Is 4-cylinder powerful enough as a family car?

porsche and most likely 1 season

 

James, I'm seeing 19-21 mpg since I got the truck in August. Nowhere near the 25 on the mpg sticker.

Mostly a 24 mile commute and the last 12 miles is heavy traffic. Tampa is bad for stop-and-go congestion and if you leave a gap, 10 morons will jump into it.
On wide open highway, I generally set the cruise to 75. My Ranger started out with a constant 22 mpg which slowly crept up to 24. But that truck was 1,000 pounds lighter and had a smaller engine.

 

A couple months ago I traded in a 2x4 4-cyl pre-runner for a 4x4 TRD-OR V-6.

I bought the 12 out of necesity as I had my first child and my vehicles were a motorcycle and a 1984 CJ7. Sold them and was looking to buy a used Tacoma, but with the incentives at the time I got the 12 for almost less (incentives + interest rates) than a used one I was looking at.

I used the 4-cyl pre-runner as a daily driver and a baby taxi for 2.5 years and it will serve that purpose well. I even used it to get to hunting spots and it performed well there as long as I stayed away from anything too serious.

However, now owning the v-6 I'd have a hard time going back to the 4-cyl. The 4-cyl got better gas mileage going 45-65 on the highway. When in the city or on an interstate, the mileage is nearly identical. The 4 felt like a slug when passing or accelerating into a lane, the v-6 rarely leaves me wanting for more power.

 

I have a 4cyl for almost a year now and like it alot. But i knew exactly what i was buying, so my expectations were inline with the vehicle. My first car was a 68 nova, straight 6 w standard shift, second a 72 jeep w 6cyl, standard, 76 nova, 6 auto, last car was a saturn w a 4cyl and got 173,000miles on it, before buying the tacoma. So i am used to reliable engines with decent gas mileage.
So far i have had the truck loaded with 8 pails of roofing shingles, for five trips to the dumps...no problems with power and not even the leaf springs. My daily load for work is light, so no problems there.
I road trip to sc from ny regularly, for vaca and sometimes work, through mountains, foothills and straight runs. It maintains whatever speed im goin...thats all i expect it to do. One thing i notice these days, is there are a good amount of folks who love accelerating uphill. Its kinda funny to me. But those are the folks who would be hating the 4 banger and i am the guy who would be hating paying for the extra gas.
When i test drove the truck, i could sense the salespersons apprehension, silence, during acceleration...im sure there is a dividing line between the 4 and 6 cyl buyers at that point. But i knew what the vehicle is and have 2 friends with the same truck and have always had cars, where it wasnt about gassing off red lights. Ofcourse i see the benefits of the v6 as well.

 

He is also in an area with NO HILLS, makes a huge difference.

 

As big a difference as hills and temperature are, I think the biggest thing is the transmissions.

Almost universally, the folks here with I4 manuals have zero problems with power/performance and wouldn't take the 6 if you gave it to em.

The auto trannys however are another matter all together. I know the auto I drove was a dog, comparitively speaking.

So, it's more than just a question of "V6 or I4"...what transmission on that motor is a HUGE game changer.

 

Our freeway speeds are posted at 65 MPH, so we'll have different results regardless. I think the 75 MPH cruise isn't doing a favor for your MPG since my truck didn't like that speed for efficiency, I regularly got 27-29 MPG HWY and those trips included climbing into Tahoe and sustained steep grades, 70-75 MPH at altitude, etc,. That condition represented probably 25% of the total trip, though.

My average MPGs were 21-23 MPG (23 when I was really trying) and that was primarily keeping highway speed to 65, if I did 70 on the highway it dropped to 19.5-20.5 MPG for that overall tank, which is noticeable.

I think given the sound of your driving conditions, you'd probably be getting similar MPGs to my truck under my personal conditions. Now with larger and slightly heavier tires on my truck, I notice a LOT more that the freeway speeds will change my overall MPG quite a bit. Now I'm driving no faster than 65 MPH, and more often than not, somewhere around 60-62 and the RPMs are around 1900-2000. I'm still not getting 20 MPG, but this is new territory since I changed to the larger tire, so I have to assume it's due to this increased weight.

Anyway, if you're able to drop the highway speed a bit you'll likely see an increase, but I'm not sure 70 MPH is feasible in your area.

 

I'm thinking this too. OP, what MPGs are you wanting? Because the 2.7L apparently can get crazy MPGs at crazy speeds, but I'm willing to bet that is not with 4.10 gears. Probably closer to the 3.3xx or the 3.5xx?

So it depends on the configuration you're looking for.
If you want this:

Then the 2.7L will be enough for you and you can choose your own gear ratio as to what your needs are. If you are asking about which engine to put in this:


Then I say V6 all the way. An I4 in the PreRunner or TRD model will have a gear ratio of 4.10 and won't get that much better than a V6 with 3.73.

So base or PreRunner/TRD? Since you said double cab (Which is necessity for passengers) I strongly suggest the V6. Manual, too.

That's not 28 MPG. I can get 24-25 out of a tank in my 4.0 with 3.73s, but not at 80 MPH mind you. That would require, for me, driving at 60.

What gear ratio are you at, or what gear ratio are you saying can get such high mileage at 80 MPH?
As far as me doing it wrong, probably. I've tried the pulse and glide thing, seemed to work once (using ultragauge I don't need to do it over a whole tank) but I couldn't get consistent improved MPG so I drive with cruise control.

 

I run bone stock, for the most part. Whatever the stock gear ratio is, is what I've had in all 3 of mine.

Even now, my last tank was 23.9, and its cold as balls here (40mph wind, 25 sustained, temp in the teens). And that's going 70-75 for 20 of my 22 mile commute.

 

On a related tangent...

You can not build a 4cyl 4x4. Only a 4x2. At least according to that configurator thingey. And they don't offer a regular cab any more?

That just ensured I won't be buying new.

 

I had a 4cyl now I have the v6 5 speed and I would never even think about going back.

 

Old news, reg cabs died in 2015 MY.

The only 4x4 you can buy with 4 cylinders is an Access Cab. You can't get the tow package with the 4 cylinder on any configuration.

Also the configuration feature on Toyota doesn't let you build ANY configuration, it limits you to real life configurations sitting on dealer lots in your zip code region. So, you can buy an AC with 2.7 auto and 4x4, but if no dealer has that truck on his lot in your sales region, you will NOT be allowed to build that configuration on Toyota.com

 

I'm also unsure of all the different gear ratio packages and how to get them. Seems like you have to ask. I don't think you're at 4.10 though.

There aren't base model 4x4s?? And yes, only extended cab. Honestly, that doesn't bother me because you have the same bed length and a ton of space for tools and other cargo as opposed to the reg cab.

That's silly. Should have the option to build it how you want it, that's very misleading because most people are going to use that tool and think that's all Toyota makes.

 

Sadly, even at 75 I still get people trying to push me out of the left lane. I can't stay in the center, since the elderly like to park there at 55, and the right lane has people merging at 40 while others are using it as a high speed lane. In other words, Florida highways are a total colon flume. I did try setting the cruise at 70, but I kept having to change lanes all the time. Eh, I guess 20 mpg isn't too bad for this size vehicle.

Funny you mention Tahoe. My wife and I are thinking about a return trip there for our anniversary this year. Maybe ski and drive down to Napa. Check out Santa Rosa and go whale watching. I've never gone all the way through wine country.

 

I live in Santa Rosa. Let me know if you need tips!

 

Interesting

I have scripting blocked and outbound calls halted at the switch. The website doesn't know where I am, and yet I still can't build it.

 

Does it have your zipcode saved? It asks for mine every time and I can't find a way around it.

 

It shouldn't.

I'll try with a different browser and block the same things and see what I get.

 

Probably because it doesn't know where you are, so you're limited in your variables.

The above info regarding how the Build a "X" on Toyota.com is from Toyota customer care, so I believe it to be accurate.

 

Had a 4=now have a 6==LIKE the 6 much better!