Peak power doesn't really tell you anything about normal cruise conditions, only about maximum acceleration at full throttle. You've mentioned the Tacoma can cruise at 4-5k RPM on the highway - if an engine makes more power down low, it doesn't have to rev way up to get into the powerband, and that's something you don't see in peak numbers.I believe that the power of the 3rd gen Tacoma 3.5 V6 w/ 278 hp compares well with Ford's 2.3L Ecoboost w/ 270 hp.
Even though the peak horsepower numbers are comparable, the power delivery is totally different. Plus, like you mentioned, the turbocharged engine doesn't suffer at altitude to the extreme that an NA engine does, so the difference will be much less noticeable.
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