Can you tolerate the 4 cylinder?

3rd gen 4runner was only 183hp and about 3700 lbs but towed like a champ about 3,500 lbs for me, i don't see how 4 cyl 159hp would have any issues while not towing

as far as 4 cyl auto being a slug, can always shift manually it does have a lever lol

4cyl just too underrated on here, people forget that it's also easier to maintain.
just my 2cents

 

Looks like you have your mind set on a 2.7 (not 2.4) regular cab 2wd Tacoma. Enjoy!
/thread

 

I had an 2006 that I got brand new. I had it until I traded it in for a 2012. I drove it for about 55,000 miles so I know what I am talking about.

It is what it is man. I may be out of my mind but I sure as shit am not high. Although I do have a chronic lead foot problem.

 

All I know is my 06 2.7 L averaged 15-16 mpg all the time. Best I got on a trip was something like 18.5 mpg.

My 2012 V6 on its second tank of gas got 19.5 MPG on a small road trip. Go figure?

And by the way my foot is no pussy. Sure I do not floor it as much with the V6. But I go about the same speed on startups and all. So my driving is the same its just with the 4 squirrel engine I had to floor it every wear I went. Because there is really no middle ground it is either brake or gas. And no I am not hard on vehicles. Out of all the people I know mine last the best.

 

i have a 07 acc cab 2.7l Manual and i averaged 16-19 mpg on the city and 25-27 mpg on highway drive, the engine is preatty powerfull i use it for offroading and its enougth powerfull to going up hills and crossing rivers, on higways it runs good i drive ar 90 and 96 mph and i hadnt have any issues with it , preatty powerfull truck for this engine, i you dont pull any trailer you dont need the V6.

love my fou banger, only thing i dont like is it doesnt come with diff locker, ill have to buy the ARB one.

but insted of that i love it.

 

I just towed 2580lbs with my 4 cylinder and had not complaints, lowest gear I had to go to was 3rd on steep hills, but there is no need to haul ass when towing a trailer no matter how much power you have. I think it actually helped the motor by loosening it up a bit, it seemed to be pulling a lot better after I disconnected the trailer and drove it back to college, it finished breaking it in fully I believe.

 

Towed that weight over 2k miles to be exact, to Mesquite Nevada and back.

 

This is the 4th 4Banger Toy I've owned. They always have had enough power & good gas mileage (20 in the winter & 24 in the summer). When we hit the trails there is no place the V6ers go that I can't (sometimes I don't want to so I don't hurt my Taco). Great little truck.

 

I'm going to drive both and make a decision. If I still lived in Colorado I would probably go with the V6 due to the elevation but since I live in Ohio I will go with the 2.7 if I like the test drive. I just don't whether to go with the 4x4 b/c you lose 1-3 mpg and gain over 400lbs of weight plus the extra initial cost.

 

it's still gonna be pretty slow. that's all i was commenting on.

i have a 4 banger. and it's slow. i love it. i love how even though there is so little power, there is some pretty good low end torque for a 4 banger. and it'll still get you up a fat hill with a heavy load just fine. and it's hella bulletproof. and it gets damn good mileage for a truck.

but it's still pretty slow. because in the rest of the world, they use these engines for Mini-Buses and vans. and Mini-Buses aren't fast. at all.

my bad.

 

If people cruised around in VW bugs and Vanagans with less than 100 hp and love it I'm sure I won't have any problem with a 2.7 taco RC.

As long as it's not like that 2001 Nissan King cab 2wd auto I had when I lived in Colorado. That pos WAS A SLUG @ 143 hp/154 tq and the manufacturer mpg estimate at 20 city 24 hwy which was bullshit in Colorado, that thing ate more gas than the 97 4wd pathfinder we owned. I think we got 14mpg and you literally would have to floor the pedal while it chugged up hills. The sad part is we bought that thing brand new and it sucked right out of the box.

 

If you are going to just use it as a vehicle for getting around it would be a fun little truck. Plenty of power when empty.

But....if you put a shell on it and carry tools around all the time and a trailer a lot then don't do it.

 

Well, this is my opinion on the subject. I've suffered for many years with under powered vehicles and buying 4 cylinder Tacoma wasn't an option. Still, I'm not knocking them. I think they have a place, and there will be plenty of people that find them very adequate.

I don't think this a question that can be asked on a forum with any expectation of a concensus. Much of it depends on personality and driving style. I know plenty of people who are happy to be in 3rd gear up every grade, and that would drive nuts. Neither of us are "right" or "wrong". My advise is to take an honest look at your own needs and driving style, and chose from there.

It would be nice to keep the debate factual. The talk about the V6 needing more maintenance is not accurate. Just the fact that the timing chain never needs replacement seals the deal. I often do extra maintenance on mine because I feel bad about how little it needs!

There is one other point that may have already been raised. If a V6 has too much power all you have to do is back out of the gas. If a 4 has too little you're screwed. I would much rather err to the over powered side. Smaller engines don't usually get better mileage if you push them, so they are not a better choice if you need the power

 

I still enjoy driving this truck like the day I brought it home. After driving a Excursion 4x4 diesel for 9+ years, I feel like I am in a sports car in comparsion. Great little truck, does everything I expected it to do.

 

if you want a ligth truck that could take you every where with enougth power and fuel efficienty get a 4 banger, but if you need a powerfull truck and bit the others on the higthways get de v6.

 

I've owned 4 cyl Toyota trucks with the 20R, 22R and 3RZ engines and drove them for hundreds of thousands of miles total. While the 4 cyls were good, the 6 cyl I have now in my '06 is much better. Not only does it actually get better mileage in day-to-day driving than anything I've had since that tiny 2WD truck with the 20R engine, it has a lot more power to pass and tow when I need to. I lived in Oregon for ten years but had business and family in the Midwest so did a lot of travel back and forth. With all of my 4 cyl trucks I'd have to downshift to third and rev up the rpms to get over mountain passes that my '06 with its 6 cyl handles easily.

Edit: As far as maintenance goes, I can recall doing much more on those earlier 4 cyls than with the newer engines. Of course, this probably reflects a lot on modern technology too. If you want to see something that needs maintenance you ought to see my Dad's old '50 Desoto -- looking at a copy of the manual I have here I count 55 things that you are supposed to oil or grease almost monthly. LOL, on that old engine you even oil the generator and distributor in two places.

 

No kidding, I bought a 1999 Nissan Frontier Extended Cab with a 4 banger and it was a complete slug. When climbing a small hill, and I mean SMALL hill, I would have to literally push the pedal all the way to the floor and turn off the AC so the damn thing could make it to the top. It was ridiculous. However, for driving around town and carrying small loads such as grass and gravel it was perfect. I even carried cross ties and landscaping boulders in it on a couple of occasions and it was able to do it, barely. I was worried about the same thing when I bought my 2012 Doublecab with a 2.7, but I was surprised to find you that it has a lot of low end torque and Toyota geared it right so when I push on the pedal just a little it kicks into a higher gear to give me that extra acceleration. I'm sure a bigger engine would have been nice but for the driving I do the 4 banger gets me there and will save me money over the long run.

 

Slojam, your philosophy is like mine. Economy and reliability are most important. I think you will be quite happy with the 2.7l. I just bought my access cab 4wd a couple of weeks ago. The last tank got 28 mpg-- 260 miles of mountain road, highway and city driving.

 

i have the 4 banger with 5 speed and she does pretty well. it isn't meant to be a fast truck or especially powerful. i use it to pull my horse trailer around (~4000 lbs when loaded with horse) and that lets me know its a lot of weight. a couple days ago when i left for work, i went from a stop to drifting my truck with nothing in it, and not quite full throttle. My inlaws have a 4.0 v6 tacoma with 5 spd auto, and that thing definitely has the power behind it. ive squealed the tires a few times when i wasn't trying to.

 

Depends on where you live:
I chose the 2.7 4x4 auto access cab in mountains with a lot of elevation change in daily driving.......a poor choice I regret, wish I went with the 4.0

But, I truly believe the same truck would be perfectly fine at lower elevation flat land like kansas, Nebraska Dakotas.