Coming back to Toyota, Need some advice

I have an auto 2.7 and I usually average about 21-22 mpg. That is mostly highway driving with some driving around town. When i drove mostly around town i would get about 19-20 mpg depending on how i felt like driving that week or so haha.

As far as power, I am fine with power. A little more power wouldn't hurt and a manual would be nice but im fine with the auto. I probably had the truck near the limit with granite in the bed and drove it on some hilly roads for a few miles and it was fine

 

You don't need a 6 to haul band equipment. I hall plywood, lumber, sheetrock etc no problem - up hills. I get 28-29 mph on the interstate if I'm careful - 17 to 22 overall if I'm not careful but a lot better if I pay attention. I have a stick. Don't want to pay to rebuild a auto. The 4 has a timing chain - no belt to change. Spark plugs at 100,000 not 30,000 - less maintenance. 4 has the rep of being bullet proof - just change the oil. No way you can get the same mpg on a 6 as a 4. If U R looking to save $$ - the 4 is the way 2 go - less expense all the way around. Just my 2 cents but I can tell you I have owned 2 four cyl - my brother in law had a 6 and bought a 4 when the 6 went. Just the ease of changing spark plug on the 4 VS the 6 sold him. A lot of advantages and no draw backs IMHO.

 

Check out the "million mile thread".....

Only way ill get a v6 is if I ever really need a vehicle for towing over 3500 lbs, which I don't foresee happening.

 

In-town driving KILLS your MPG.

My normal commute is about 45 miles each way.
Rolling 65-70 in the morning on the way in, 20-40 on the way home.
I'll typically see the Ultragauge anywhere from 24.5 to 26.5

So this week, I got home from work Thursday and the UG showed 25.9 average over 360 miles... nice tank.
Yesterday, I took the freeway out to my storage unit, then brought the freeway back, stopped at Lowes, changed the oil, washed it, and went to Costco and Wal Mart.

Total mileage for the day was about 50 miles. Tank average dropped to 25.0

So 360 at 25.9 = 13.9 gallons burned.
410 at 25.0 = 16.4 gallons burned.
That 50 miles cost me 2.5 gallons... average for yesterday was 20mpg.

 

I just got back from the dealer after test driving the I4 4x4 auto access cab. Nice truck, and haggled a pretty could price, but I couldn't pull the trigger. It drove fine until I took it up an uphill on-ramp onto a 65 mph highway. I had it pegged, and it struggled. I took the V6 version of the same truck on the same route, and I barely had to touch the gas on the same ramp. I was sold until that happened. Sigh..

The dealer said the sticker epa guidelines are pretty much spot on, and said the 21 mpg highway for both versions (I4 4x4 vs v6 4x4) that I drove are pretty accurate.

Therefore.. I'm still undecided. lol. Really nice trucks, though, I must say. They had a really sweet limited on site, which I was drooling over. $37k sticker price, though. Eek.

 

Uh, ya if you're driving in Upstate NY you need a manual trans or you might as well just buy an automatic IQ and take your chances like everybody else.

The 4 cyl is definitely not fast but since everybody is driving at 60 mph how fast does it really need to be?

 

Thanks. I'm sub'd on the million mile thread.

 

It all depends on what you do with it and how you drive. I have a V6 auto access cab. Stock height except for rear leaf spring TSB. Cab height shell. 265/70R16 BFG All Terrains. Got over 22mpg per tank twice this summer. Lifetime average 19mpg so far.

 

I have had both 2010 4x4 2.7 5 speed, and a 2013 4x4 2.7 auto and honestly I like the auto a lot more, the 5 speed was just far too annoying to drive, never could be smooth with it and the second gear clunk got really old. I honestly get up to speed faster with the auto than I did with the 5 speed, however with the 5 speed I always shifted at around 2500 and never drove like speedy gonzolas.. I would def buy an auto over the 5 speed as long as ur not up in the mountains or pulling a heavy trailer, I'm very happy I got rid of my 5 speed for an auto. Plus the 13's have touch screen and Bluetooth wich is awesome. If ur used to the v6 it may feel slow, but there is a guy on he renamed fink why just bought a 2.7 4x4 auto and came from v6 dbl cab and he likes the 2.7 better so I would say go take one for s test drive

 

The suggestion to drive one first is a good one. Drive a 6 auto - drive a 4 auto - drive a 4 stick etc. I like the stick - it gives me something to do - I never had a 2nd gear clunk- I usually shift around 2000 - as far as time getting up to speed - I skip gears on the flat.

 

X2. Driving a stick becomes second nature that I don't even have to think about anymore.

 

Exactly !

 

The 6 cylinder has a timing chain as well. If you want 100k mile plugs in the 6 just put in iridiums.

 

News 2 me ! 4 some reason I always thought the 6 had a belt. On the plugs - Chris 4X4 says they don't work very well in the 6. His opinion not mine - I never had a 6 but he has and does and he is a moderator, a guru and a BMOC around here. Thanks.

 

It's not a matter of working well it's that there is no benefit performance wise to run iridium plugs in the 4.0 liter.

 

Does no benefit equate to equal performance ? If so why wouldn't everyone use iridium and change them at 100 instead of 30. Something is missing in this logic.

 

Some do. The key is to run a plug that is in the same temp range as the OE copper plug to optimize spark and eliminate excess carbon build. I believe Denso lists an Iridium alternative. The issues with Iridiums besides cost can relate to resistance values, temp and the fact that most will install them and forget them without checking plug gap and condition when the 1GR should be checked every 30k miles regardless of the plug installed.

So you replace your tired Coppers with Iridiums and you feel a difference at first but 60k miles in they might perform worse than a fresh set of copper plugs at 30k miles.

 

Thanks. This is the first time I have read that I'm supposed to check the gap on my Iridiums at 30K. I spend entirly too much time on TW and don't recall ever reading this. I have a 2.7 with 60k on it and have not checked the plugs since I was under the impression I didn't have to until 100k. I do recall chris4x4 saying the Iridiums don't preform well in the 6 cyl but the resistance values, temp thing does make sense.

 

If that is correct, the new 4 bangers are inferior to the older ones. From other threads in this forum that I have read, the 4 cyl models get significantly better mileage than the 6s, 4x4 or 2x4.

 

Ya, they still do. That dealer is just blowing smoke to get a deal. Best source that I have found is fuelly.com.