V6 or 4 banger What should I get?

I purposely looked for a 2.7 5 speed when I recently bought a truck. My reasons are less long term maintenance, easier(and cheaper) to work on, better gas mileage. The only downfall is a little less power. I also sticking with stock 265's for tires.

 

Did you regear? I dropped to 19mpg after I lifted. I want 33s but don't want to kill my fuel economy any more than it is. Considering going to 4.88

 

You will regret not getting the v6 everyday you drive your truck, if you get the 4cylinder you won't even get better mpg honestly compared to actually being able to pass people on the freeway or get on the freeway with speed

 

Just putting in my 2 cents. I bought a 2.7 auto extended cab and have just recently bought a v6 double cab. The 2.7 is fine but lacks a little in power, but very easy to maintain. The V6 is much nicer on highway and such and it has 300,000 on the original power train!

 

Greatly appreciate the feedback and opinions keep them coming!

 

What you want to hear more people beg you to not buy a 4cylinder?

 

At first I did lol, because my neighbor is selling his and it's a v6 depending on the price I'll be willing to wait and look for a 4 if things don't work out

 

2004 v6 250K auto daily driver. I've owned it for 100K of those miles. I tow and haul two 4x4 hunting quads up 6% grades going to my cabin. I've had no problems at all. Love the truck! It's my second one. My first one was totaled by being rear-ended at 70mph at a dead stop."RIP" Other then T-belt and water pump, radiator, belts and hoses. Also rebuilt the front end. Typical maint. stuff.

RIP

 

if "no" towing then get the 4 banger, better on gas (19/21mpg) and a great little engine you never have to touch, but .... they all have a rough idle that cant be fixed

if doing "some" towing then get the v6, better power for towing but not as good on gas (16/18mpg), the engine needs timing belt replaced every 100k miles but other then that, you never have to touch it, but .... they also have a rough idle that cant be fixed but not as bad as the 4 banger.

the 5 lug rides nice and easy like a car, the prerunner rides stiff and you feel every bump because it has a 4wd like stiff suspension, unless you are going to be driving off of paved roads I would suggest you buy a 5 lug. also, a set of 5 lug tires is about $400 but a set of tires for a prerunner costs around $900

 

No, still running stock 4.10s. I've checked my speedo with GPS and it's spot on so my numbers should be accurate. I think the 33"s with 4.10s are a good combo on road but I'd be happy with a lower ratio for offroad.

 

It's easy for the v6 guys to rave about the extra power, and the 4 banger guys to go on about the mpg and simplicity of their engines. I've had both. Both are great. Just two different animals.

You can't go wrong with either. They are both proven power plants. It comes down to this, basically...

Do you want a little extra power, or a little extra mpg?

 

Nonsense, my 3rz constantly gets in the low twentys for mpg mixed driving and I have numerous friends with 3.4s and they get 16-17 mpg or worse in the same conditions. I've also raced a few of them just for kicks, and my truck will beat some of them and run neck and neck with others which is why I say the power difference is negligible. Keep in mind I'm talking 5spd 2.7 and auto 3.4s, I have no doubt an auto 2.7 would be a slug or that a manual 3.4 might gain a bit vs the autos. I'd still trust the 4 banger over the 3.4 for longevity, yota knows 4bangers.

 

exactly, my 2.4 got 21mpg and when I upgraded it to the newer 4 hole injectors that jumped up to 23mpg, only reason I sold it was I needed more power for towing a boat. the v6 gave me that power but at a cost of mpg, it was 19 average running around and when pulling the boat that dropped to 16 mpg. I finally went get me a 4runner with v8 and now I get 19 mpg driving or towing and double the hp of the 3.4 v6 taco and the Cadillac soft ride and spacious interior room with more cargo area then the taco is a great added bonus.

 

Just don't buy a 4cylinder I have both trucks in my driveway, the v6 has hardly any noticeable loss in MPG compared to the 4cylinder,

Not to mention the only reason I bought a 4cylinder was for the gas mileage then I realized I bought a 2wd truck with a tiny engine that won't hardly keep my speed up hills with 32" tires just cause I heard the 4cylinders are amazing , they are if you have a 5lug and drive around in a single cab

 

I don't know if you "need" the open back for carrying stuff but if an enclosed cargo area would do what you need then seriously go look at some 4th gen 4runners 05-09 with the maint free 4.0L v6 engines I think you will like them a lot. just avoid the 03-04 years because those had bad head gaskets

 

well that's 4wd, ya 4wd suck on gas but the 2wd is where you find a big savings on gas with a 4 cylinder

 

One more thing to add to my previous post.

Gearing and transmission type are going to be a lot more important for the 2.7's felt power. I have driven a friends 2.7 auto. It "felt" considerably less powerful to me than my truck with the manual trans and 4.30 diffs. Food for thought.

 

Not really, you don't actually lose that much mpg with 4x4 what the internet says and what I've experienced I've found it's pretty crazy, my 4cilder gets maybe 1-3 mpg better depending on what gas I use, now if I try to pass someone at 70mph you downshift and you can't gain any speed, now your goin. To loose 3 miles to your gallon but with the v6 you can down shift and hit 80mph in 4 th gear and still be cruising in lower rpms the manual is better on the 4cylinder but you still won't get what you need out of it,

NOTE : I'm comparing my manual v6 4x4 with 32 inch tires heavy rims and a 6inch fabtech lift to my COMPLEATLY stock auto 4cylinder 2wd with stock tires and stock rims I did get worse mpg with the bigger tires but that's not what we're comparing, I can't imagine if I got an extra 1-2 mpg from the lift going to a 3inch maybe less wind resistance? But if that dose hold up if I lowered it and got more mpg then it would rival the 4cylinder almost exact, another note my 4cylinder started leaking on the half moon seals the 4banger doesn't like high rpms for to long I couldent believe it I have 160k on my engine it's great I trust it to drive cross country but I won't go anywhere fast

 

OP, what does your screen name mean? Just wondering.

Edit: I recommend the V6, just because I have one and I like it. Well, I don't like it, but I am satisfied with it. So, I am satisfied, but not happy with it I guess.

 

Just ask @Nicklovin the 4cylinder mpg isn't all what it's cracked up to be