Why all threads over MPG ???

It's like finding an article that rates vehicles, and they think a Jeep Wrangler should drive and feel like a car.

 

What’s funny is the number of aggressively feigned disinterest posts. If they were truly disinterested then by your logic they wouldn’t post yet they do, so either your premise is incorrect (which I doubt) or their feigned disinterest is covering their true feelings, hence the aggressiveness of the posts.

 

I never cared about mileage. I only bought a 4 cyl. engine to please an ugly woman. I don't even know why I'm so hot and bothered by this shit.

In fact here's a video of this little lady:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE_2uqCc_K4

 

People are stupid.
The stupid ones, are just stupid.
The ones that make stupid posts are stupid.
The ones that are not stupid still say a lot of stupid things.
Prius’s are stupid, because the political and environmental impacts of lithium.
I am stupid, and I drive like a dildo, this affects my gas mileage, because I drive my truck like it should be and that uses gas. I even installed the ShiftSense Pro so it drives better.

I compensate for my treacherous behavior and carbon-footprint selfishness by raising smart civic minded children and joining CSAs and picking up plastic when I walk my dog so it doesn’t shred into micro particles and chemically alter the next generation’s endocrine systems.

I also can’t stand Prius’s.

 

Does this compensate for winter mix or non calibrated speedos with aftermarket tire sizes?

 

I didn't buy a tacoma for gas efficiency. I bought one for the versatility, reliability, and easability of working on them. Knowing a good "go bag" vehicle is in the driveway helps. Oh and tacomaworld. Thanks tacomaworld!

 

Yes I know it’s a truck and no I don’t expect 35-40mpg, but I should expect 22-25mpg with a midsize, my brother-in-law gets 22 (truck computer) on the highway with a 4x4 Ram 1500, so I don’t think it’s is unreasonable to see low 20’s.
I think about MPG and on my next truck (I hope my last truck), it will be important as I only see gas prices going up over time and as a retired person my income is fixed. On my last trip to the Arctic Ocean & Alaska, I avg around 15mpg in GX470 pulling my off road trailer and my buddy in a new 2019 JLUR got 19mpg pulling a teardrop trailer. In one month we did 10,000 miles on this trip. We had gas prices ranging from $2.85 to almost $7, let’s avg that at $4.50, just on this trip the difference was, I spent $3,000 in gas and my friend $2,368, so just that trip was $632 difference and now if I had a new truck that could get say 22mpg, the savings would be $955, that could be a savings of almost 1/3 my total fuel cost.
I normally do about 20-25k miles a year visiting family, friends and camping.
20,000/15x3=$4000
20,000/22x3=$2727 or $1273 a year
25,000/15x3=$5000
25,000/22x3=$3409 or $1591 a year

20,000/15x3.50=$4,666
20,000/22x3.50=$3,181 or $1485, easy to see how the savings could add up
(If my math it right)

At 61, I still have a lot of trips left, I hope. Some of these trips will be long distance, least one more to the Arctic Ocean and Alaska and one to far NE Canada. Every bit of savings makes each trip easier, so I will watch MPG’s and hope for better midsize MPG.

Some people don’t care what they get in MPG, just part of every day life and owning a truck, some of us do care and want better numbers, again, just part of every day life and owning a truck

 

I think we all want better mpg's out of our trucks, but your expectations are unrealistic. 22-25 mpg combined from a gasoline v6 4x4 is just plain unrealistic with the current levels of engine technology. Maybe it will be achievable at some point in the future when hybrid technologies have been further refined.

And a lot of the big-fish tales coming from other brands are just that....big fish tales. The F-150 ecoboost, though it edges out the competition somewhat, is notoriously over-rated in terms of its mpg. The new Ford Ranger 4 cylinder ecoboost has been tested by some and its average mpg isn't all that different from the Tacoma's. FCA has been implementing cylinder deactivation and mild hybrid systems...the real world results show that the mpg gains have been minor, or in some cases non-existent.

Go look at fuelly and auto journalist tests...the 1/2 tons are generally getting mid to high teens for combined mpg's. The Tacoma and gasoline Colorado get a little bit higher. The diesel Colorado gets the highest mpg's (mid 20's).

That's just the state of affairs right now. If you're truly dissatisfied with the the Tacoma's fuel efficiency, look at getting a smaller vehicle or a diesel truck.

 

Hey op for me I've only had trucks my questions are related to mpg being effected by different tire sizes/load ranges/driving conditions.

I do agree lots of.peoole buying Tacomas who may have not had trucks or we're wowed by the sticker mpg.

We just bought a new 4runner and I can drive that damn thing at 10mph and 95mph and it gets 18mpg no matter what here in Utah. Go figure right haha?

 

diesel costs more per gallon than 89 octane gas, savings are none

 

Depends on where you live. In places like Alaska and Canada, diesel is actually cheaper than gasoline. In some parts of the southern US, diesel is priced similarly to 89 octane.

Also, if you do the analytics for longterm ownership, diesel will actually save you money even if the fuel does cost more...the key is that you need to own the vehicle for more than 5 years. If you're trading in vehicles every few years, I agree that diesel doesn't make sense.

That aside, my post was less about the relevance of diesel and more about how there is only so much efficiency potential to extract from gasoline engines.

 

repair costs are increased with diesel vehicles, savings are less than none plus diesel costs more per gallon than 89 octane gas, diesels wont meet US emissions standards and are harder to get valid registrations=diesels are a big pain in the ass compared to gas burning vehicle to own and operate. its another big peter pan pipe dream to think diesels are going to compete with gas vehicles in the USA.

 

Maintenance costs for diesels have increased, but that increase is not as tremendous as some people make them out to be. Once you map out all of the operating costs (DEF, oil changes, fuel costs, fuel filters, ect.) over a 10 year period, its easy to recognize that diesel vehicles will still save you money over that period compared to a gasoline engine, especially for work/towing applications.

If you're just going to daily drive the vehicle for 5 years and then trade it for something else, I agree there is little to no financial incentive for diesel ownership. If you plan on driving and using your truck for truck-like applications over a longer period, diesel does offer more tangible benefits. That's why 3/4 and 1 ton diesels are still selling like hotcakes.

Again, it depends on where you live.

 

That's the problem; people complain about mpg but do nothing to attempt to maximize fuel efficiency, they just keep driving like they always have. It's never the person in the mirror so it must be the truck's fault.

 

Yep. I have yet to read a thread on "I am putting skinnier, lighter and smaller tires" or "I removed the unneeded back seat and headliner to lighten it up..." because these things will get you better mpg. I love it when a guy lifts it, puts E 285's on it, adds skids, bumpers and a rack, then bitches about mpg...

 

If mileage really is that big of a deal, get a Prius (this is not a smart ass or hostile remark). My bro has one (w/ NRA sticker!) and gets 45ish mpg. Oddly enough, the seats fold flat and he has about the same flat space behind the driver's seat as a 6 or 7 foot bed small pickup.

Get a used one in good shape, replace the battery pack yourself for $2,000ish w/o barbecuing yourself, and profit.

If my offroad needs didn't call for high ground clearance, I'd have done similar.

Here is proof of concept. Whether or not the best video to illustrate this, there are plenty other examples on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZfvfAkppkg

 

Exactly. The Taco should get better mpg.

 

Hey OP, I bought the Tacoma based on mpg ratings. Before I bought I checked out this forum and fuelly.com to see what I'd be getting myself into. Mainly I appreciated all the mpg forums is they let me know what people were getting compared to the sticker ratings. I saw the I4 and V6 were rated within 1mpg or so but really they were a few mpg different so I ended up with an I4.

My major reason for ditching the old trusty Ford Ranger 3.0 was it only got around 17mpg same as Gnarman's 4runner, highway or local.

BTW for people considering the I4 I couldn't be happier, so far averaging around 21-22mpg short trips and 25mpg on long trips. The best part is the 21 gallon tank gets me over 400 miles range hehe

 

If you want super high MPG numbers, you canna tow, Captain.

 

"live and learn"

optimist!