Any 4cyl Taco owners?

[BigSki]

I was looking at a newer truck on Saturday, a 2012 Taco x-cab 4x4 base with the 2.7/5 speed combo. I took it for an extended test drive and I'm still not convinced about the 2.7 for acceptable power.

The truck itself drove fine, nice brakes, bucket seats were comfy, it shifted fine. No weird noises/rattles. It just seemed to be barely enough power to keep it moving in 5th gear on the hills. A few steep hills resulted in a quick 5-4 downshift, as to be expected.

I'm just looking for anyone with the same setup that could give some feedback. I would keep the truck pretty much stock and use it for light hauling occasionally.

[Gula]

My buddy had the TRD pro with the v6 and said it was a slug. I think he had raptor acceleration expectations though. I would buy the 2.7 as I would not be trying to win the Daytona 500 with it

[mass-hole]

Originally Posted by BigSki

I was looking at a newer truck on Saturday, a 2012 Taco x-cab 4x4 base with the 2.7/5 speed combo. I took it for an extended test drive and I'm still not convinced about the 2.7 for acceptable power.

The truck itself drove fine, nice brakes, bucket seats were comfy, it shifted fine. No weird noises/rattles. It just seemed to be barely enough power to keep it moving in 5th gear on the hills. A few steep hills resulted in a quick 5-4 downshift, as to be expected.

I'm just looking for anyone with the same setup that could give some feedback. I would keep the truck pretty much stock and use it for light hauling occasionally.

What are you looking to do with the truck? Any towing or "heavy" hauling. If so, I think you will regret having just 159hp. I have a jeep liberty CRD(160 hp 2.8L Turbo diesel), which is a similar size and weight, and while it makes a ton of torque and can hold taller gears when just cruising around, it has a lot of trouble when you place weight behind it. HP defines how quickly you can get up a hill. If you don't have enough you won't get up the hill at the speed you want.

[calcagno45]

Just know that the 2.7 has probably double the power of the 22RE in my 94 Pickup 4wd...

But I would look for a V6 model if you're already questioning the power.

[smog]

I have the 6cyl 4 litre in a manual trans. 1st is a creeper gear. It’s got some decent power but I would sooner add more than accept less at this point. That said, Everyone has different standards. I would suspect that if you already question the available power you will only become less impressed with it over time.

[BigSki]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm still on the fence about it, just because of the lack of power. Having owned a '85 SR5 and a '94 base truck with the 22RE, I remember the old 4 cyls. I also owned a '89 with the 3.0, that thing wasn't exactly powerful. The modern 2.7's have almost the exact same HP/TQ numbers as the old 3. slows.

The 3.4 in my current 3rd gen 4runner is just barley powerful enough, so I'm really thinking that going to another truck with less power than I have right now ( and close to the same fuel consumption) probably would cause me grief a few years down the road.