thoughts on 4cyl 4wd Tacoma

Yeah mine is the auto and I’m happy with it most of the time. Not on the highway though. I’m going to get the tsb and hopefully that will make it better. I’ve had nothing but standard for 7 years straight until I got this. So when I bought it I just figured I needed to get used to the auto again.

 

And my new 3rd gen gets 2-3 better mpg than my 2.7 did. But I pull a small trailer most weeks for my shop

 

My 01 2.7 and my 18 2.7 gets exact same mpg

 

Unfortunately I don’t think you Can get a 2018 2.7 with a 5 or 6 speed manual. My 2017 2.7 with the 5 speed fits my needs ( dump runs, trips to Home Depot), I could see how it may be a dog when mated with the 6 speed auto.

 

i have a 4 cylinder Auto and im happy with it honestly.

acceleration is what it is.......its not a sports car by any means.......but it also doesnt feel like im dragging a boat anchor.......its able to get up to highway speeds pretty easily and thats all i really need.......honestly it accelerates just like my XJ.

i dont tow with it, if i did i would have gone with the 6 cylinder.......but ive made multiple runs from Home depot with 700+ lbs of tile in the bed and it does just fine.

there have been situations where i would have liked more power.....but ive never had a situation where i NEEDED more power.

the benefits of the 4 cylinder are cheaper initial cost...cheaper maintenance costs....and lighter weight.

the downside is obviously the lacking in power to the 6

 

I had one with a MT and it was good off road. The 2.7 has quite a bit of torque. On the highway, however it is underpowered. So, if you aren't a freeway speed demon, it could be fine, although I don't think you can get a MT anymore.

 

For me the issue isn't I am a speed demon. I do 70-80mph, which is flow of traffic. For us here there are TONS of hills on all the highways, and it can't maintain the speed, without massive downshifting and then the interior becomes louder than Madonnas orgasm and it is at that time unrefined to a point where I feel like I am driving a 1962 Tractor.

If there were no highways in the US, the 4 CYL would be a joy to drive

 

I bought the 2018 4 cyl 2.7 with auto transmission.
What a dog...... Downshifts 2 gears on even small hills.
Slow, sluggish, really have to rev it to get any speed.
Love the look of the truck but that's where it ends

 

Best mod for the 2.7 is the LCE Header. Install is fairly simple as well.
I also suggest lighter wheels if you have the steel as well as sticking to the same tire size. Killed my mileage going up a tire size.

 

I see I'm late to the discussion and haven't personally driven the 4 cyl so take this as you may

I would not recommend anything less than the 6. I think the 6 cyl is adequate power enough for a truck this size, especially driving around etc. However even with the 6 it can only tow 6,000 lbs and even struggles with this amount. Any less power and I can see the capability significantly decline especially given the already low end of the spectrum power band v6, for comparison the GM twins v6 does 300 horsepower.

I would never buy a 4 cyl truck tho. I do have a AWD 4 cyl SUV which does well in the snow and gets great gas mileage, but when it comes time to trade that in I'll be looking for the v6 on that too. Given that the fuel economy is actually better on the 6, why would u even consider a 4?

 

Where did you hear it’s better than the 6? It isn’t.

 

I think there was discussion on this a while back and 6 cyl owners were actually reporting better gas mileage because of various factors such as having lower needed rpms and the whole atkinson cycle thing. In any case I average 21-23 daily on my commute with the 6 mix city/freeway.. does the 4 do better than that?

 

I've driven both the auto 3.5 and 2.7 back to back and was surprised that the 2.7 did not feel that much slower than the 3.5 from stop to go. You'll feel that it is a 4cyl from mid-high range, when loaded, or when passing.

 

Yes.

 

Well that's not what I heard

 

I wouldn't get the 4 if you have any inclination to tow anything. I have the 6 and and while it does fine it does rev more on hills when towing my double jetski trailer. But I also have a full size Ram that I also tow with so my viewpoint is most likely skewed
Like others have said throughly test drive both no one can tell you what you'll be happy with

 

I have the MGM v6 and my girlfriend has the white 4cyl. I can drive her truck no problem and without complaints. I get around 25 mpg and she gets closer to 30. Her truck is a lot smoother when driving, I think i still need tsb to help with that but I haven't tracked down the right one. You don't have the reserved power in the 4cyl obviously, and its nice to have that reserve but not needed. Major perk of that 4cyl is its proven reliability. We have yet to see what this 3.5 does long term. If for some reason I had ended of with the 4cyl I wouldnt be bothered