V6 vs V8 for 90% on road/ daily driving

[mcaninch35]

Hey all- I know I'll be rehashing an old topic, but my head is spinning from reading v6 vs v8 threads. Here's my use case:

Daily driver, 15-20K miles a year. Probably 70/20/10 highway/city/offroad. Tow a 3800 lb boat a thousandish miles a year and launch on unmaintained dirt ramps from time to time. I lean towards a v8, because, well, v8, but I'd like to hear from anyone who has experience driving both. My main concern is full time 4wd- will I miss being able to run in 2wd? Does the full time 4wd impact driving experience on road much?

Seriously, I appreciate any feedback. Driving myself nuts searching threads and sale ads!

 

[allcaps55]

I have a 2006 V8 and drive around 15k a year as well and absolutely love it. I don’t tow but I live in the Rockies and driving up mountain sides feels easy with the V8 although I haven’t tried a V6. Usually average around 18.5 mpg on the highway. The only time I really notice the all time 4wd is pulling out of parking spots which makes it so you can tell it’s in 4wd but it’s not a detriment by any means. For me living with heavy snow in the winter I’d rather have the all time 4wd.

 

[dcraddo03]

‘06 V8 RWD owner here. No experience with the V6 so I can’t comment on it but around 90% of the time she’s on pavement or gravel. Can’t give you a reliable reading for stock MPG just because of the lift, exhaust, and tires I put on mine, but I’ve heard that the V6 mpg isn’t much better than the V8. It can drive like a granny if you want it to or a bat out of hell if you need it to. Seriously addicting throttle when you consider that it’s coming from a 14 year old truck. Absolutely no issues towing for me yet and the torque guarantees the ability to overcome relatively steep terrain given that you don’t spin the tires.

In terms of reliability, I’ve only heard good things about the 2UZ-FE. 251k miles on mine and no issues so far other than a squeaking pulley since I’ve had it (I got it around 180k miles). It’s apparently a common occurrence for the stock exhaust manifold to crack but mine hasn’t yet. For the V6 I’ve heard that the head gaskets can be a problem for some years (in 06 they had a redesign.)

EDIT: spelling