"Yoda' '08 4Runner

[NTIman]

4Runner still has the 4.0L, Tacoma gets the 3.5L V6. I've heard complain-y things about the 3.5 and its characteristics when paired to the automatic.

between the atkinson cycle and D4S, it was really just shoved into the Taco for the MPG.  it seems almost everyone wishes it had the objectively less advanced 4.0 1GR-FE instead.  far more simple, just as powerful for a .5L penalty.

wish they still put the V8 in the smaller trucks but both V6's should get the job done for a lot of miles.

The 3.5 liter D4S engines are trash. Along with the rest of what they're paired to in the Tacoma. Those engines are notorious for valve seat failure. Toyota really managed to fuck them up when they brought out the 3rd generation.

BUT. The 3.5 liters also suck in the Highlanders, Camrys, Avalons, and Siennas. And don't get me started on Toyotas new 8-speed transmission. 

I swear I'm pretty sure that after the collapse of GM and Chrysler during the Great Recession, Toyota scooped up their "finest" engineers, because our quality has gone to the shitter, and problems that used to be fixed nearly immediately go unresolved for years now.