peter78, I think you hit the nail RIGHT ON THE HEAD!
peter78 said:
...........I mention this because both engines are all aluminum engines with variable vlave timing and both have high compression. Maybe the noise is a off shoot of all that technology.........
All of the new Toyota V6s I've test driven (The new RX 330, the new '04 Sienna and the new 4Runner V6) make this horrible, raspy, thrashy engine noise under hard acceleration. Even during moderate acceleration there is a significant amount of noise (worse than some 4-cylinder engines
) ......and if you listen very carefully, you can hear a slight "drone" even when cruising!
That said, what really boggles my mind is, what these car magazine reviewers have to say. Things like
"The new RX 330 is whisper quiet" ......or
"The silky smooth, ultra-quiet engine in the RX 330..." .........Are these guys driving the same RX 330 I test drove
5 times over and over to make sure I wasn't seeing, or more appropriately, hearing things??
If that's their opinion, they must be STONE DEAF!
.......Yes, it's very quiet while cruising as far as
WIND AND ROAD NOISE go, but the
ENGINE is a whole different story. I test drove the 4 Runner V6 3 times, extensively on separate occassions and find the engine loud and unrefined.
The 4Runner V8, OTOH, is a
WHOLE DIFFFERENT BALLGAME (again, TOTALLY contrary to what the crazy car mag reviewers say - they think that the V8 is not necessary for most people and that they "sound" pretty much the same. These guys really need to get their hearing checked!
) ........This V8 is the
SMOOTHEST, QUIETEST, MOST REFINED engine I've ever come across, even quieter than some luxury cars
!!!! .......and more significantly, it appears to me, as being even quieter than in it's upscale brother, the Lexus GX 470!!
......and peppier too! (it's probably quieter in the Runner, because the SAME engine does not have to work as hard, because the 4Runner weighs less, and that same reasoning goes for the "extra peppiness" too) .......and, again, contrary to what these same biased car magazine reviewers say, the V8 is
VERY, VERY SIGNIFICANTLY PEPPIER off-the-line than the V6. While the acceleration of the V6 can be described as just "adequate", the V8 feels almost like a "sports car disguised in SUV clothing"!!
That said, if I had to choose between a V6 and V8 4Runner, I wouldn't buy the V6, if it gave 5mpg more than the V8 and cost $5000 less!!! .......and believe me, fuel economy is generally a major consideration when I buy!
.... i've seen where many dealers give you a 3 day no questions asked return policy..i'm hoping to fall under that category 
