Only read the first few pages and got the jist of this thread. Flip/flop recommendations between the 4-banger vs the V6 and some Ridgeline suggestions.
Relevant to OP, average fuel economy of the two engines you are
actually interested in (chose 2012 model for bigger data).
V6 fuel average:
http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/tacoma/2012/gas v6
I4 fuel average:
http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/tacoma/2012/gas l4
As you can see some people are able to get their I4's into the 9L/100km range, these are the frugal and non-aggressive drivers, whereas the floating average seems to be around 10.5-11L/100km (I believe fuelly defaults to mpg, you can change to L/100km at top right).
As for the V6, the best I seen on a quick scan was 10.5 and the floating average seems to be well over 13L/100km.
Depending on how many miles you do in a year, this could be a big difference. I just want to show you some numbers.
I bought gas @ $1.20/L yesterday, let's use that price for this example. We all know it's only going to go up over time.
10.5L/100km is about $0.126/km
13L/100km is $0.156/km
Per kilometer, the V6 will cost you 3 cents more just in gas.
Now, this isn't a deal breaker if you do what would be considered an "average amount of mileage per year". If you're the type that does
a lot of driving, that's something you need to consider.
@ 20,000kms, it's a 600$ difference.
@ 35,000kms, it's a 1050$ difference.
As I said I didn't read all the posts, got to end of page 3. You seemed inclined to the I4 at the time, not sure if you made up your mind yet.
If you know for sure that you will
rarely ever pull a trailer, the I4
should be sufficient for your needs. I understand that you are trying to make a decision based on your needs.
Forget all those people who say get the bigger motor because its better. What's the point of having something if you are never going to use it, right?
That being said...having the V6 and paying the extra money in gas
per year will give you the piece of mind that if something in your life ever changes and you need to start regularly hauling a trailer (whether its for bikes, a boat, work, etc...), you will have the power and a higher towing capacity to do so. This can potentially save you from having to sell your I4 truck in order to get one with a bigger motor just because you are trailering.
You never know what comes up in life and generally if you're going to buy a brand new truck, you want it to last you a while so you don't feel you wasted money on it.
Have I really helped you make your choice? Probably not directly. Just figured with some numbers it could help you out to cover all avenues.
You are the only one who has the best vision of what you will need your truck to do.
As long as you are happy with your purchase when you go to sleep at night, that's all that matters.
