Very Happy With MPGs

Or your driving style is not conducive to good mileage. As I stated before, driving style is a big factor. And that doesn't mean driving like a little old lady. It just means anticipating what's down the road and adjusting for it before you have to. Some folks are either on the gas or on the brake. They have their foot in it until they are almost at a light for example then hit the brakes. Or they run up on a curve in the road at full speed then hit the brakes. They don't realize that the more they use the brakes the more fuel they consume. When you brake you're converting gas into heat at the brake rotors. So coasting into a curve on a winding road or coasting an 1/8th of a mile or more when there's a red light on an open road with a line of cars waiting at it instead of running up on them then braking hard can boost mileage quite a bit. Driving with your foot in either the gas or brakes only is wasteful. I also stated that the roads I drive on normally are open with little traffic. Plus I have an SR5 2WD which is obviously better mileage than a 4WD with monster truck tires. All the factors, driving style, trim, road conditions weather, are in my favor. THAT'S why I get the mileage I do. So guess what? There's more options other than you have a lemon or I'm lying. There's actual factors involved.

 

I did a lot of research on turbos before I bought since I was very skeptical like everyone else. I found many professionals recommending premium on any turbo vehicle. They all said the computer would boost turbo performance with premium. I had floored it a few times on regular then after the first tank of premium I happened to floor it and not thinking about the gas quality, I asked myself, why does this thing have more balls all of a sudden. It just felt like better acceleration. Then I read a study they posted on the new 4Runner Forum with the same engine as ours and they showed a 20 HP gain with premium. I'm convinced there is also a mpg gain too since my calculations with the first couple fill ups when I was still using regular were a couple mpg lower.
Now lets hear from the premium gas naysayers in 3...2...1...

 

These trucks are all tuned to run on lower octane no problem without damage or in particular knocking which higher octane stops. However higher octane in many vehicles will allow the vehicle to run a higher boost. No idea if Toyota tuning does that and quite frankly no one would know FACTS on this unless you were a Toyota engineer because they do not make that public knowledge. Therefore running higher octane certainly can increase HP and get up and go. Having said that it does not correlate exactly to better MPG’s whatsoever. Use and spend the money on higher octane. Not my money or truck. I have had ole Ty of sports cars and only ran high octane in those because they are tuned from the factory to only run higher octane. Turbo engine does not always equal “you have to run higher octane”

 

2011 V6 160K miles 6 speed open road pretty consistant 20-21 18 around town, towing 16 foot camper 12-14.

 

Looks like that one is rated 18 city, 23 highway. I'll stand by my previous comments - downhill with a tailwind will get you 26 mpg.

My experience is that you can match the EPA highway rating with good gas (not winter gas) on a flat road if you keep it around 60. Exceeding the rated mpg over a long distance, like for a tank of gas, especially by 10%, is extremely unlikely.

 

I recently got 26.1 going from Klamath Falls, over Willamette Pass, and to Salem. I used the cruise control for much of the drive. That's about the best mileage that I've gotten. Slower, two-lane highways usually get me much better mileage.

Keeping up with traffic at freeway speeds, it's typically around 19 mpg.

 

Sorry OP, I don't believe you.

 

Fine with me but it doesn't change the facts. And I just gassed up again today and hand calculated. 26.7 mpg. That makes four fill ups in a row with 26+ mpg. Since the vehicle is rated at 26 mpg Hwy I don't see why this would be such a difficult thing for you to accept. Are you still stuck on the Earth being flat too?

 

I get 22 around town and 25 highway in my 24 OR premium

 

Sounds right to me. I get a bit more because it's 2WD and the highway I mostly use is in the sweet spot of 60 mph. But, some folks with ancient engines and ancient six speed trans find it inconceivable that anything could be made to get better mpg than they get.

 

With that vehicle and under those conditions, I can see you getting that mileage.

How I managed to get over 26 with my 4wd kind of baffles me, but I was happy to save some money on gas.

 

My 2023 TRD sport always shows its best mpg numbers right after fill up when it’s resetting. After about 10 miles of driving it drops down to actual numbers around 24 mpg. This picture is right after I filled up.

 

That's what I've found posting on these forums. People assume you have 4wd. People assume you have a v6. People assume you jacked your truck into the stratosphere and put giant tires on it.

I have a 2006 stock 2wd 4-cyl and I regularly get 27-28 mpg (EPA rating is 27 mpg highway).

I'm glad Toyota found a way to get better gas mileage out of the new Tacomas. I've been postponing replacing my truck for several years because the gen3s get worse gas mileage. Of course, now I might be postponing again because of the tariffs.

 

We have a 2024 TRD Sport 6 Speed 4X4 and can’t get over 19.4 MPG o matter what we have tried.

 

There is a place up north that sells ethanol free gas. Then it's all down hill from there - literally you drop a few thousand feet over a few miles.

I've been tempted to gas up and coast down the hill just so I could post 999mpg.

 

Driving habits are crucial for better mpg. If I don't romp on it, on the freeway, I constantly get 23-24 mpg. Running premium sounds intriguing but I don't want to pay the extra $, here in tax siphoning Kaliforniak...

 

Exactly! I can get around 22-23 on my third gen. V6 TRD 4wd if I set the cruise control, don't use the ECT or S-mode, and don't go over the mountains.

 

I may be changing camps. I was/am very happy with city mpg getting 22-23. But on recent road trip from Tucson to Santa Fe (2,400' el to 7,000') I only got 18.5 driving at 78mph. I realize going at that speed mpg won't match epa, but the same trip in a 2014 4Runner would get me 20mpg - 10% less than epa. 18.5 is about 23% less than epa. Started trip with just over 500mi, so not broken in but not encouraging.

 

you’re going 78 miles an hour uphill. Your mileage shows that. I just finished a similar trip with a headwind. Not quite 78 mph, but close. I averaged just under 18. The return trip with no headwind and slightly downhill was over 23 miles per gallon.

 

i do lots of trips through the desert at high speed. Sea level to 4500’ constantly. That’s just what these trucks do at those speeds: