Towing with a 3rd gen 2.7

For those who own/ed a 3rd gen 4 banger AT, how satisfied are you? Is it a reliable truck? Is it’s really as sluggish/slow as some have posted? Looking to tow light if at all, mainly bed will be utilized for out doors activity. based in flat Florida.

 

Two years in and it’s not the fastest but I do enjoy having so much engine room to work in. It’s reliable for hauling but towing I’m not sure since mine isn’t meant to tow at the moment. It does have slow acceleration but you didn’t buy it to win a quarter mile race.

 

As I was cruising at 85 mph today I can say the 4 cylinder is capable of more than I'm willing to do speed wise in a pickup truck. If this was a sports car I wouldn't be happy, but how fast can you go n a pickup truck?

 

I mean my 2.7 is rated at 3500lns but I wouldnt put anything over 1500 back there and mines a 97, if its a lil towing hou be okay but daily its no bueno

 

61000 on my 2018. Can't see why anyone would buy an unreliable V6.

 

I have both. I actually like the way the 4 cyl drives compared to the V6. It doesn't hunt for gears. I have mine loaded down with 400-500 pounds in the bed at all times (used for work), so it's no speed demon. Power comes on at higher RPM.

 

I traded in a 2016 2.7 auto for a 2019 3.5 manual.

It will get you wherever you want, it will go up to 90miles per hours if u want, it is slow, the auto will always up shift prematurely, it will run forever.

i would have kept it if the truck was double cab and manual....


And I’m in Florida too so no dealing with hills.

 

I’ve had mine up to 100 before the navigator started bitching about the speed!

 

Had a 2nd Gen 4.0 and now the 3rd gen 2.7 in my signature. Both 4x4. I don't tow with it but haul stuff from Home Depot (higher payload than any 3.5) and use it as a daily commuter. I can get from Maine to Tennessee for family visits just as quickly in the 2.7 as the v6....If I were towing I wouldn't even bother with a Taco but would get a F-150. The 2.7 is a simple, durable truck. Toyota built the Taco reputation on these bullet-proof 4 cylinder platforms. I have no problem on highways or interstates running with traffic. It will shift through the gears a bit though ;-)

 

I've had mine since January.. Absolutely love it as long as I don't use cruise control..

I hauled this tractor a few miles (Twice now).. Turned on ECT and S4 and it yanked it around just fine.. Actually blew my mind how well it pulled.. I stayed on back roads and didn't follow close to anyone or fly up on stop signs..

I bought the truck to travel the country hunting turkeys on public land.. Though COVID ruined 90% of this seasons travels, i was able to make a trip from Mississippi to Missouri.. The shell and all the necessities to live out of the truck a few days and she handled the 9hr drive through the Delta and the Ozark mountains like a champ,,,, as long as i didn't use cruise control..

I see it being my cross country rig for many years to come, with the occasional 3 mile heavy haul..

 

Maybe because, overall, V6 is a much better engine.

 

That is the first time I have heard or seen someone say that..

 

Lol are you seriously thinking I4 2.7 is better than V6 3.5?

 

Mine was a manual but the 2.7L does perfectly fine towing it's 3500lb limit.



The 4cyl has a really good torque curve, knee issues have driven me to an automatic I decided to skip the v6 and got a V8 4runner.

 

Reliability, yes i'd imagine.. The 2.7l has a lot more years of proven reliability..

Not saying you are wrong, I am just saying i have never heard someone say the 3.5l is a better engine.. It understandably has a little more power, but the Tacoma wasn't built to be a power house..

 

I've bounced it all off the governor on a track day

 

It is no a little bit more power though, it is ~120 HP more hp with roughly the same MPG. That is a huge difference. Saying “a little more power” is a stretch since that difference accounts for the 75% of 2.7 power.

To be honest I don’t see how much difference the reliability makes since both engines are reliable. If 2.7 gets you 200k miles without a minor repair, 3.5 will get you 150k. The frame or the tranny will go out much before neither engine needs a major repair.

 

Very neat little truck I don't use it for towing I tried once with a 35ft pull behind bucket lift it did no real issues but my mind kept imagining it destroying the tranny

Wife uses this truck on the land for getting back in some of the places the duallies will sink in the soft ground

It's a very tough little truck for it's size amazing gas mileage just over 30k miles in the mountains of southern colorado or in the flat hot central Oklahoma plains and not a single issue

I am a Ford guy by necessity but I would def go Tacoma over the new rangers I have been up under both and looked them over for hours before pulling the trigger and yota wins out on small trucks

 

You may have a point.. My brother had a new 2016 TRD for 500 miles (Two weeks) before he traded it in with pure disgust.. I don't remember feeling 120hp difference from his and mine.. I don't doubt that the 3.5 has more power, I just think Toyota fumbled the ball with the components around the engine..

I have had nothing but love for my 2.7.. It just took me a few weeks to come to grips with cruise control being pointless, which is a 3.5 complaint also..

 

The facts that I have stepped into:

I have not found a thread with 2.7s with issues or premature fails... I’ve found the opposite. Longevity and reliability.

I have stepped into many threads of premature issues on the 3.5

Had a 2.7 auto and traded it for 3.5 manual and this leaves me hoping that my truck do not fail prematurely and wishing Toyota have offered an off road trim with the 2.7 and manual trans.