4cyl vs 6cyl

I have a 2013 Prerunner SR5 double cab with a 4cyl engine. I do not use it s a work truck, I only drive to and from work, about 15 miles round trip. It has a 4cyl engine which I have no problem with. Does anyone have any information on pluses or minuses on 4cyl vs 6cyl for performance and durability?

 

159 hp vs 236
6 cyl vs 4

If you have no problems you'll be fine. Don't plan on towing anything more than lawn mower trailers.

 

Op you and I must have the rarest 2nd gens out there. Mine is a 2014, Double Cab, PR, 2.7 and I use it for work. I keep 400 to as much as 600 lbs in the bed (if you count my tool box & tools as well) I also have a 2010, SR5, V6 Double Cab.

Mind you I'm on my 6th Toyota truck, and while this 2014 only has 159hp, I've owned a few 22RE powered ones with just 115 hp as well. I can tell you, the 2.7 is fairly stout for a four pot and mine does well enough on all but the steepest grades.

We have a 6% grade near my home, that my 22RE, reg cab, 2wd couldn't do 70 mph up if it wanted to, yet my 2014, 2.7 Double Cab will pull the grade at 80 in 3rd gear, with a 400-500 lb load in the box. My 2010 V6 pulls the grade like it's flat.

My only real complaint is the gas mileage between my 2010 V6 & my 2014 2.7 are very close. within about 1 mpg +/- . The 2.7 only shines when you take it on a road trip, where I got 25 mpg's once on 95% level highway, 200 miles round trip. My V6 barely gets 20 in the same situation.

As far as reliability, I hear less issues (Ticking, catalyst failure, etc...) problems about 2.7 .vs 4.0's although there are many, many owners here with trouble free V6's over 200 & 300K miles.

I think the towing comment is a bit stretched. As an example, a retired guy down the street tows a vintage Chris Craft, wood boat (probably 21'??) with..................................... a '92 Toyota 4x4, reg cab 22RE. My guess is my truck would not have a single issue with it, while I would not want to do this very far per se.

 

I towed a 2500 lbs+ trailer with a 4 CYL from Atlanta to Upstate NY. That was a one time thing. I would probably not do it again, but it is doable.

Uphill climb under full load is a drag. There were a few hills in West VA that I thought I was not going to make it over. LOL

Also, I was getting like 10-12 MPG on this trip

 

Couple of days ago I towed 1000lbs + trailer and my 4-banger had no problems whatsoever.

 

Just food for thought, but the old 3.0L V6 was roughly the same power as today's 2.7 I4, and that boat anchor was rated to tow at least 5,000 back in the early 90's. I wouldn't tow that much with my 2.7, but the point is that it's not as sluggish or week as engines used to be.

Heck in the 80's it wasn't uncommon to find a 150hp V8 in a truck, the Chevy 305, or Ford 302, Chrysler 318 come closest to mind. Personally I think Toyota should have given the 2.7 direct injection. Would have probably moved output closer to 200 hp, and improved economy 10-20%

 

I don't know if this still applies with the 2nd gen trucks (I owned a 1st gen I4 before this 2nd gen V6) but back then this was a big plus- no timing belt to change. The I4 uses a chain and is self adjusting. I would assume the belt on the V6 is going to cost a pretty penny to replace when the time comes.

I towed like crazy with my I4. Towed very well but almost no advantage as far as mileage was concerned.

 

It's reverse for 2nd gens. 4.0L V6 has a chain.

I mean reverse as in now both have chains

 

what RPM?

 

Major thing would be more horsepower and towing capabilities.

 

These 4 cylinder vs 6 cylinder threads get so old. For heavens sakes....are you all to lazy or ignorant to use the search function?

 

are you okay?

 

if it bothers you why did you open it?

 

Actually it's going quite civilized so far, definitely a far cry from the PreRunner .Vs 4x4 or Sport .Vs TRD Off Road debates. See eventhough us 4 Cyl guys are considerably down on hp, our mileage is still the envy of the V6 guys, so it doesn't really get out of hand.

I could have afforded another V6, but I specifically wanted an I4. I have both, the V6 is a whole lot quicker in ever situation, but my I4 is a lot quieter and IMO smoother. Both are great.

 

The 2.7l is the only way to get a reg cab tacoma. Honestly if any company built a even smaller 4x4 truck I would have looked at that as well. I don't have a family or haul a ton of stuff so the regular cab was the way for me to go.

 

I honestly wish Toyota would have built a double cab 4x4 with the 2.7/5speed. I would have bought one new in 05. Instead I bought an extended cab and 5 years later when my kid outgrew the extended cab I bought a V6/auto double cab. I loved the 2.7 with the 5 speed. Of course my 4.0/auto has way more power but I really miss the 23-24mpg on the highway and 95 percent of the time I could care less about the extra power.

 

I feel about the same. Thought about the V6, and every once in a while I wish I bought one but, in general, the 2.7/5spd is adequate for my needs and the 19.9-23.7 (my low and high) mpg is sweet.

 

They didn't for a reason, that would be sluggish as hell. My old 2.7 access cab 4x4 was sluggish, can't imagine the weight of a double cab added to that. The 4 cylinder excels in the regular cab, but anything heavier is pushing it imo. Great engine though, and I'd own one again if I didn't need the 4 doors.

 

I love the performance of my V6 way better than my old 4 pot, but it's apples to apples trying to compare durability. They both last a damn long time if you take care of them, I don't think it would be fair to say one is better than the other in the long run.

 

I towed a boat for years with my old 89 4-banger. Only problems I'd have were driving into a stiff breeze while towing. That would be gas pedal to the metal and 50 top speed, ha. But that engine was bullet-proof.