i've heard that it felt relatively underpowered and thirsty. maybe true, when compared to the units with a diesel or V6 engine. but unfortunately, i have no first hand knowledge.
Cost-effectiveness is better in a diesel one. It might not feel so extremely underpowered, considering that some African-spec versions of the Prado came with the old 5L-E diesel, which is not so powerful, but the 2.7L will be thirsty due to the higher revving needed to achieve the torque RPM band.