Tacoma Fuel Economy MPG/KMPL

Too many unknown variables. My overall calculated mileage from purchase to date:


Obviously you can see a dip as the Winter season kicked in.

 

Ok I'm sure I'll get flamed for this but..My Taco has 86,000 miles on it and I've averaged 22.7 mpg over its life. I created an excel spreadsheet and have recorded every fill up since day 1. To compute the average mpg the spreadsheet divides the total mileage over the total gallons of gas. Pretty simple math. I've found the computer mpg runs 0 to 1.0 mpg more than the miles/gallons done at each fill up. Always use 85-87 fuel. Over the years, the highest tank mpg was about 26 and the lowest 18.5. When I fill up the miles to empty is almost always 415, once in a while it's 385. Stock sized tires. I just switched to Es so my mpgs will probably drop a bit. The only modifications are an ARE cap and an RCI skid plate. I live in northern Colorado and do some mtn and flats driving. Very rarely drive in big cities like Denver and Salt Lake. Very little stop and go driving. Most of my highway driving is at 55-65. When I approach a traffic light or stop sign I usually roll up to it with little braking. And when I start it's like having a egg between my foot and the skinny pedal. After I leave my town the next stop signs are 20-50 miles down the road. Just to test my odometer, I started my Garmin GPS odometer at 0 and my trip at 0 and drove on I-80 in Wyoming. A pretty straight road. When I stopped for gas the GPS read 338.4 miles and the trip was 343.1, at 1.5% difference. So my truck odometer is pretty good. Maybe I have a unicorn??
My point is: I've seen many post on TW from folks who've gotten similar mpgs and "I drive like Grandma/Grandpa" seems to be a recurring driving style. When I'm on a 4-lane highway I get passed about 90% of the time. The other 10% is when I'm passing a semi on a hill. When I get blown by from another Tacoma I wonder if that driver is lamenting about the poor gas mileage he's getting.

And let the flaming begin...

 

You shouldn’t be flamed. What you describe is optimal driving for a taco. No stop and go traffic is a huge bonus and keeping your speeds around 55/65 and you’re going to have awesome mpgs. When I go for a country drive sometimes and keep it at that speed with few stops, I get amazing mpg.

 

This is awesome hahahaha. Thank you for sharing

you’ve recorded MPG for every fill up? Wow, smart and impressive. This makes me feel more confident in knowing that:

1. i am doing something poorly or wrong when it comes to driving habits for improved mpg

2. something is wrong with my Taco

 

OP, a couple of things to consider..1. It appears you have a new Taco. You don't state how many miles you have on it. I found the MPSs to increase a point or two after the truck has broken in a bit. 2. Winter temps and winter fuel have caused my lowest MPGs. I think your MPGs should bump up with warmer temps and the change over to summer fuel blends. I usually see an increase in fuel economy when the temps reach 50-60 degrees F.

 

I won't flame you. Because I have the same driving habits as you, and I get great mpg's because of it. I can easily achieve 19.8 - 21 mpg on average. Driving above 65mph, quick acceleration and stop-n-go traffic are the achilles heel of this truck.

On a few occasions when I took a long road trip, I was able to set the cruise @ 65mph on a long flat road (no hills or going against the wind), and my LCD screen "said" I got 25.8MPG. I'm not sure if I believe it got that high, but who knows?

 

@Hiker46
I mentioned early it has 4500 km, still very new

yea I am sure you are right that MPG will improve over the summer

 

Work truck. Often loaded but 95% highway. Sometimes I post the mileage in the Canada forum. Again,
winter fuel messes this up. And I do use Canadian Tire or Shell 91 Octane with no ethanol. Truck is stock and I’m working on being an old man so no racing.





I put 40-50k km a year on a vehicle so it pays me to get good fuel mileage.

 

If my computer indicated 25.8 my hand calculation would be about 24.5-25. That's just the error of MY truck's computer. Some other folks say their truck's computer is spot on.

 

I only fill with Costco gas. Not sure if higher quality gas would really make a difference?

 

I picture the OP like this:

 

Oops, missed your mileage. Yeah, your truck is quite new.. Wish mine was as young..

 

It makes a difference. With 91 no ethanol I can get 100 km more per tank. That’s one difference. The other difference is that it costs more.

what I actually save is time standing and pumping gas in shitty weather.

 

@Hiker46
Not sure what is considered the ‘break in’ period for the trucks mechanics after purchase

 

I honestly don't know but I tend to think it's gradual rather than you get to 5,000 KM and there's a sudden change to how the truck runs and MPGs.. More knowledgeable folks might chime in.

 

Not everyone drives in the same conditions. What some people call city driving is far different than what someone else calls city driving. And everyone has a different driving style. Some are more aggressive than others. I will consistently get 1-2 mpg better than my wife. She doesn't understand the concept of coasting. Her foot is either on the gas, or brake. I anticipate where I'll have to stop and coast into a traffic light.

FWIW my 2007 is basically stock. I have upsized tires slightly to 265/75/16's. I don't do much true stop-and-go city driving. My everyday driving involves mostly rural roads and some small-town driving. I'll get very close to what you're getting, somewhere between 17 to 18 mpg on most tanks. On a long-distance road trip 19+, and often coming in right at 20 mpg. I've gotten 22-23 on a couple of tanks under ideal conditions. I've gotten 15-16 mpg on a few tanks on the road when driving into a strong headwind.

Speed matters. On the road 70 mph is about as fast as I recommend. Any faster and fuel mileage really nosedives. I can do better if I keep it closer to 55-60, but it takes forever to get where I'm going. The tanks where I got 22-23 mpg were on rural mountain roads with no traffic, but where speeds over 55-60 weren't safe.

 

My best mileage is when I go from Wolcott, CO to Grand Junction on I-70. 130 miles and it's all downhill.

 

Figured I'd chime in.

Only had the thing for two whole weeks. First tank I averaged 17.8 at 278 miles as per the Taco super computer. Filled the tank again at 586mi today and the average was at 19. Did the quick math and I came up with 18.6.

I have a 25 mile drive to primary job one way. Most of that is highway.

Part time job is 10 miles one way never exceeding 50mph, or going less than 25mph. I did spend a few hours on some trail roads yesterday.

I drive like a dead person. I abuse the cruise control. Matter of fact I caught myself going down the highway at 59mph behind an old Lincoln in the right lane the other day. Damn that radar cruise...

It is a 2022 TRD Sport DCSB 6AT. Factory hard tonneau. TRD skid(no foogly chin strap), OEM roof Rails, and bed mat are all that I have added.

 

Thanks for your input

Im glad to see others with similar numbers though. Honestly the MPG I am currently getting is not terrible, and this is coming from a guy that drove a Honda civic before his Tacoma

I do consciously try and drive in a manner that would improve MPG, and Ill keep those highway speed numbers in mind the next I do a road trip

 

Thanks for the input

How you liking the new truck so far? Congrats on the purchase!