Is this the future ?

I was watching this review of the new Taco and discussion of the turbo 4cyl. I have to agree with this guy this thing sounds awful.

Why is it that turbo 4 cylinder engines have to sound like my pos first car a 1985 Ford Tempo?

Go to about the 6:40 mark to hear them discuss as they drive it. This is a sharp truck no doubt but gosh does not sound very refined. Is the the 4R future i wonder?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_f4bh_LQ0MA

 

To me it sounds better than the current 4Runner does when it downshifts for highway merging (all noise and no real acceleration).

 

It will be like anything else, some will grow to like it, some will never like it. We had a '17 Tacoma OffRoad, it was ok, the trans tuning was not right. I know there were reprograms for that. We'll see how it turns out when 'average people' own them. I believe the '24 will be a fairly big influence on the 4Runner. The engine with 400 lbs. of torque will be a trl towing dream, longevity of the engine?

 

And $50K for a Tacoma. That’s just nuts.

 

Yep have to love the economy. Canyons are similar in pricing

 

In terms of the 4 Cyl turbo and an 8, 9 or 10 gear transmission, probably. Some of us will love it just because it's newer, more efficient and current (in terms of drivetrain technology). Others of us (especially those who drive our Runners out to 250k+ miles) probably won't like the loss of drivetrain longevity that has been part of the Gen 5 4R since 2010.

At the end of the day, we won't have a choice and we'll all eventually move to the smaller displacement powertrain if we want a new Runner. My plan is to make both my Gen 5 Runners last as long as possible and probably skip Gen 6. Who knows what the Gen 7 will hold for us, but I'd sure betcha it won't take 14 model years again to see it, as was the case between Gen 5 and Gen 6.

 

Ha yeah part of me says go buy one more 4R which I really have no need for lol.

I was considering buying a taco for fun it looks awesome for sure. But I am shocked at this video. It seriously sounds awful and like a 1980s 4 cylinder POS. It’s sad to see the way things are going.

 

This is maybe why there is such affection for the 5th Generation. For many, it seems to have the right amount of both old and new school.

 

You can thank the Federal CAFE Rules for promulgating much of this.

 

Ironically the 4Runner built its reputation with 4-cyl engines. The first V6 was derided as the 3.slow. For me, hearing the turbo noises in the Throttle House video actually improved my opinion of the 4th gen Tacoma. I would consider buying one as a daily when my 4Runner croaks. Hearing the blowoff valve would add entertainment to my daily commute:

https://youtu.be/2Q3v9kOYew4?t=317

 

Yep you are right. They take away all the fun. I saw last week production of the Camaro and Challenger ended. No more muscle cars either. I guess we will be forced to like it.

 

You can thank CAFE rules for why every soccer mom is driving a giant 4WD SUV as if picking up the kids from school is participating in the Camel Trophy.

 

For folks who REALLY enjoy cars, CAFE has been problematic for quite a while.

Living in Germany, the car of choice for those who spend a lot of time in the left lane of the autobahn is almost always a station wagon.

I'd have the accelerator pegged as the crappy Opal company car was hitting its top speed on the disappointing side of 120mph, and out of thousands of miles logged at triple digits, I saw one Porsche 911. Everything else was a wagon.

But do we get wagons over here? Barely, and when they do, they always get ruined in a way that undermines their ability to be an SUV replacement that you can legitimately take on the track.

I'm still kicking myself for not picking up a CTS-V Wagon when I had the chance. I got to drive one once, and unlike the FCA products of the time, this thing was super fast without a ton of fuss about it. It was like the hand of God was pushing you forward.

 

I have never been across the pond but think it would be a great experience to drive the autobahn. It would be great to drive a European car on that and I saw a video of someone with a 1960s GT350 Mustang that must have had some cash. Now that must be a blast to drive on the Autobahn. That guy must have his own security team guarding that car.

 

I once hit 154mph indicated on a downhill.

Up to 120mph, it’s all fun and games. Above that, you can literally feel the stress level rising - it’s pretty intense.

 

I was playing around with their builder tool last week and a OR 4x4, manual, 5' bed, and the upgraded heated seats and 14" display was like $39,000.....? which actually seems pretty okay to me....

 

I just rigged one on the build and price site using your choices and it's $44,725. I'm in Texas but I can't imagine it would be that much different in Ohio.

 

Hmm. I'll revisit. Weird.

 

Honestly, it sounds very good to me at least. It's probably pumped in fake engine sound, but sounds good. What caught my attention was that Jack was really driving it lively and the transmission seemed to really shift quick and smooth. Hate to say it, but the transmission seems to be a huge improvement over our 5-speed in our 4Runners.

Sucks the V6 is gone, but this new 4-banger paired with that transmission ain't no slouch. TFL, SG, TH, Raiti's seem to all love the new Taco. Seeing all these videos give me high hopes for the 6th gen 4R, I don't think it will be a let down at all.

 

I don't really hear a lot of people raving about how good the V6 sounds.

I'm trying to look on the bright side, as we all knew the little turbo motors were coming. On paper, these motors should perform better than what we have now. I’m looking forward to driving one myself at some point. I wonder when they'll start showing up on dealer lots.

 

To be fair, the 4.0 sounds like garbage too.

Sound is very subjective though, to me nothing short of an 8 cylinder actually sounds good.

Judging by the torque numbers, the four cylinder is going to be a dream to drive compared to either of the late model V6s.

 

4 cylinders don’t have to sound bad. Still think honda made beautiful sounding 4cyl, at least in the late 90s early 00s. It’s just that the mind has trouble with a 4cyl sound in something that we expect to have 6 or 8cyl.

 

Agreed, the 4.0 never really sounds good or happy. I still think (my opinion, anyway), the biggest downfall of the 4.0 is the horrible programming of the 5spd transmission it is mated to. It just feels like it is always working against the engine rather than helping it. Kind of ruins the driving experience. Using "sport" mode helps, but it could still be better.

Still not sure I'm ready for a turbo 4 in the next 4R...

 

Toyota has made good sounding 4 bangers, too. It's the cheap, raspy fart cans that really make them sound like shit, IMO. My TC actually has a decent note, and so did my MR2.

If you really want to hear a glorious sounding 4 cylinder, though, check out the RA21 Celica on YouTube with a 152E and sequential transmission. I used to dream about getting an older Toyota and putting one of those motors in it.

 

Yes, it is. I hit 150 in an Infiniti G35-6MT and the car was solid. But I chickened out because of concerns about safety. The car was still accelerating, but I didn't want to anymore.

 

I'll partially agree. I think it sounds crummy at around half throttle around 2500-4000 RPM's. At full throttle, in the high RPM's, I actually think it sounds good. Just my opinion, of course.

I also think that the I6 is the best sounding engine, but I'm probably biased from being a Supra enthusiast.

 

I buried the 130 MPH speedometer in my '85 Supra, but that's pretty much all it had. I probably should have been concerned about safety, but I was young and dumb. Nothing like going ~80 over the limit on a 2 lane highway at night. It was surprisingly comfortable at that speed, though.

 

I worry about the turbo 4 longevity in my particular use case. 10k miles a year at 80mph in summer heat, 4-6 hours at a time. Lots of weekend trips. Plus my daily driving of another 5k miles around town.

Just seems like it’s asking a lot of a 4cyl engine. Can’t wrap my mind around it. I know i’ll want to trade before the power train warranty is up. And I’ll feel bad about the next guy that gets it that has no idea about the history lol.

 

It will most likely be fine for commuting like most 4Runner owners do for the duration that the typical owner keeps a car before trading it in for something newer. The test will be if they put the new turbo 4 motors for the Africa/MiddleEast/SouthAsia market. If they are confident enough to put the new motor in those markets, it would say a lot about the engineering of the power plant. If they only put them in cars marketed in developed countries though, then I would be more on the side of "eh....".

 

It's not CAFE's fault, it's that the majority of car buyers tastes have changed. If more people wanted a RWD 2-door coupe that gets decent MPG, they would be available. Ford sells half as many Mustangs as they did 8-10 years ago, yet sales for Raptors continues to increase.