Tohatsu vs Mercury

I sold my boat last week and bought another. Something I can hunt out of and still fish how I like. It came with a 2015 50hp 4-stroke tohatsu. Any of y’all have experience with a tohatsu? Everything I read on it is pretty good, but I’ve only ever had an evinrude and a Mercury. They were 2-strokes on top of that. I have no experience with a 4-stroke. My question is this: tohatsu dealers and service techs near me are few and far between so I’m considering repowering to a Mercury. Any body have some advice? Would it worth the extra money to repower? Give me the good bad and ugly on both.


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Keep that Tohatsu, I've never personally owned one, but everything I've heard and read about them have been very positive. And you will enjoy that 4 stroke, they are simple to maintain.

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Originally Posted by Carl3of5

I sold my boat last week and bought another. Something I can hunt out of and still fish how I like. It came with a 2015 50hp 4-stroke tohatsu. Any of y’all have experience with a tohatsu? Everything I read on it is pretty good, but I’ve only ever had an evinrude and a Mercury. They were 2-strokes on top of that. I have no experience with a 4-stroke. My question is this: tohatsu dealers and service techs near me are few and far between so I’m considering repowering to a Mercury. Any body have some advice? Would it worth the extra money to repower? Give me the good bad and ugly on both.


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that Tohatsu is basically is a Mercury from what I have read some of the Mercury outboards are made by Tohatsu !!! and the Tohatsu is a good running outoard !!!

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Originally Posted by strmwalker

that Tohatsu is basically is a Mercury from what I have read some of the Mercury outboards are made by Tohatsu !!! and the Tohatsu is a good running outoard !!!

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This is true.

Tohatsu over 60hp is made by Honda. Under 60hp is made by Tohatsu. Only oats that won’t interchange is the paint and stickers. In a word....Tohatsu!!


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I just bought a new 2018 Tohatsu 20HP 4stroke and I'm really impressed with the technology and how it runs. As others stated, Tohatsu makes Mercury motors up to around 50-60 hp. No way would I swap out your engine without giving it a full season of use and evaluation. I think you will find you got a jewel.
PS a more accurate statement would be " a Mercury is basically a Tohatsu, not the other way around "

There is a authorized Tohatsu repair shop in my area, he doesn’t sell them just fixes them. He said he hates a Tohatsu because he spent 20k on training and specialty tools and all he ever does is change the oil in them. They are that reliable.


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Thought Nissan was Tohatsu. Good question for Big river marine .

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Originally Posted by eagle 1

Thought Nissan was Tohatsu. Good question for Big river marine .

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Nissan is nothing more than a Tohatsu with different shaped cowl and decals. Same exact motor under cover.

I love my 4 stroke 25 HP. I've owned 2 Mercurys and a Nissan that I didn't like as much as my Tohatsu...even though they were basically outsourced Tohatsu's lol. It's also a sharp looking outboard, IMO.

Tohatsu has been making outboards longer than Yamaha. Since 2011, all Evinrudes 15 hp and under are made by them (I assume they still are). All Mercurys up to 50 HP are made by them and certain Nissan outboards as well.

The reason they are just now being seen in recreational markets is because they mostly served commercial outfits for a long time. Folks in South LA have known of them for decades.

The Arkansas duck hunting boys will pay a premium on certain 25 hp Tohatsu's (mine is one of them) because there's something you can do to the fuel delivery system, and some other things, on the cheap, and radically increase the horsepower. They have a 25 hp limit on their duck hunting wma' s and the Tohatsu's have quickly gained a legendary reputation for their toughness with that crowd on top of the modifications. They run wide open in cypress swamps, so they know.

My boat left the trailer when I went to swerve missing a wreck last spring. The outboard's lower unit never hit asphalt, but it did drag the grass on the side of the road. All that happened was a ruined prop. The outboard mechanic checked the tolerance on the shaft and it was OEM tolerance. I got another mechanic to check just in case, and it was still within OEM tolerance. It didn't move.

I chuckle every time a person passing by comments on my outboard and asks if it's one if those China made EBay outboards, and they've never heard of them. I quit trying to explain a long time ago.

You will not be disappointed with a Tohatsu. It is a reliable workhorse, and if I can help it, I'll never own another brand again.