Honest REAL world mpg question.

This is where my stock truck is right now. I did have to use 4 wheel drive several mornings on this tank of gas and basically drive, windy back roads with a gradation. The few times I have taken out on the highway for a run of any distance, say 20 miles or more, I have seen 20 and 21 mpg.

 

My stock 2wd Limited has averaged 23 mpg for the last 3 years. Highway tires, slow acceleration and going the speed limit go a long way.

Mods, hard acceleration, towing, and speeding will torpedo fuel economy in these. It is a truck.

 

Its about reliability and longevity. I plan on my Tacoma lasting 20-30 years.

 

-2” lift with 32” tires.
-Body armor front bumper(no winch)
-Roof rack with boxes and recovery boards
-pedal commander in city mode
-Average 16-17 in mix of hwy and city

 

I have experienced a wide range of m.p.g. (17-24) with the 3.5l depending on towing or not and how hard you press the skinny pedal.

 

So far with a 2021 SR5 short bed and Blizzak 245s I'm averaging 17.5 in the northeast in hilly rural conditions. Very little miles on the truck, and I drive like a grandma. Hopefully itll improve when it's broken in-- however I am getting way more Smiles Per Gallon so far!

 

This makes me appreciate Florida. OP issue is not with tacoma mpg.

 

All this debate about MPG. I drive a Crosstrek daily and it gets about 21-22 MPG and most of my commute is HWY.

If you are going to pull that heavy of a trailer I would look into re-gearing. I have an 80 series Land Cruiser and run 35s on it. When I was stock tires I did not have to get into the gas nearly as much, I have driven my buddy's LC with the same size tires and 4.88 and it is like driving stock again.

My point is if you have higher gears installed you might not have to get on the gas as much to accelerate or get up to highway speeds and in the long run could help out with fuel economy.

 

Same number here. 15.6
Hard to say where the city ends and the Hwy begins around here.
Stock truck, running OEM size Nittos.

 

Here are pics of the ECO screen in my truck, which is a 2019 TRD Sport, both on the highway and around town. I am totally stoked at how great my gas mileage is considering I drive a big heavy truck [compared to my old 1996 tacoma 4-cylnder!] with a 6-cyl engine!
The top pic is around town, and the bottom pic is on the highway. Check out the pics:

 

1. Sells Raptor...not happy with MPG
2. Buys Tacoma then not happy with constant transmission shifting and poor MPG
3. Regears Tacoma and buys vftune...still not happy
4. Buys new Raptor...complains about Tacoma being a DOG

Keep Raptor...drive on weekends....buy small car for commute!

 

I'll play devils advocate here. I was averaging 20 on stock tune and 265/70-17s, now I'm getting a solid 17 after getting tuned. I'm guessing that on this "mild&wild" file my foot can't get away from the wild half of the pedal. Not that I'm complaining much.

 

Some of us cranky old farts do. I don't expect hybrid MPGs, but I do expect better than my '06 TRD OR which pretty much topped out at 18-19 MPG on longish interstate drives.

 

I notice a huge drop in MPG going from 265/70 stock wranglers (37lbs) to 265/75 C Toyo AT2's (44 lbs). Not a big difference in diameter but there is a significant difference for unsprung, rotating weight. I have not found any lighter 265/75's, even in SL. I believe these cost me about 3mpg. Going to 52lb+ pizza cutters will hurt pretty bad. Truck is otherwise very mild. I can get 20 on the highway if I stay below 65, no hills and no weight. It used to do 24+ in the same situation.

Tacoma's are not known for their mpg or towing ability. I'd keep the raptor and but a beater for a couple thousand. You will save a ton of money from not buying new and taking on a car payment and have the best tool for both jobs.

 

My dc 4x4 has a 2" lift with 265/70 17 ridge grapplers and I'm getting 18-20 city and about 20 hwy if I keep it at 65. Anything over 65 and it drops to 16-18 depending on wind and terrain

 

I have a couple trucks, I really like my 3.5 V6, 400hp, 17-20mpg, 2.5in suspension lift with bags on 34” tires, tows up to 12,000lbs, only 4 recalls in 6 years. F150screw Lariat 4WD ecoboost. Not sure I would get a Yota 3.5 motor, but I do like the Toyota’s 4.0 motors like in the 2008 Tacoma(14-17mpg) that I also drive.

 

I only got the 2.0 On premium gas tune which was enough for my needs. Gear hunting on incline was the reason mine got tuned. The mpg gain was just the icing on the cake. I’m ave. 19-20 on size 32 duratrac tires slightly aggressive mixed driving local and freeway . 20-23 freeway driving.

 

I know where the OP is coming from, just a pinch I suppose... My old lifted XJ that was all kinds of crazy modified got 13.5 pretty much no matter what. It had a 21 gallon tank and frankly the fuel range bothered me more than the actual MPG. I will acknowledge I didn’t buy a Tacoma for “fuel savings” per se BUT going from sub 14 to 19-21 average was pretty sweet. I drive 70 miles a day so +5 MPG is a good yearly savings for me, even going from 87 to 91 octane on my fill ups I still spend less.

As far as REAL WORLD expectations go I drive my truck in ECT Power (which actually helps my MPG). My commute is 35 miles each way from the California coast over a 1,808 foot mountain that’s a steep climb then down into the Silicon Valley. I don’t have a heavy foot accelerating from every stop light but I do floor it once in a while when I merge and I do go fast on the freeway. If I really baby the truck and if traffic is right then I could hit a 20-21 average tank MPG. I have noticed on sustained freeway driving like going to Southern California my MPG actually goes down to like 17 or 18, but that’s burning a full tank going 70-80 MPH the entire way. Frankly unless you’re constantly going below 65-70 I’m not sure how you’re supposed to get close to 22 MPG. It’s a great truck but the Raptor is nice too. Frankly if a new Raptor was in the budget I’d rather have gotten that, mainly because I’m a Ford guy and the rear seats have so much more room for kids. But the Taco is great, it’s not to big and it scratches my off roading itch. Plus if you ever want to add upgrades they’ll always be available. Tacos just completely own the market if you’re into modifying things. I plan on keeping this thing for a long time because it does a little bit of everything just fine.

 

Just curious since you said you use the ECT PWR. Do you find with it off that the auto trans tries to be too efficient and upshifts too quickly to be efficient? Mine seems to want to shift at 1500 RPMs and then feels like it's working harder and less efficiently than if I just revved it out another 1000rpm.

I just wish that the ECT PWR was a little more conservative when cruising because at certain speeds it seems to stay a little higher than id like.

ECT PWR does feel pretty good if you're gentle ok the gas though. I've been wondering if using it would result in better MPG for myself as well.

 

Pretty much the same from 19 towing to 23 and change just driving normally with a mix off city/highway.