Looking To Get A 2013 4 Banger Extra Cab 4X4 Manual, Any Reviews?

So I may be in the market for a new 2013. I was looking at a V6, 6-Speed, TRD OR Exta Cab. But Im not sure if I want to drop 31K on a new truck. So I might settle for a 2013 4 Cylinder, 5-Speed, SR-5, Extra Cab.

Anyone have a SR5, 4X4, 4 Cylinder, Extra Cab, 5-Speed?
Likes/Dislikes?
How does the 4 banger drive? Is the power enough?

Thanks.

 

i test drove a 2011 4cyl access cab 4x4 and it felt fine! of course that was when i still had my 92 22re extra cab. after driving the truck i have now, and driving my dads 4 cyl single cab, i would have a hard time owning a 4cyl again. the 22re was popular then, the 1gr is popular now and its nice to have a motor with good aftermarket support and tons of info on since everybody and their brother seems to have one.

not to talk bad about the current 4 cyl, as it seems to be a great motor. however i feel that toyota paid more attention to the 6. the shifter boot is more cleanly executed, (for some reason that means something to me) and it is much smoother. my dad's 09 vibrates compared to mine when under load. i know a 4 cyl will naturally vibrate more because of the number of powerstrokes per rotations, but my car is 4 cyl and runs like butter. i also appreciate the fact that with the six, i rarely have to rev above 2500 rpm. it has a relatively impressive torque curve.

if your not hauling, nor have driven toyota's v6, the 4 cyl would be great. otherwise the v6 works quite well.

and one major thing for the 4, it shares much of the running gear with the v6. if it was designed for the v6, but only has the 4 bange'rs power on it, consider it bullit-proof

 

Loving mine. I have a '12 AC, 4cyl, 4x4, 5sp. Don't have the SR5 package though. I just lucked the hell out that it was everything I wanted sitting on transfer at my local dealership.

You definitely feel like you're moving a big truck around with a modest engine, but it gets up to speed fine. You'll be shifting around 2.5k to 3k to get her rolling fine, but it doesn't struggle in the slightest. I haven't pushed mine just yet, but I have confidence in it's smooth powerband. The torque is there.

I wanted the economy of the 4 and the capability of the 4x4. I'll probably be doing the basic upgrades: Headers, intake, exhaust, etc. to squeeze a couple more horsies out, but I am happy with mine.

From what I hear, they are a pretty rare breed too.

 

I have '11 4x4 5speed 4cyl in regular cab. I have no trouble with power and get decent mpg.

 

I have exactly the configuration you mention and love it. I came to the small 4 from a 5.3 Silverado 4x4 and don't regret a thing. It can serve you well.

 

I have the 2012 V6 version of what you're considering. Before buying it, I drove a 2012 4 cylinder 5-speed 4X4 Access Cab, base model. Obviously I chose the V6.

I loved the simplicity of the 4 cylinder. Simple, no-nonsense, no frills. The engine was smooth...I expected a little harshness because of its displacement, but it was quite smooth. It went about its business nicely, no fuss, and I would describe it as adequate. The shifter was nice too...smooth...and the clutch was definitely lighter than the V6.

A couple things made me go with the V6.

- my driving style. I don't like to have to rev an engine high to get some grunt out of it. The 4 cylinder requires more revs and more of its available power to haul around the weight of the truck. On the test drive, I was definitely feeling the need for more torque for how I prefer to drive.

- Next spring & summer I'll be doing a LOT of driving, much of it loaded, and at least several thousand miles of my driving next spring & summer will see a loaded bed and a cargo trailer behind it. On paper the 4-cylinder would have handled it...the stuff I'm expecting to haul around wouldn't exceed the tow rating or payload capacity of the 4 cylinder. However, based on my perceptions during the test drive, I decided that under the conditions I'll see in the spring & summer, the 4 cylinder would slide rapidly into the inadequate category.

- My current (and projected future) daily driving and towing is at high altitude. The extra grunt of the V6 is really nice to have to compensate for the altitude.

- There were no 4 cylinder 4X4 access cab SR5 Tacos available anywhere nearby when I bought mine...the 4 cylinders were all base models. Although I like simple vehicles, the SR5 adds some useful stuff, but it still keeps the fold-down front passenger seat...a must have for me.

So I'd say this: if you don't plan to tow much of anything or if your towing will be shorter distances, the 4 cylinder will do the job...not quickly, but it'll do it, and you'll be rewarded with decent fuel economy, and a simple, honest character.

 

I just picked mine up last monday in the same configuration except i dont have the SR5. I paid $24,400 for the truck. To me, it wasnt worth the extra $800 bucks for the chrome, back up camera and the colored fenders. I have the convenience package and it is great. I also owned a 2011 in the same configuration (but it had SR5)and I traded it in one year old with 20,000 miles and got $1600 less than I paid brand new. Through the lifetime both both trucks i have gotten roughly 21MPG around town and around 24ish on the HWY. this MPG is better than the 2010 Rav4 my wife had.

I also took my stock 2011 off roading at Rausch Creek and it handled everything that my brother in law's jeep cherokee handled. Oh yea, they hold awesome re-sale value. The dealer i bought my new one from is selling a 2011 for the same price (invoice + $500 rebate) as I paid for my brand new 2013.

Unless you plan on towing more than 3,500lbs, the four banger is the way to go (search for the "million mile thread")!

 

Iteresting thread. I bought a 2012 Access Bab 4x4 SR5 with the 4.0L V6 motor. Many years ago I had a couple Toyota 2WD pickups with the 4 cyl motor. These were both very basic standard cab pickups and they were great reliable vehicles. Both of them were 5 speed manuals and I rarely towed anything and hauling was modest as well.

but todays Tacoma is a bigger truck, heavier truck especially with 4WD, and I wanted more from it, so I went with the V6 motor and the 5 speed automatic. On the highway I actually get 21 mpg. It runs great and I am happy.

If I was needing top economy in both purchase price and fuel use I would get the standard cab and 2.7L inline 4, and manual transmission. But my daily driver vehicle is a VW GTI that gets 30 mpg, so I expect my truck to last a good long time and fule cost is less important with fill-ups a month apart.

 

Excellent advice here and fits my application perfectly. I wasn't planning to haul much when I got the truck, maybe a trailer or two for dirt bikes. I really got it to haul my motorcycle around and to get me better fuel economy than my 97 Camaro did. It's already doing that and it doesn't run on premium

Just like he said, if you don't plan on hauling much, doing steep inclines, or being at high altitude all the time, I'd go 4 banger. It's a fun little engine. You'd be surprised how easy it is to get the revs out of it. I'm the same way actually. I hate having to get into the high revs to move my vehicle. That's actually why I didn't make an offer on my dad's AC Sonoma. The little 4 in that thing always struggled just with both of us in it. The Taco 4 has been a little champ so far. And that's before any modest power boosting I'll prob be doing

 

Just did my second fill up and got 21.58MPG! Mostly city driving.

382 miles before fuel light came on. I love it.

 

I went to the dealership with every intention of getting a 4 cyl access cab 4x4 manual. I test drove one and liked it but where I live there are a lot of hills and I felt like a high school kid trying to race civics around because I had to rev it up so high to get enough rpms to shift to the next higher gear. It just really wasn't for me and I felt kinda bummed but then I test drove the V6 model and instantly fell in love. It seems to have power everywhere and is just so much smoother and quieter even just sitting there idling it seems smoother and more refined. That was just my conclusion and I'm sure if you live in a pretty flat area or just don't care about running the motor in the higher rpms to get power out of it then it will be fine. The 2.7 is a bullet proof motor and has been around for a while which is what attracted me to it.

 

yea i can see that.....it all depends on whatcha need. There arent any real serious hills around here. I would have gone with the v6 if i wasnt driving 40+ a day. the 4.0 is proving itself to be an awesome engine as well!

TACOS FTW!

 

That's not bad at all! The best I've gotten so far with my v6 is 19.5 mostly highway miles. I typically get closer to 17 with mixed city and highway and I pretty much drive it like an old man lol. I usually skip gears to try and save gas also like I'll shift 1 3 5 or if i start on a downhill i go 2 4 6 and so on.

 

yup! same here. I skip gears whenever I can.

 

I have a 2011 4cyl 5spd access cab 4X4 with 10,000 miles on it. I love it. 23mpg city.
It has plenty of power for me in flat Fla.
Regards
Mike

 

I have a 2009 AC 4x4 2.7L 5spd. I have a lift and 33's on it. I do quite a bit of driving and live in a remote area of Northern BC, Canada. It's about 600km's of logging roads to get to my community from the nearest town. I couldn't be happier with the 4cyl. Living in the Rocky Mountain trench, I have to say the driving isn't always easy. In the winter I'm often plowing through snow that's a foot or more deep, and in the spring I have to deal with wash-outs, deep mud and flooding. I haul supplies back from town and am loaded down at times with a 1000 pounds of supplies. I pulled my heavy utility trailer (back half of a 1 ton Ford) loaded down with a Ski-Doo, fuel and supplies from Vancouver BC all the way home (1600kms). This truck never misses a beat! I do have to plan when I pass trucks on the highway and make sure I time things right. Because of the larger tires, I did notice a difference when towing my loaded trailer, but that was only from a standstill and on an incline; personally I wouldn't mind a re-gear. This past summer I drove from Vancouver BC to Inuvik NWT, part of it along the Dempster highway. The round trip was about 8000kms. I had everything in my truck that I needed to live out of it for a month, including topper, sleeping platform, food, some spare fuel, water, two full-sized spares, kitchen and recovery equipment. I averaged 11.2L/100 km or about 21mpg. I'd say that's not too bad.
As mentioned before, all the other running gear is identical to the heavier V6 and double cab platform. Being this isolated, I needed a truck that was capable, reliable and fuel efficient. I love the truck and she hasn't let me down, especially important when it's -40C and you're hundreds of km's from the nearest civilization.
Hope this helps; you can't go wrong with either platform!

 

I have a 2012 4cyl Access Cab 4x4 SR5. I love it. My driving style has changed a lot since my days with my 92 Integra. I had a '06 Subaru wagon before my truck. I was used to go booting that around.

It has sufficient power. I've done a road trip to Penticton from the Vancouver area and it was great. I got great mileage. Around town, I get about 650ish kms.

I made a trip up to Mt Seymour to hike this summer and it's quite different from my Subie. It has power, but I didn't want to gun it up the hill like I usually do. I will find out this season how it gets up the mountain with snow on the stock Dunlops.

Overall, I don't do a lot of towing or hauling. The heaviest load I had so far since I've owned my truck is 250lbs. I've taken it offroading with the local TW guys and it is VERY capable. I thought the gas was going to be crazy since it is a truck. But I have to say, I get better mileage in the Taco then my Subie from what I think.

 

Hearing from you Canadian guys that actually push these trucks out in the bush really convinces me I made the right decision with mine. Great to hear your feedback!

 

What's the verdict?

 

I have the same truck as you.Same setup lift with 33s.Also work with a guy that has this setup.he put 488 gears in his you wouldnt believe the difference.Ordered my parts today to regear mine.