I currently have a 2017 Tacoma with the 3.5. I have had the older Tacoma's with the 4.0 and I do currently have an 06 Toyota 4Runner with the 4.0. A lot of difference between the 2. The 4.0 has a lot more torque at lower RPMs. The 3.5 is actually rated with about 30 more HP. The 4.0 have a 5 speed automatic transmission and the new 3.5 is coupled with a 6 speed automatic tranny. The 6 speed seems like it is always shifting up and down. I had a 2005 Tacoma with the 4.0 with the 6 speed manual transmission and I liked that setup a lot. Mileage is comparable. I do notice that the new 3.5 motor is really noisy at an idle. But overall I really do like the truck. And resale value seems to be holding up as well on these as much as the older ones.
Exactly the info I was looking for. Much Appreciated.
The 3.5 is a good engine and is proven. The problem is that Toyota, in an attempt to increase efficiency, changed it to an Atkinson cycle engine, ( don't ask me to explain how it works) with the result that the engine doesn't make peak torque until the mid-upper RPM range, and that's not a good thing for a truck, which needs torque at low RPMs.
