GM and Toyota's offerings, though the F-250, with its diesel engine, was the worst in relative terms. The Ford also had the worst fit-and-finish compared the competition, with wide gaps in the interior paneling and mismatched shapes like the AC vents.
If the Launch Feel and Braking event made me nervous, the next event, the Ride and Handling one had me downright scared. In this test, I would drive the various trucks through a wet surface to test their traction control systems. Note that I have never, in over two decades of driving, ever trigged any of my vehicles' emergency systems. Yet here I was trying to do so deliberately and with much larger vehicles!
I drove the Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota Tundra, each time accompanied by a GM representative. In the first half of the test, I entered each truck into the wet surface at approximately 30 mph and used the anti-lock braking system to control it. The Chevrolet Silverado handled with aplomb; I never felt a loss of control and, in fact, barely felt the slippage. I had a more difficult time using the Tundra's anti-lock brake system; the truck literally kept wanting to slip away from my control. It took several judicious pumps on the brake pedal to stabilize it.
The second half had me test each truck electronic stability control system, or ESC. I drove the trucks into the wet surface again. This time, I took my foot off the accelerator to try to control it just by the steering wheel. Getting out of the slide was more difficult and I found myself overcompensating many times. While both trucks' systems ultimately made it manageable, the Tundra's system was definitely the noisier of the two. I also discovered that its systems were only active in 2WD mode; it could easily be disable if the Tundra switched to 4WD. Safety systems on the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado remain active in both drives, though a GM representative did reveal how to disable them for off-road travel.
Among all the tests, I found the Ride and Handling event the most informative since it revealed an oft-hidden but demanded feature of trucks: their safety systems. It's also one of the most difficult to duplicate among media vehicles, since most journalists rarely try to actually trigger a car's safety systems outside of controlled enviroments.
The last event tested each truck's traction control system. The event simulated a truck's capabilities in climbing a steep road in slippery conditions. I drove a Ford F-350, the GMC Sierra, and the Tundra.
The Sierra did fine, able to get its grip quickly on the "slippery road" (which constituted wetted tile). And while the Tundra eventually make the climb, it was quite noisy. Worse, it slipped on the surface and the engine sounded like it turned off; I had to switch to neutral to resume the climb.
The Ford F-350, with its limited slip differential, could not even make it up the road, stalling half-way through.
