Will I regret getting a 4 cylinder tacoma?

Lolol

I love my truck as well, reg cabs are the best cabs!

 

I have owned (4) toyota 4cyl Tacomas. Over 750,000 miles on all four. And one of them, i used to tow a civic and tow dolley for four years. And it never even gave me a hint of displeasure. I currently have an AT and i would say, in your case of towing a trailer or other items, id go with the MT. Other than that, breathe easy and go with the 4cyl!

 

I will say right up front that I am a 4 cylinder apologist. A 4 cylinder is going to be more than adequate for the purposes you have described. The 6 cylinder is faster and more powerful than the 4 cylinder. That is a fact. But the 6 cylinder is not fast or powerful by any standards in the truck world. If you are really looking for a fast, powerful truck, you may need to look somewhere other than the Tacoma, but I wouldn't suggest that. Do you really need a 6 cylinder, or a v8, or a diesel engine? Lots of "truck guys" buy these big, powerful trucks but never push them anywhere close to the limits of their capabilities. In my opinion, it is not worth the extra money to be able to claim that your truck can do x or y, when in fact it never actually does x or y. That's coming from someone who doesn't have any money though. If you've got the money to spend, go for it. To each their own.

Also, you won't have any trouble finding a buyer for a 4 cylinder when you decide to sell.

 

Damn right! I love my little truck.

The only time I wish I had an engine with more power is when I'm trying to get on the highway and am stuck behind a diddly daddler on the entrance ramp. It's easy to get to highway speed unless some one is taking their time driving down the ramp. It's never fun to have to merge into traffic when you're driving 20-30mph below the speed limit. On level ground that 20-30mph is hard to make up, down shifting and all.

 

How's this for pushing my truck? This is a regular occurrence for me. Hauled a mini excavator the other day to.

 

put a good leaf pack/Bags/sumo springs on the back of that little dude and keep on trucking dude!

 

Added the sumosprings yesterday I'd highly recommend anyone with stock leaf pack to get. If you carry 400lb in the bed yourl taco needs help.

 

nice! I think thats the heaviest thing ive seen a 4banger pull on this website...How much you think that weight was?

 

The 22R-E is a great engine, loved mine, but everyone envied Marlin and his 3RZ swap. The reason LCE exists is because Toyota took a tractor motor and bolted it in a truck. It got the job done on pavement and was a nice little engine for pulling the truck off road. Not quite as happy to lug down as a 2F in a Land Cruiser, but respectable. They also left a whole lot of performance on the table and the aftermarket squeezed it out. My 22R-E had an Engnbldr RV head, 231C cam, LCE timing parts, throttle body, etc. But it was still slow.

You don't live at any significant altitude, do you. LOL. I lived with a 22R-E for 16 years prior to getting my Tacoma last year. Going 30 MPH in 3rd gear over passes is one thing I don't miss about it. Back then when I got my truck the alternate was the 3VZ-FE, which was only marginally more powerful (150 HP vs the 115 HP as you know) and notoriously less reliable. The 3RZ and 2TR are both as much engine as the first V6 Toyota used, which is why they are more than acceptable now.

To the OP's question, which is already answered, I'll mention that the 4 cylinder is like 2WD. It works but no one with a V6 and 4WD wishes they didn't have it. OTOH, I could probably get by without the V6 and not give up much. Definitely get a stick with the 4 cylinder, not even a question in my mind.

I'll tell you this, though, having a V6 has changed the way I approach road trips. I don't think twice about doing a 12 hour day anymore. Back when I bought my '91 I would routinely do 12 and 14 hour pulls but being 20-something I didn't mind. I noticed the past few years that I was more reluctant to do long days like that, I like the power to pass and set the cruise control (which was a perfectly cut-to-length broom stick in my 1991, but it was only useful going with the tail wind in Kansas). Oh, and Federal and state 2-lanes now have passing options. I'm not kidding, I could probably count on one hand the number of times I made 2-lane passes with my 22R-E.

One thing I honestly do miss about the 4 cylinder is under hood space. V6 engine bays are more tight, less space for air compressors, wiring panels, etc.

 

Once I got my Taco v6/auto I had the same experience as Dave; couldn't believe how much more relaxing it was to drive. I came from a beater '89 4x4 with 22R-E 5-speed. Which of course is a big change.

On one trip home from the Big Bend country down in TX in my old truck I had a crazy 50-60 mph crosswind in NM. Just to keep it at 55 I had to row that shifter back and forth between 3rd and 4th. All damn day. Watching for hills, watching the tach. It was work. I was tired from having been down there vacationing and did a trail work day down there the day before I left to come home. I got so tired that a bad cold caught me and I was down with it for weeks. Not towing anything, just me in the truck and a Wildernest on the back. If I hadn't been in any hurry it would have been a different deal, but I needed to get home and back to work.

The contrast to driving the Tacoma is remarkable. I know the 4-bangers that come with a 2nd gen (or 3rd?) are way more powerful than those old 22R-E rigs, and I'm sure the truck with L4 is quiet inside like mine, but more power means less for the driver to do, among other things. My Tundra v8 was maybe a better ride, but I was always so preoccupied with driving it in a way that would spare me some gas purchasing that it was probably less relaxing (gas was $4/gallon when I owned that truck). The Tundra had maybe a little more power to weight, and it sounded really cool, but the Taco v6 does pretty damn well when it's time to get up and move.

 

That's not a bug, its a feature. Its telling you not to do dumb sh*t.

 

Yours is a 2001, which is a different engine. The 2TR-FE is very very different, despite the common displacement.

 

This is no shit. In my 20s and 30s the main reason I got pulled over was just because an old white Toyota pickup with a WilderNest and mountain bikes was sort of like a honeypot for drug sniffing K9 units.

 

Huh? 7/20*100=35% more miles per gallon. That's not small.

 

Well, I would NEVER buy a 6-cyl truck again. I've owned TWO. First was from the 80's and made a whopping 136 horsepower. Second was a 2000 and made 190 (but got less of it to the road than the 160 of the Tacoma). The fuel consumption makes the difference between keeping the heat on in your house in the winter, or freezing your butt off.

 

Speaking of speeding tickets, having the 22R-E actually got me out of a speeding ticket. I was driving west on I-70 near Georgetown and ski traffic tends to get bunched and then let loose for a while and bunch up again. People get frustrated and when they get an opening they let 'er rip. My truck at the time wasn't really built up but it did have 30" tires and bumpers, so it was a little slower than stock. Suffice to say I tended to drive conservatively in the truck, I saw no reason to flog it for being what it was. So when the cop pulled me over (after hitting the guy in the left lane with radar who he didn't see) I told him there was simply no way he could have clocked me at 70-whatever. Not only has my truck never even done such a crazy speed it certainly wasn't going to do it at 8,000' starting a 10% grade with my tired old 4 cylinder. He asked me to pop the hood, inspected that I did in fact have a tired old 4 cylinder, said he was sorry and actually let me go. Now I know he didn't have to do that but maybe the unique argument stuck a chord.

 

My truck has never felt underpowered while offroading. Lightweight and short wheelbase was a big factor in my purchase. Also, I don't understand the road trip comments. I've done plenty of 12 hour trips no problem .

 

My kind of guy. Peace to you Brother and have a great day!

 

Yep, this argument could go on and on. Best advice is to test drive both. That way you have no one to blame but yourself if you regret your decision either way.

 

Same here, just did Ft Collins, CO, to Dallas in one shot and a St. Louis, MO, back home in another shot about a month ago in a big 2-week 2,700 mile loop around the Midwest.

Did you read my and Tom's comments? These are trips we used to do all the time 20 and even 10 years ago when were younger. Now doing 45 MPH rowing between 3rd and 4th in a 35 MPH cross wind with A/C off in 100 degree days on I-25 in northern New Mexico just plain wears us old farts out no matter how many rest stops we take.

The current 4 cylinder is MUCH improved over the 22R-E we were driving then and the trucks themselves are much more comfortable and quiet. I don't think it's the same thing anymore.