have a pretty beefy V8 in my tow rig suv. It is a newer SUV with a 5.3 liter with decent torque. QUOTE]
The other argument is that with the more robust V6's on the market and limited towing mileage vs commuting/ daily driving, many V6's will outperform a V8 overall and that the V8 is overkill for many. (Also consider a V8 toyota has a a timing belt rather a chain for the V6).
Potentially yes. My particular tow vehicle had a 6 cylinder base engine if you didn't pay for the v8, the 6 with only 8 less hp but a good bit less torque. In the naturally aspirated world this particular 6 cylinder is pretty robust. The V8 with its fuel management system cutting off 4 of the cylinders under a narrow algorythm of parameters gets nearly identical all around mileage as the 6. The 6 was a high tech vvt engine. Towing mileage on the other hand is better with the v8 than the 6. The fact is if I didn't tow boat and snowmobiles, I wouldn't own an SUV simply because of the poor mileage. I love everything about them but I'm not made of money and conserve if possible. In that sense, although it gets limited boat towing, where the v8 is much more appreciated vs snowmobiles that weight considerably less, I consider it a purpose vehicle. If I tow only once a year with it, I'm buying the v8. Even one instance in my mind of "I should have got the v8 option" and I'd have regretted buying it. If i'm 'in' for a tow vehicle, I'm going all in. My comparison isn't Toyota related but just from the 8 vs 6 standpoint. In summary, given the 8 and 6 are almost identical mileage-wise, the 8 provides a lot more torque, the 8 was put into every GM truck under the sun so parts will be likely cheaper given their abundance, The 8 sounds better, I don't care to but the 8 is easy to add a large amount of mods to including an inexpensive supercharger, I will choose the v8 over the 6 given we are talking towing.
