Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Crossovers/CUVs, Toyota
Details remain scarce on Toyota's new inline-four
click above image for high-res gallery of the Toyota Venza
When Toyota unveiled the Venza in Detroit, the only details about what would motivate the CUV/wagon/Camry-on-stilts were two possible powerplants. The first was the range-topping 268-hp 3.5-liter V6, while details about an "all-new" 2.7-liter four-cylinder were scarce. KickingTires tapped CSM Worldwide who made an educated guess on the new engine's output and pegged it at 188 hp, a predictable though sizable bump in power over the 157-hp, 2.4-liter four currently used throughout Toyota's lineup.
The new engine will not only power the base Venza, but will also find a home in the engine bay of the Camry and Highlander. The only concern is how fuel economy will be affected by the extra .3-liters of displacement, but Toyota assures that "excellent fuel economy" will be achieved when mated to the Venza's six-speed automatic.
[Source: KickingTires]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
RWD fan 7:37PM (1/17/2008)
My '95 Tacoma 4x4 had a 2.7Liter 4, and it was a great motor. Nice and torquey! Wonder if this one's related?
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MemphisNET 7:41PM (1/17/2008)
I'm really starting to dig this new Toyota. The gear selector is in an interesting location but probably feels very 'nice' where it is. Another gawdy grill tho. Hopefully the panel gaps and fit are better than the current-gen Camry... the plastics seem to warp and curl after a while.
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Reality Check 12:33AM (1/18/2008)
I agree with you but don't leave out the bad bumper cover colors! Its about time they paint them to match the car and for some reason Toyota is now the Champion of bad color match.... I also think the plastic is curling for two reasons, the first being really low quality and the second it the flat paint socks up the heat.....
Stylze 7:47PM (1/17/2008)
I wonder if this is borrowing Subaru's inline engine and their Outback platform.
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SeattleJeremy 8:15PM (1/17/2008)
Stylze, the Venza is a CUV based on the Camry.
Subaru does not have an inline four. All of the engines Subaru uses right now are H4 or H6 (at least in North America).
Za 9:14PM (1/17/2008)
Which Subaru inline engine, just curious? I thought they only used boxers-4s and 6s? And the boxers are not very fuel-efficient.
Richard 10:05PM (1/17/2008)
Actually, Subaru uses Horizontal fours and sixes. They - I think - technically are not boxers because of the firing order...in a boxer two cylinders on opposite sides of the crank fire simultaneously.
Subaru fuel efficiency - or relative lack thereof - isn't necessarily so much due to the engines - which are lighter and very long lived - as it may be due to the weight and friction of the AWD systems they drive...Most of the cars that to which one might compare a Subaru in terms of mileage are FWD.
Temple 12:23AM (1/18/2008)
Subaru does have one inline-3 engine available on the R-1, R-2 kei-cars in Japan.
Mi key 7:48PM (1/17/2008)
Hope the 2.7-ltrs makes it into the next Gen Scion tC.
Wonder what kind of fuel economy this will get?
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naggs 12:20AM (1/18/2008)
if it is geared lower, there is a good chance that it will get better mileage
large displacement engines of the same cylinder count have the advantage of lower operating rpm (power wasted to friction increases exponentially with RPM) and more power produced per ignition spark
its obviously overkill for something like a corolla but you can expect to see more and more of these >2.5 liter 4 cyl engines in mid to large vehicles because it combines most of the benefit of a 4 cyl and 6 cyl engines (cost, weight and mileage closer to a 4 cyl but torque and power closer to that of a 6)
Guenther 8:12PM (1/17/2008)
RWD- no. The 2.7 in your taco is a truck motor. this is distinctly different.
Stylze- not at all.
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Johnny 8:15PM (1/17/2008)
I really hope this new 2.7L I-4 is better than the engine it's replacing. My girlfriend has the 2.4L in her Camry, and it doesn't feel very Toyota-like. Lots of noise, vibration and harshness, and it's quite slow to build RPM.
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psarhjinian 9:23PM (1/17/2008)
Really? I drove a Camry SE a while back and I wouldn't have called the I4 harsh at all.
MemphisNET 11:41PM (1/17/2008)
I was very impressed with my managers 4cyl camry. it moved that car around with no problems and was very quiet and smooth
tekdemon 12:13AM (1/18/2008)
I've driven 2 different Camry's with the I-4 (an 02 and an 03, just to show that it's not because my Camry is freakishly quiet), and while it's rougher compared to something like the 3.5L V6 Toyota puts in Camrys and the Lexus ES350 (which has even more vibration dampening I believe...I recently drove one and it was essentially a quieter and smoother Camry), at least some of the noise is just because the engine has to rev. higher to produce similar amounts of power.
But compared with other I-4's the Camry's engine is one of the smoothest and quietest around! Go drive around in other companies' I-4's and you'll definitely see that the Camry has one of the quietest 4-cylinders around, and the Camry also has a lot of sound dampening installed between the cabin and the engine bay to kill noise. I've driven many different I-4's and V6's over the years, and the Camry's I-4 is as smooth as some of the V6's were (the base V6 in Chrysler vehicles comes to mind, lol), and definitely was quieter than the Mazda I-4 you'd find in a Mazda 6.
That said, if you're used to luxury car V6's or V8's, any I-4 is going to seem crazy noisy and vibratory, it's just the nature of the beast =p
Temple 12:29AM (1/18/2008)
The 2.4L in the Camry is perfectly fine, its a quiet little workhorse. This new 2.7L should be the same. The 4-cylinder engines are now making equivalent hp to V6 engines a generation ago. It wasn't too long ago when Taurus, Accord, Mazda 6 V6 engines make barely above 200hp. This 2.7 may be making around that, and may fit it nicely into Toyota's other car line-up between the low-end 4-cylinder models and the powrful V6s. The Camry V6 gets 0-60 in 5.8seconds these days, and may be too powerful for its target market.
Lad 3:10AM (1/18/2008)
There is a displacement limit in I4 engines where vibration starts to become a factor; that limit is around 2.4 liters. The 2.7-liter Taco engine uses a balance shaft to dampen vibrations. The down side is a small lost of power by adding the balance shaft. My choice would be an intercooler 2.4 with a mild turbo of about 5 PSI. And figure on about a 7% additive horsepower increase per phi when it spools up. So if you have a 150 hp four; with the turbo that increases to about 245 hp. Some U.S. automakers are dropping the V8 in favor of a V6 turbo and going to I4 turbos instead of V6s.
All these are good interim moves until the electric motor replaces the inefficient internal combustion engine.
Noe 10:00AM (1/18/2008)
My 98 malibu has a 3.1 liter V6 and it only has 155 hp, so this engine has already got my malibu beat!
MikeW 12:22PM (1/18/2008)
Someone should have told Porsche about that 2.4 liter 'limit' when they made the 968.
3 liter Inline4, 240ps.
naggs 2:07AM (1/20/2008)
the "limit" for 4 cyl engines is about 2 liters
any more than that and you need balance shafts. I cant think of a modern 4 cyl engine above 1.8 that does not have balance shafts. larger than that and its just a matter of how big are the balance shafts going to be.