RAV horsepower greater than Tacoma's??

I just saw a tv review of the Rav and it claimed 269 horsepower for the V6 optional engine. Why and how would it have more horsepower?

 

My wife has a 2006 Rav4 Sport with the V6, 5spd Auto, and the "4wd". I can definitely say that it has more horsepower. Most of this can be attributed to the higher RPM range due to the 5spd Automatic Transmission.

If you look at the Toyota website, however, and compare the HP and torque, you will notice that the 4.0 in the Tacoma produces more torque. It also produces its optimal HP and torque at lower RPM ranges. This is ideal for a truck where hauling and "raw power" are needed.

Highway/Street vehicles, like the car-based Rav4, require horsepower for that get-up-and-go at high speeds. They don't need torque to move them as much especially since their gross weight doesn't really change that much.

A truck, however, needs the torque to get-up-and-go at lower speeds or from a stop. This is what makes diesel engines so great for trucks (aside from their great economy - they have a ton of torque compared to a similar size gasoline engine). An empty Tacoma DoubleCab starts off at just above 5000lbs, but with a 6500lb max tow capacity that can quickly double. The Tacoma needs the torque. The Rav4 can only tow up to 3500lb (aka - no boat for you).

Look at it this way - the torque in a Tacoma (4.0) will do a great job of hauling that toy that you always wanted, but the horsepower in a Rav4 makes a glorified-grocery-getter that much more fun to drive. Honey, if you are reading this, I am sorry, but it is a grocery-getter.


The real complaint you have should be this - my wife gets 25/26 MPG out of her V6 Rav4. I have a 2.7 liter 4 banger in my PreRunner, and I only get 22/24 in town. I only get 25 on the highway. I have gotten 31 on the Rav4 between Houston and Albuquerque.

If Toyota could make the Rav4 that much more efficient with that much power, there has to be a way to make the 2.7 and 4.0 Tacomas a bit more efficient. I would be happy with a steady 25 MPG.


After all highway driving is the reason I got a 2.7 instead of the 4.0. I put 3000 miles on a vehicle in 3.5 weeks.