4 cylinder or 6 cylinder?

im looking to buy a tacoma right now and have been looking and looking. I have seen many 6 cylinders and 4 cylinders and im wondering how much better the gas milage is with the 4 cylinder? and if there are any pros or cons that i should know about before making a desicion on either motor. any help is appriciated thank you

 

My biased opinion is I could not be happier with my 4 banger. It has plenty of pickup and if you need some extra low end it delivers in 4WL. The toyota 2.7L is probably the most bulletproof engine in the industry. I usually get 25 mpg city and up to 28-29 highway

I would go with a V6 if you are planning on doing some heavy towing.

 

im just looking to have a real nice truck to get me from piont a to point b and to do some awesome off roading and 4-wheeling with good gas milage so towing isnt really a problem. but will a 4 cylinder be able to hold its own on the trails and be able to pull a three rail motorcycle trailer with three motorcycles on it?

 

4 Cylinders are extremely common trail vehicles in the jeep world. Honestly, mine feels invincible in 4 wheel Low range. I have not encountered an obstacle that I could not defeat on the trails I have run. That includes water up to my windshield, very steep grades on loose shale/soil (couldn't do this in 4WH but made it with ease in 4WL) and a bit of minor rock crawling...all this with stock tires. As long as you put some solid tires on it, I guarantee your expectations would be blown away.

That is my experience and just note that it is very biased

It comes down to what your needs are with your truck. Mine is my first vehicle ever, thus my daily driver so I wanted something on the more economical side in terms of gas. I got the base package, inline 4 cylinder, 4x4 access cab planning on installing many upgrades on my own. Next on my list is a locking differential

 

that sounds great thank you for all your help

 

here are some action pics. These were all at very easy locations since I did not have the luxury to snap pics while focused on the harder stuff

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/off-roading-trails/32743-finally-found-trail.html

 

For another opinion, get a V6. I hate anything with less than 5 cylinders and a turbo that isn't tastefully dealt with so it doesn't run like shit. In my experience, 4 bangers run like shit. Then again that's on cars not trucks.
But I still say V6.

 

I'm glad I purchased the V6.

4 banger just isnt enough truck for me.

 

i just went from a 4.0 frontier with tons of power to a 2.7 4x4....i will say i miss the power of the 4.0 however the 2.7 has plenty of power for anything needed unless you plan on doing some heavy towing. I do have the manual transmission which is a must with the 2.7.

 

The 4 banger (2wd, 5spd) is fine for daily commuting, and some light 4x4 action. My wife's truck gets EPA numbers for both city and highway, 21 and 26, most of the 6 cylinder driver's are experiencing high teens city and low 20's highway, so there's a substantial difference in mileage.

Most people tend to forget that the old 3 liter 6 in the 1st gen tacoma didn't make a whole lot more power than the current 2.7 liter 4 banger, and no one seem to whine to loud about the lack of power.

 

Keep in mind that a 6cyc is going to get worse mileage than the 4 banger. If you're not pulling anything, 4 banger all the way. Once gas gets back up to 4-5 bucks a gallon, you're gonna be glad you got the 4 banger.

 

Why don't you share your tacoma experiences with him some more

 

You'll be fine with the 2.7

 

I leave the 4-bangers in the p/u's and the V-6 in my Camry's....If I need to move something serious the one ton Ford or my "Mack office" do the heavy work...My '85 Hilux 4-banger survived myself and 2 younger brothers,my '99 was a 5 speed that loved highway miles but awesome mpgs and the current '02 can "smartly" pull any of my buddies "large trucks" out of "sticky" situations,rescue my sons "oops 4x4 adventures",4 runners can get stuck??? PLUS get GREAT mpg's...

Only problem I have is when in 4 low,you can almost get too "cocky" and think it will move mountains;if you keep breaking straps DO NOT just grab a big chain and think you can move it......A Taco is not a Tank..

Snoope back quiet

 

...
I'm speaking in general, after owning a 4 cylinder vehicle, I'll probably never own another.

 

i own two 4 cylinders...my truck 2.7L and my evo ix mr turbo 2.0L ( which is faster than the nissan 350z 3.5L v6)...this 2.7L 4 cylinder is very powerful for a 4 cylinder....seems more powerful than my sister's old v6 toyota truck...i guess it was the 3.0L....i had a 2.2L back then and i remember driving hers and it didn't seem like it had any more power than mine....prolly due to the extended cab making her's weigh more....unless you plan on towing something kinda heavy then there is no need to get the v6....the gas mileage will be much better and also the 4 cylinder is 20k where as the v6 is 30k to buy

 

Yes it will do all the above as good as a v6, but with better mileage, proably 2-4 or 4-6 mpg better.

 

Maybe I'm just gettin' older and I no longer feel the need to have loads of power, but I think the 2.7 in my '09 Taco is just fine.

Now if I hauled and/or towed heavy loads more often....well, maybe the 6 would be a better choice. But for me, the 4 banger gets the job done with no issues.