How happy are you with the 2.7L 4x4

I only brought up the 4Runner, because generally, an SUV counterpart to a truck weighs more. Considering how small the 1st Gen was, I was just surprised a 4-banger, ext cab variant could be nearing 4k lbs. The new ones, being bigger with all the safety features, reinforcement bars, etc., I can see that.

 

Yeah, I know, I don’t get it. The number for older Toyota weights are all over the place.

 

All depends on one's pain tolerance. I find the 4 banger fine for about 90% of the things I do...like commuting...ease onto the highway and set the cruise at 65 mph for the next 30 miles.

Loaded down for camping, might be a pain...and that is only 10% of the time...that number is probably extremely generous, think I only went out 3 times last year. I should sit down and do the percentage of how much the truck actually carries a load. It isn't much.

 

yeah, without having the actual truck on the scales...damn near impossible to pin down the weights. Intergooglemachine searches can only give us a rough guesstimate.

 

My '02 SR5 4x4 2.7 5speed MT was just as capable (if not more) as my '16 TRD OR AT.
SERIOUSLY.
That INCLUDES towing my 2200lb A Frame Chalet. Its all in the transmission. I personally would NOT get a 2.7 AT tho.
I truely loved the '02, but I'm an older guy which decided a New, Bigger (even tho still a midsize INTENTIONALLY), more whistles and bells truck would set me up more comfortably than staying in the smaller '02, which also (BTW) just went over 160K miles.
ALL THAT SAID....
I'd fully endorse the 2.7, but only in a MT.
Have fun!

 

"I wish I had less power and torque" said no one, ever. The 3.5 with a manual has only marginally acceptable acceleration as it is, the 2.7 is like an old air cooled VW Beetle towing a houseboat up a mountain by comparison. 10 seconds to get to the bottom end of highway speed, empty. God forbid there is a headwind. That shit will get old reeeeeeeellly fast. And you will still have 59 more payments to go.

If you can't up the budget buy the Frontier with the six or shop used 2nd gens.

 

“I wish I had proven reliability in an updated engine, without high pressure fuel pumps and the Atkinson cycle” said some of us. It wasn’t much of a trade off to be honest. Have you driven a manual trans third gen I4 uphill? It can get illegal. I’m not saying it’s a rocket ship, but come on.

Budget wasn’t an issue. I had a pro on standby, but I could resist swapping parts, and I didn’t wanna do that to a pro. So money isn’t a deciding factor.

 

I still have the Toyota Brochure from when I bought my 2000 new, under the Specs it lists a 4x4 extended cab 4 Cyl at 3360 Lbs.

 

I’ve got an 01 brochure for mine, it’s a 2wd but it’ll have the specs across the board.

 

You're a member since April 2017. Apparently you missed many posts about the 2016's stalling out left and right because of CPS failures during the summer 2016. They couldn't take the heat.

The 3.5 motor is designed for cars. It shouldn't be on a truck designed to go off road. A true truck motor wouldn't smoke and lose power going up steep inclines.

The 3.5 motor is built in Alabama.....
The 2.7 motor is built in Japan.....

 

Yeah, but that 10% of the time....feels like 90%. Like parking my old fullsize truck in the garage or in a parking spot, it was only 1% of seat time during the whole day, but man, hated every second of it trying to maneuver my way in and out.

 

This Brochure is pretty good cause it breaks down every Tacoma Model, 2780 Lbs is what shows for the 4x2 Manual Extended Cab.

 

I found it to be unacceptably tedious when compared to almost anything else on just a 10 minute test drive. I wish we had a 4.7L v8 option as I find the 3.5 to be pretty gutless compared to most 5000lb minivans. The 2.7 was like I got into a 1950s dodge power wagon. Getting smoked by literally everything else on the road in traffic and not being able to accelerate to pass going up hills on the interstate is a no go for me.

Anyone coming from even one of the least powerful cars on the road is going to be going slower in their new 2.7 truck. I am glad you like it but... there is plenty of reason not to buy one. It isn't like I made that 10 second 0-60 up... (it's 9.8 so I rounded a little) and interstates in Kansas (where OP lives) are 75. Meaning everyone drives 85.

 

Based on the car in your av, Id say you like fast shit. I’ve always had and built tacomas, minus a few extra random strays here and there. What is your idea of fast, then? I don’t know what the slowest car on the road is, but I’m never underpowered. Maybe you test drove an auto, I don’t know. But the way you describe it is not all all how it drives.

 

http://onebadlung.com/wp-content/uploads/lebowski-opinion.jpg

 

Maybe Toyota gifted me a magic fucking Tacoma... but I’ve mentioned this before. During my super scientific experiments with a second gen 2.7 manual regular cab 4x4, a third gen V6 auto 4x4, and my third gen 2.7 4x4, I had better street to train track times. We didn’t measure the distance, because we lost the tape measure. I don’t doubt the V6 has a faster top speed, but I’ve driven said coworkers’ truck and they’ve driven mine during our trials-because we’ve had this same argument at work to the point we hit our driveway for the testing phase. Obviously, this doesn’t count as proof to the internet. And that matters zero, really. Because as I’ve mentioned before, I based my purchase on a few things, one of them being what I believe to be a superior engine. And as it stands, bs facts and figures from engineers (everyone’s an engineer on the internet) don’t carry weight with me. Top speed and the ability to tow a raft mean little as well. The facts that are in front of me (what actually matters) is that this truck will do 90 uphill in the adirondacks, and most likely outlive the over engineered V6.

 

I don’t not know how it is in your parts of the the US, but now that trucks are heavier (due to modifications), 4 bangers won’t move and struggle around here. I have owned 2 4 cyl (weren’t Toyota mind you but we’re old school 1989 and 1994) and 2 v6 and 1 v8 in the past 6 years (I owned total of 9 vehicles in the past 6 yrs =p I go thru em like woman goes thru clothes) and don’t like how the 4 is underpowered. But my area is known for muddy country/swamp. You need power to get out and most people hunts hogs/boar(they are year round) along with deer That’s 300-400 lbs ea (hogs) and you have limitless bags with them so normally you at least bring back 2.

If it’s ice/snow then yes it’s fine since power will most likely negatively impact you. But mud that sticks to your tire and undercarriage that weighs a ton is a different story. I don’t think I follow a trend cause I loved off-roading with 2wd truck (which was my Silverado prior to my 2018 Tacoma). Still got to places I need but at a slower pace.

Again, I’m not saying it’s not capable, it’s just not optimal at all and the resale value is so much less, you will lose more money in the long run.

 

I won’t lose any money. Just like the 01 next to it, I’m not selling. I buy these things because I want them. I can’t imagine wanting to get rid of them, especially with the way tss type stuff is heading. I play in mud too.


I also don’t carry hog anymore. I did when I was in AL, in a 2wd 4cyl. Long travel manual. I didn’t think anything of it lol

 

It is slower or about the same as a Nissan Versa, Kia Soul, Toyota Prius, SmartForTwo and so on. It is one of the slowest accelerating vehicles for sale in the US. There are a lot of those other cars sold here but typically either for extreme fuel mileage or very low cost. Not for the awesome sauce they exude. The 2.7 Taco is neither great on fuel or low in cost so... like I said, if you like yours that is fine by me. No skin off my flute.

The OP asked for opinions and I gave him my emphatic opinion based on his particulars that it will suck the enthusiasm out of driving it before the first payment is made.

 

It’s all good, no hard feelings from me, scro. That’s just not at all what my truck is like. Hand to god.