Is the 3rd gen 4 cylinder that slow?

Before I purchased my v6 I test drove a 4 cylinder . To me it was way underpowered.
I would go to the v6 better towing capabilities and better acceleration. By no means is the v6 powerful or quick but it’s better than the 4 cylinder platform . If I was looking for something quick and powerful I would have not purchased a Tacoma . The v6 is great for my towing and off road needs . I would never purchase a 3rd gen 4 cylinder .

 

I can tell you my 3.5 tacoma would smoke my 4.7 tundra v8 if the two were raced. If compared to a hellcat, or z06, yeah, it is slow.

 

Best advice would be to skip buying a Toyota truck/suv with a 3.0 and 3.5. All the other ones are good.

 

it runs a lot better if you feed it 91 octane. it doesn't like 87, especially in the heat.

 

Same for my 2003 4runner, over 200K miles.. If there was no frame rust car did not have issues. That 4.0 L V6 was just running SMOOTH. Literally car had no issues , its insane because it was used for towing, harsh winters etc but engine was great and AC still worked.


Tacoma V6 is not bad either. That almost identical engine is in Toyota's more expensive trims, it is trusted not to have issues.

 

Thats just not true. These trucks run great on 87. I just asked a neighbor that bought a 2021 how theirs runs on 87 fuel...said its very responsive, no issues whatsoever.

 

What does, the 4 or the 6?

 

opposite of my experience. degraded performance with 87 with retarded timing

the 4

 

Idk about the 4 cylinder running better with a higher octane, but the 6 cylinder will run fine on 87...in fact mine performs best on 87. Seems any octane more than 89, the truck doesn't run as sharp.

 

I've found the opposite to be true but my situation might be different. I live in a very hot region, low altitude, and I have the 1" Anderson Engineering spacer on my intake. In theory, that spacer should increase cylinder pressures slightly at low rpms. I had spark knock before the spacer but never tried higher octane. I can't say for sure that the spacer changed anything--but it might.

 

I'm mostly in cooler weather being here in new england, plus not a lot of big hills either....it's sea level to 3500' on average for me. All our fuel grades are E10, and very fresh.

 

I'm assuming OP has bought his/her truck now (If so what'd you get?) but in my opinion if anyone is asking if the 4 cylinder is going to be slow... buy the V6.

I love my I4 but I also don't drive remotely fast at all and love maxing mpg so it's perfect for me and I'm hoping to get 250k or more out of that motor as I keep my cars forever.

Around town it's fine, highways and on-ramps or up large hills... you'll know you're in a 4000lb truck powered by 150 hp.

 

Get a 2nd gen with the v6, it's way better

 

Spacer doesn't do anything and probably robs power some

 

who knows. i've never used one. but i'd imagine if there was a significant benefit toyota would have designed the throttle body longer.

 

I never drove a 2nd gen tacoma v6 to compare, but I can't get it in my head they're way better than the 3rd gen v6. These 3rd gen's have outstanding performance for a 3.5 v6, plus get nearly 23 mpg cruising at our highway speeds here. Its just not like toyota to go backwards.

 

Night and day, turd gens are a downgrade

 

Must be I am the only one worried about the constant shifting at highway cruising speeds, 60-75 mph. In our I-86 commute of 15 miles and an elevation change of maybe 300 feet. Cruise set at 74, it will change between 5th and 6th at least 10 times and on the one hill it sometimes shifts all the way down to 3rd. In 15K miles that's 10,000 transmission shifts.

 

nope

 

sell it