If You Had To Replace Your Tacoma Regarding MPG...

Sorry, but it's hard comparing the excitement of a truck to that of a car...especially those!

Two completely different vehicles and any suggestions would be totally misguided cause which of those cars can carry a half ton of sacked cement and lumber 1/2 mile up an ungraded dirt road to a remote cabin construction site looking over a wooded mountain stream? By the same token...what truck tucks it's tail real sweet as you swing into the turn way over the posted limit and then swings out just right as you accelerate through it?

Which excitement are you looking for?

 

Well put.


I guess the question is, do you use your truck as a truck (with-in reason) or is your truck your daily driver? I use mine as a daily driver, but if I had to drive like 80 miles round trip to work 5 days a week...i would not own it, and I would be a very very sad person.

 

I'm a very mellow driver, well, most of the time, and I guarantee you that my truck will never get 28 mpg, let alone 32. With a scan gauge I might see those numbers in real time (down hill with a wind at my back, for example), but never as an average. I determine my gas mileage by miles driven divided by gallons used. Maybe my odometer is off or maybe scan gauges are not the best way to determine fuel economy.

 

Well, my S2000 gets 30 mpg highway on summer gas (27 on crappy winter gas). Cruise control set 9 mph over the posted limit.

Fun car - check
Good highway mileage - check
Same price as the Taco - check.
"Sorry, no room for passengers" awesomeness - check

But then my old 1996 1st Gen 4 banger, 2.4L, 4x2 got 29 mpg and I abused the living hell out of it.

 

Be careful that you do your math... Sometimes it just doesnt make sense to sell or trade for better gas mileage.

Feel free to correct my math if my thinking is wrong but look at this...

My Tacoma= 19MPG on average @ 15k miles per year = 789 gallons of fuel @ the current rate of $2.50 per gallon = $1972.50 per year or $38.00 per week.

My daughters Miata= 28MPG average @ 15k miles per year = 535 gallons of fuel @ $2.50 per gallon = $1339.00 or $25.75 per week.

That is a difference of a little over $12.00 per week in fuel. Is that worth giving up a vehicle you really want? Heck take a sandwich for lunch and keep your truck.

Also think about this... if you trade, the dealer is not going to give you crap for your truck but you will pay full price for the car you buy... this difference could be $2000.00 or more.... it will take you years of fuel savings to make up the difference. If my math is right on the situation above it would take over 3 years for it to break even.

I see people make poor decisions like that every day... its the old cant see the forest for the trees story. I just dont think the average guy is going to save enough fuel no matter what he buys to make up the loss of trading in a perfectly good Tacoma. Now if you just really want the car and that is your reason for buying then go for it.... but to justify it with fuel savings is very difficult to do.

Thanks my take anyway,

Greg

 

No, im not saying i get 28 based on what my scan guage is saying, im saying when i fill up, the average for my tank was 28mpg. My scan guage says anywhere from 21 when first moving, to like 217 when im coasting downhill. The trip averages for it are around 32-35, but thats never right because every fill up is 28 give or take 1. I'm not using my scan guage to determine my fuel economy. I reset my trip meter every time I fill up and then divide that number by the number of gallons I put in.

 

He is completely correct. On the note that since I've been saying how awesome VW TDI's are...they are also crazy expensive...in theory, you could get a Honda Fit, which is like 12,000 dollars less than at VW TDI Jetta, and use that money for gas and in 30 years, you will break even. Plus maintance would be way cheaper for it. Theres a lot to consider.

 

Mini cooper S is actually a real fun car to drive and gets over 30 mpg.

 

I should also point out, I have a manual, not an automatic, and I coast down hills. (i figure since i had to use more gas to drive up the hill, I should coast down to make it worth my while.) I also dont go over 2000 rpms, unless I'm on the highway and I have to becuase going 65 in 5th puts you around 2500

 

That's exactly how I do it too. I guess one of our odometers is off, or maybe it's the fuel or altitude. I live at 4300 ft. All I know is that my truck cannot achieve those numbers. That doesn't mean that your truck can't.

 

+1. A friend of mine has one. Fun little car. Handles like a dream.

 

haha maybe, i have no idea what altitude I live at...I live in Central PA though! I hope my odometer isnt off...that would mean I'm running through miles which will void my warrenty prematurely....dun dun dun! I'll watch my GPS more closely next time and check to see if I can find anything significant.

 

Jeep!!! All the way!!!!

 

Get a 90s camry or corolla off of craigslist and keep the taco?

 

Agreed, but it takes premium gas!

 

I've got a 2009 Scion xB and only get just over 22 miles per gallon driving around town in it...

 

Tailpipe emissions and fuel economy are not directly related. A vehicle that gets good fuel economy does not necessarily have cleaner emissions. And a vehicle that guzzles fuel does not necessarily have dirty emissions. Particulate emissions are just a different kind of pollution than NOx and CO2, which happen to be invisible gases. My 1992 Thunderbird V6 ran great and got 30mpg on the highway, which is great fuel economy for a full-size car of its age. But considering the tailpipe emissions limits in a smog test for this vehicle, it was pretty dirty.

To the OP, depending on the kind of mileage increase you need, I suggest a single cab 4cyl tacoma, or a civic, hell maybe even a prius. But the diesel VWs are an excellent choice as well. Good luck and have fun shopping.

 

Sorry, i wasn't real clear, I wasn't comparing the two. I was taking a general idea the public thinks. Many people think diesel is worse that gas because all they really know about it is the black smoke they see from trucks. Thus, they think all diesel is bad. I wasn't saying that they were directly related, sorry! haha, i do agree with you, thats what I was trying ot get across! thanks for clarifying!

 

Mazdaspeed3 may be an option...

 

My Girlfriends Mazda3 averages 31mpg. She bought it new for around $16,000. It has the 2.0L which is plenty for a commuter car.