Are first gen V6 Tacomas underpowered?

I’ve had both 3.4L auto and manual 1st gens and they’re fine, both do the trick going 80mph up the canyon to Park City on I-80. And would easily pass on the freeway like you asked.

If you want to put on big tired and a bunch of weight and/or be thrown back in your seat, get a supercharged 4.0L. But then you have to deal with a chunky size truck instead of that perfect sized 1st gen.

 

I'd love to see that mower.

 

It comes down to what you want to compare it with .

Compared to my Big Block Chevy Nova yes the Tacoma would be a few hundred horsepower lacking

Mine has far to much power I find all to often on 4 lane highways to be going way to fast 70mph that if I got a ticket I would be fired at the end of the day.

As it is seldom that I drive with less then 500 pounds .

Then I did not buy a 4x4 Pick up to use as a Drag Vehicle those days are long over.

 

I've had my truck since new in 2000. I've never once thought of it as underpowered. but i also haven't burdened it with bigger tires and a lot of gear.

i also have a 2000 landcruiser with the v8 to compare it to. that feels kinda sluggish by comparison at the lower end but has lots more power at the top, for say, passing or climbing.

in short, it is not the pig that the jeep is.

btw the landcruiser is everything i love about my first gen but with a better build quality bigger engine and more comfort and safety. they sell for around the same price after market as well.only downside is about 30% worse gas mileage.

 

It certainley is absolutely underpowered compared to your V6 RAV4 which may be overpowered if you are teaching your kids to drive or lending it to them!

 

I love my 3.4 and one of the must haves when looking to buy my 1st gen was a manual. But yes, it feels seriously underpowered. I live in Western North Carolina, the hills really pronounce it’s underperformance but the manual helps. Oh, how long for the day to install the Magnuson supercharger!

 

y'all must be driving broken down tacomas. i lived in the mountains and climbed over 5000 ft elevation everyday. the tacoma performed great. sure it downshifts when it needs to but it always kept me going the speed limit up the hill.
the only time it struggled was over the Rockies at 11000 ft. i couldn't maintain even 60mph near the top on those step climbs but i had more gear than usual.

 

I installed a “cold air” intake when I first got my truck which is anything but. I also installed a set of TRD headers in preparation for the s/c. The 5vz loves its back pressure. Both the cai and the headers take away from the back pressure. I’m most likely going to re-install the stock air box. When my bank account allows, I’ll install the s/c. Looking forward to that day.

 

I mean i can cruise at 110 with 33s and an auto... slows down up hills

 

Under-powered, over-powered?

All depends on what you need the vehicle to do. I drive my 2.7 5 speed 50 miles everyday to and from work, have loaded mulch, rocks, wood, furniture, towed small campers, boats and whatever else you can and should do with a small truck like ours. Yes, I need to plan my entrances on the freeway but then I set the cruise at 65 and let the idiots go by.
By contrast, I for many years I owned a Porsche 964 that I could not do any of the above, but when it came to entering a freeway I could easily make the spot I wanted to be in. Downshift to 3rd and off we went!

Use and drive the specific vehicle you are driving for how it was designed, understand that is what is should be used for and carry on.

 

i made it up them 11k rockies to Vail from the Denver side a couple weeks ago, traffic was minuscule but kept it in 5th gear the whole way up 100 miles pretty much and stayed above 2k RPMs and 60+ mph, i had not had this truck up there since mid 1998
also i had very little to no extra weight though which made a difference, was traveling light!
lean & mean taco machine

 

I've driven an '03 outback V6 quite a bit. That thing definitely moved faster than my 3.4L Taco. The two aren't much different in weight either. That Outback was nice to drive. I've driven a V6 RAV4 too. Those things are sweet.

I came from a Honda Civic before my Tacoma. When I got the Tacoma I thought it was pretty quick compared to the honda. Now I know better. The Honda had a lawnmower engine.

Now my truck has a camper, 300 pounds of armor, a winch and 33" mud terrain tires. It's crazy slow. But, I don't care because I have 2 daily drivers. One is a Scion IM...also pretty slow but gets 34 mpg and corners nicely and a Suzuki Vstrom 650 which is slow for a motorcycle. It'll still do 0-60 in around 4-4.5 seconds if I get on it but it's slow for a bike. If I want fast I take the bike.

 

I can barely keep the tires on the pavement

 

My vote is the Tacoma is a little sluggish but i have zero complaints with the power. If i want to drive faster i'll take my accord 6spd or ride my motorcycle. Its pretty simple, if this was something that bothered you when you were considering vehicles, you bought the wrong one.

Is that you, Toretto?

 

Same with the automatic here. At 65-70mph, I keep the throttle fed, take overdrive off and when the lockout torque converter kicks in I tip deeper into the throttle and it'll go like hell.

 

i am curious if you think your topper shell helps at all with possible less wind drag, more aerodynamic at higher speeds?

 

You should try replacing the rack and pinion guide

Check tie rods and ball joints while at it to be thorough

My bet would be torn control arm bushings

 

Mine does just fine Supercharged, 7th injector, 2.2 pully, 5.29 gears and 37's

 

I suppose it does, if you look at its design it has that "wind hump" at the forward end which may direct wind over the rest of the shell but I doubt it really makes a difference. I do know that the shell did get rid of some wind buffering I felt with the open bed.
But the added weight of the shell I figure cancels out any mileage gain that would be gained by aerodynamics. It's a give/take in order to have a covered bed.

 

I had a 2004 v6 for 12 years and a 2016 v6 for 4 years. Both went faster on the interstate than I wanted to drive them and I had no problems passing and neither lacked "power" imo. I loved both Tacos but they both sucked driving at 70+ mph. But they were both great for how I used them.