The 4 cylinder?

The previous Colorado had a 185 hp four.......how did that compare to the a Toyota 2.7. ? Sad....
The 3.5 is just the 4.0 with with shorter stroke and same bore so everything is " an old motor" . Why ask ? Aren't you going to try them out ? I personally, with 4 wd, I would have the 6 and 2 wd with only light towing, the 4 will be fine.

With the 7 trucks I have had, four were fours and three were 6 s. All were good as long as you go by having the 6 with 4 wd. If you don't, you will be disappointed. Now, if you get a six with a two wheel drive, get ready for lots of fun and speeding tickets.

 

I am in the market for a new truck and the 2016 Tacoma 2WD DCSB SR5 with the 2.7L AT is at the top of the list of contenders. I live in Florida where there are few hills and no mountains, and I won't be towing that much so I feel the 4 banger will be adequate. For years my work trucks were F250s with the 300 straight six(4.9L) and 5 speed manual tranny. While they were not hotrods, with only around 140hp they performed quite well and lasted forever.

 

I ran 2.7s in FL for years.

Don't get the auto with the 2.7. PLEASE. It's a dog. And not in a good way.

If you can get the 5 speed, go for it. The manual is what makes the 2.7 what it is. The auto is like tryng to compete in the Ironman Triathalon with a bowling ball stapled to your nutsack.

 

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely test drive one first. I was hoping the new 6 speed auto would help take care of the dogginess. Guess it depends on how well Toyota has geared it.

 

I agree but only if you are talking about the old 4 speed automatic in PRE 2016 tacos with the 4 cylinder. My wife has a six speed on her four cylinder Venza which is a real heavy car. I never thought I would buy one till I tried it out. I have a six cyl Taco for towing so we would only use the Venza for her and I and trips. It performs amazingly well with the Six speed auto. Cruise at 90 mph and get plus 27 mpg at lower speeds. The six auto will completly redefine the four cylinder in the 2 wd. At the very least....give it a test drive. IMHO, the six auto will run circles around a manual five speed......I test drove a 2014 auto four in four cylinder and it was like driving in mud when it got to 4 th gear. The six speed gives you two intermediate gears and as in the Venza, it is always in the right one.....IMHO, with 2 wd, in Fla, it may be a great choice. It still should cruise well and accelerate decently.

The 6 speed will shift quicker and always be in a better gear then you could possibly shift a manual five speed. Being computer controlled, it will run the cruise control much better and will generally give you better, not worse gas mileage. In this day and age, this modern auto is a no brainer over a manual...espcially in FLA. Traffic !!!!

 

My firsthand knowledge is in the 06-10 era, so the new 16s may indeed be a different beast

BUT, test drive first is ALWAYS a good idea

 

Thanks Dagosa. That is exactly why I hope Jeff Lange is correct in thinking the new 2.7L will be upgraded to dual VVT-i, and that combined with the 6 speed auto will make it similar to the Venza, which if I am not mistaken also has a 2.7L transverse putting out a little over180hp.

 

That "may" happen at the last moment but I would not bet on it. You should find out within the month. I suspect it will be the same basic four but with the better transmission. Yes. My wife's Venza has the 2.7 with vvt and it has 180 hp but the same torque as the truck 2.7 So drivability will not be much different. IMHO, they will bring out an improved version of the 2.7 later so as not to steal the thunder from 3.5L. I know some will say the 2.7 is not the same as the truck 2.7.....,,,but they said that about the 3.5 too and were incorrect. It's used in the Highlander too.

 

I couldn't have said it any better

 

Your edit after the fact:

However, while you may be right, you're not ALWAYS right



It's all about how you drive it. There's plenty of power and MPG in the 2.7 with the 5 speed if you want it, and not doing that...whatsitcalled...hypermiling bullshit either.

I'm not saying the 'new' auto can't do better. I'm saying I'll wait till I see real world proof. When one of them is a daily driver for a year or so with every gallon tracked and can match numbers like this, I'll start to believe. Not before.

 

I know.....wishful thinking on my part that it will be 180hp, and we won't find out till the 17th. And like they say, Wish in one hand and poop in the other and see which fills up first.

 

You're right. It is all about how you drive......and where you drive it. That's in Okla. ? I have had fours, two were the 2.7 and both were five speed. Of course I live in Maine on a mountain and last Feb it averaged 6 degrees for the entire month so I never see 20 mpg on any of my cars in the winter. I have only done as well as 27 on trips with the 2.7 5 speed.
The area I live has lots of hills so constant shifting is a must. That has to make me favor a six speed auto over a five speed manual if for no other reason then I have owned both and find the auto does a better job matching conditons then I ever could. One thing I lean on for sure. I feel the EPA mileage figures for the 2016 six speed four cylinder will be equal or better then the five speed manual. Heck, they are already for many other cars and trucks regardless. In real world tests, computer controlled autos do better compared to manuals.

Besides, Oklahoma is rrreally flat. That doesn't count. ;-)

 

No. I live in OKC now. That's why it has OKC as my area.

Betty, the truck in question, never rolled a tire in Oklahoma. She spent her life in south Florida, based in Boynton Beach. She was my daily driver to Hollywood and back for 3 years. Those numbers are all between West Palm and Miami.

 

That's flatter then flat. I spend more time in Fla then in any state other then my home state. When you ride a bike in Florida, you need two gears; with and against the wind. Is there a hill in Florida higher the a speed bump ? ;-) Mileage figures become more suspect.

 

Suspect of what? When did I say otherwise? WHAT did I say otherwise?

Florida is as flat as Kiera Knightly. Nothing but highway overpasses on occasion. Doesn't change 3 years of numbers.

 

I had a 92 x cab 4x4 with the 3.0 v6 .It had the head gasket done under a recall and the truck got totaled in 2006 no other engine problems. I bought a 2006 4x4 X cab tacoma with the 4 and the 5 speed manual. I wish the 2.7 was in the 1992. I had a 84 toyota 4x4 single cab with the 22r and is was really a slug but it got me where I wanted to go and back.

 

The implication by you is that your numbers are a practical comparison. They are suspect until you compare like vehicles, and they don't even make the short bed anymore, over the same route, terrain and driver. I don't doubt that EPA mileage figures on a 2016 Double Cab auto six speed will do better then a 2008 5 speed double cab four cylinder. Your EPA mileage numbers are the only valid comparison with other makes and models the same year. ANY comparison to your numbers is HIGHLY suspect for a differnt model in a differnent year. They are just your numbers and they mean little to nothing compared to the new truck. It is only valid to compare a 2016 manual to a 2016 six speed automatic.

 

I have the 2.7 out of my 2008 in storage for that reason.

Eventually its going to find a new home in an 83 4x4 I am building.