Any news on Toyota's new 2.7-Liter Four-Cylinder Engine?

Questions: Has their been any news on Toyota's new 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine? I know it’s new so any problems may not have come out yet. I do hear people complain that it is noisy when cold and could that lead us into the piston slap problems that were common in 2000? Is it a no-brainer and just buy the V-6?

Answer I haven't heard of any problems with Toyota's new 2.7-liter four-cylinder. As of now, it's the base engine in the Venza, where it's rated at 182 horsepower and 182 pound-feet of torque, and in the Highlander, where Toyota rates it 187 horsepower and 186 pound-feet.

I test drove the 2.7 in an all-wheel-drive Venza -- in the mountains of Colorado, no less -- and was more than pleasantly surprised by its performance. It did seem a bit ragged at cold idle, but that's not unusual of large-displacement four-cylinder engines. More importantly, it pulled nicely up long grades and cruised effortlessly at 75 mph on the highway. And this was at 6000-9000 foot elevations in a 4,000-pound vehicle.

I'm convinced a lot of this laudable performance is owed to the six-speed automatic transmission. It's smooth, alert, and quick-shifting. It really works to draw out what torque this four has. A big advantage in the Venza was the ease of manually shifting the transmission. The gear lever falls easily to hand and you just move it into the manual-shift gate and toggle it fore and aft to dial up the gear you want. I know not everyone likes to manually shift an automatic. But this one invites you to recognize you're not armed with the 268-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 and gives you a way to interact with this nice, new four, an engine that's using less of the earth's resources and saving you a few bucks in the process.

Speaking of the V-6, it is an easy choice, being among the best six-pots in the class. And EPA fuel-economy differences between the four and the V-6 are not as striking as you might think. In the Venza, the four is rated 21/29 with 2WD, 20/28 with AWD. The V-6 is 19/26 and 18/25, respectively. But the fuel savings over the long haul will add up.

Toyota is smart enough to make the four-cylinder Venza and Highlander available with virtually every amenity you can get on a V-6 model. And using Venza prices as an example, the four-cylinder will save you some $1,825 off the sticker price.

Test drive examples with both engines. You'll notice a difference in smoothness and performance, but the difference may not be dramatic enough for you to easily dismiss the 2.7 four.

Hope this helps.

Chuck Giametta
Managing Editor, Iguida.com