Talk to Me About the 4-Cylinder 4x4

Here's the deal, I recently sold my 2013 4x4 6-Speed DCSB. I LOVED that truck, but I had to sell it to afford the purchase of a home.

Now, I need another truck, but I can't (and frankly don't want to) swing $30k. I'm looking at $10-$15K budget. Not only will it not be pampered and babied like my old truck but this one will sleep outside too. I'd rather not pay $30k for what essentially will be a nice workhorse. I'll take care of it too, but I can't baby it the way I babied the one I sold.

Now, here's the other thing. I'll likely be driving this one about twice as much as I drove the other one. That's what I started considering the fuel savings of a 4-cyl. Not to mention, the lower entry price.

This is what I have in mind:

1. 2007-2009-ish, Access Cab, 4-Cyl, 4x4, 5-Speed (I only drive stick).

2. 100K - 120k miles give or take

I have a few questions about these though.

1. The Access cab and rear seat are bigger than that of the gen 1, right? I occasionally have to put a child seat back there. But that's only occasionally, maybe once a week if that.

2. These in 4x4 come with a low gear, but they never came with a locker, right?

3. Is this 2.7 engine and 5-speed tranny the very same engine and transmission that the gen 1 4-cyls had?

4. I want to be able to tow a small trailer. I know the towing capacity is 3,500. I will only need to tow for like a quarter mile just to get a car trailer out from a dirt road into pavement, after that, the car can drive on it's own. If the 4-cyl can handle a 3,500 boat on a boat ramp I guess it should handle a 3,500 car trailer on a dirt road (it can get a bit steep in some areas, but mostly just loose dirt on some parts.

I'm really considering the 4-cyl specially because of the cost and gas savings. I want to be able to afford to drive it. I considered a V6 Tundra too, but both the V6 Tundra and V6 Tacoma would give me around 15 MPG in the mountains. 18 to 20MPG sounds much better.

Anything else I should know about the 4-cyl Tacos that I haven't asked?

 

Not the same engine, but only the difference of 9 horsepower (150 for the gen1 3RZ-FE I4, 159 for the gen2 2TR-FE I4). Maybe the new one's torquier, but...

I drove a gen 1 4x4 aclb 5-speed enough to tell you that it was gutless. Hard to stay in 5th gear unless downhill with a tailwind.

I will also share my experience with underpowered vehicles: if you drive in mountains or windy places, often the little-motor version will get gas mileage as bad or worse than the big-motor version. Cuz you're always flogging it.

Been there, flogged that.

As far as the trailer, regardless of whether the thing has a moped engine, you should be able to carefully pull a trailer that maxes your gross weight. Wouldn't advise it for an every day thing, but if you're only doing 1/4 mile and you're patient with it that part will be fine.

 

^^^ Thanks for the advice. Part of the driving will be in the mountains, but then after that a lot of it will be on freeways and in town. In fact, only 15 miles each way is mountains, the vast majority of the commutes are flat. Also, I won't actually drive it every day, but I will drive it a lot.

The trailer thing is because I have this Miata that can't handle the dirt driveway as it's too low. The plan is to use a trailer to trailer it to the main road when I want to drive it. I know. A PITA, but sacrifices must be made.

I do understand that the V6 Tacos or even the V6 gen 1 Tundra will have an easier time in the mountains, but since most of the actual commuting will happen on regular roads, I could be able to save fuel there.

 

A 4 banger second gen Tacoma in 4x4 only gets 1MPG better than a V6 4x4.

I considered a 4 banger but when I saw that it only gets 1 MPG better I decided it was not worth the minor difference.

 

When was the last year for the regular cab? 2014? That's what I'd aim at. Low milage '13 or '14, but that's me. Have had several 4 cylinder Toyota trucks and Tacomas, gotta beat the crap out of the tachometer to make them move anywhere, towing, row the shifter baby.

 

QFT.

 

I'd like to at least have the Access Cab. Most of the time it would be just me, but for example, sometimes I like to put a paddleboard in the bed and take my daughter to the beach to paddle. That's where the Access cab would come into play. Also, I can put really dark tint back there for when I need to leave something in the truck when parked. I did the single cab truck once, I don't want to do that again unless the price really dissuades me.

 

Just the fact that you are asking this question tells me that you will never be happy with a 4cyl Tacoma. It takes a special kinda person to like a 4cyl. If you have ANY reservations, you'd be better off with the 4.0. By the way, I love my 4cyl.

 

Single cabs are so hard to live with. I drove a '91 Hilux 22RE 5-speed strippy for several years. I developed chronic pain in my right knee/hamstring. When I sold it and got something that I could slide back far enough the knee problem cleared up over night. I needed like 3" more for the seat to slide back.

And of course, with a single cab everything you have with you is either on the seat with you, on the floor, or in the bed. P.I.T.A. If all I can afford is a single cab I'll just get a little car and be done with it.

 

I've had both a V6 and i4 and it's completely BS that the 4 cylinder only gets 1 more mpg. The 4 cylinder is much more efficient in town. Both were DCSB only difference was one is a 4x4. If you can deal with the loss in power I think you will be happy with it and better mpg

 

I have an 09 AC 5speed manual with 185000 miles on it. these trucks are slow but they are tough as hell. First mod I did was an lce header, that gives it a noticeable increase in power but I still have to downshift on steep hills. You are correct that they have a low gear but not rear locker.
The best milage I have gotten with this truck was 26, driving from Montana to Alaska. If you really baby the throttle it is pretty efficient. Worst I have gotten is around 17, that was in very cold weather in4x4 at low speeds.
AC back seat is a bit bigger than 1st gen, but I've never tried to fit a child seat back there
In short I love my truck, it is a bit underpowered but if you don't mind bumping down to 4th every now and then it will do just fine.

 

The 4 cylinder is not as bad as people say it is just don't expect to win any races

 

Hold on, I think you got me all wrong. It's not about the power. I have a Miata remember... that means I don't mind low power [albeit my Fiesta ST is stage 3, lol, but still]. The truck is based on necessity right now. So if the 4-cyl can do the job, that's all that matters really. I need to carry wood, tools, construction gear, etc. Meaning, I need a work truck for personal work at home, not professionally. I need 4x4 for the snow and rain on unpaved roads, I need at least an access cab, and I want a stick shift. Trust me, if could swing my 2013 again I would, just not for a few years. That and the fact that my commute is twice as long. The sensible one in me would not be happy with 15MPG right now for such long drives.

 

It'll be fine and it's cheaper to maintain.

 

I could not disagree more. But, as I said in my last post. I'm special. I absolutely love my Regular Cab 4x4 Tacomas...both of them! And by the way, I can afford to drive any truck I want. There is just something about those regular cab Toyotas that has ahold of my soul.

 

I getcha. Not trying to be difficult. But FYI, my 4x4 ACLB v6 regularly gets above 20 mpg if I'm not towing.

All I'm saying is this: you're assuming the 4-banger will get considerably better mileage than the 6. And I'm saying don't count on it.

 

See this is the perfect reply. If the best you've gotten is 26 and the worse is 17, that's not bad at all. In California, we always get the worse... It's hilly and the quality of the fuel sucks. So, I can expect to get 16 at the worse, and 18 or 19 on most days. That's fine by me. On the V6 I used to get 13 or 14 on the worst days, and my average was 16 MPG. At the very least, the I4 should give me about 2-3MPG more than the V6, not just 1 better MPG than the V6 like some have said. This is after closely examining comments on various threads as well as comparing models on Fuelly.

 

I would get anywhere from 350 to 380 on my i4 and with my 6 it's difficult to even get 300 miles to the tank

 

My 2009 4cyl hasn't missed a beat since day one. Sure it's slow, but I'm not a racer. I bought/built this truck to take me to work, hunting, fishing and diving. Its currently on 3" of lift and pushing 35" tires, while getting 23avg mpg. Our top speed limit here is 55 mph, a damn moped can reach that. The 4cyl has been more than adequate for my needs.

 

QFT x 2