My wife and I just bought an 07 base model
Only options we got were roof rack and 17" styled steel wheels
Test drove both a V6 and the 2.4L 4cyl
IMHO the 4 cyl has plenty of power.
I was leaning toward the 6 cyl because I hate having a car that isn't able to get out of it's own way if asked to, but the V6 was almost scary fast and I didn't want my 16 and 17 year old sons driving it. It'll get to 60 without you even realizing it. I'm not an old fuddy dud, I have a Yamaha FZ1 motorcycle and it will get to 60 in just over 3 seconds and I've pushed it hard enough to pull a wheelie in third gear going 80mph, but that's not what I want in a family car.
Since the fuel economy isn't a noticible amount, It would have been easy to persuade me to go with the V6, but in the end we went with the 4cyl because it has more zip than our 04 Honda Civic and my 06 Tacoma (2.7L 4cyl) The 2.4L 4 cyclinder is based on one of the most proven engine designs in Toyota history. It's basically the same engine that was in my 1987 Toyota 4WD pick up, my 1998 Tacaoma and my 2006 Tacoma. They are all based on the 22R engine.
