Highway MPG report

[Jayhawk5G]

SO this past weekend my wife and I loaded a couple 24 ft Budget Moving trucks, and her father and I drove those for the big move to Chicago (West Suburbs) and my wife drove the 4Runner with the rear seats folded down and all our fragile stuff loaded in...

I know that highway MPG was rated less for 2013, but am happy to report that with the MPG average reset, my wife averaged 23.5 mpg over approx. 533 miles during the trip. She reported being at 24 for about half the trip, but advised that as the terrain added more and more hills the MPG dropped slightly.

This seems to be in keeping with Toyota from my experience. The newer models I have driven seem to be a bit conservative on MPG ratings. Thought I would share, and though terrain plays a huge factor it is possible to get pretty damn good mileage from these trucks.

 

[philsey]

Timely. I was going to report on our drive last Friday.

Length of test #1 = ~ 45 miles.
Conditions = flat 2 lane, cruise set at 55, OBC reset prior.
MPG per OBC = 27.2

Length of test #2 = ~ 35 miles.
Conditions = fairly flat Interstate, cruise set at 70, OBC reset prior.
MPG per OBC = 23.7

Not a 300 mile sampling, but indicative of pretty fair mileage nonetheless (for a brick).

 

[JohnJerk]

SO this past weekend my wife and I loaded a couple 24 ft Budget Moving trucks, and her father and I drove those for the big move to Chicago (West Suburbs) and my wife drove the 4Runner with the rear seats folded down and all our fragile stuff loaded in...

I know that highway MPG was rated less for 2013, but am happy to report that with the MPG average reset, my wife averaged 23.5 mpg over approx. 533 miles during the trip. She reported being at 24 for about half the trip, but advised that as the terrain added more and more hills the MPG dropped slightly.

This seems to be in keeping with Toyota from my experience. The newer models I have driven seem to be a bit conservative on MPG ratings. Thought I would share, and though terrain plays a huge factor it is possible to get pretty damn good mileage from these trucks.

Did she lead or follow the convoy?

 

[adam2562]

I wish the 4runner was under rated like my mothers GS350 on MPG's .. it's 18/25mpg as tested by edmunds and the window sticker.. but going 65-70 today i saw an actual 31-32mpg for a 38-40mile stretch. almost makes me want one as a 2nd vehicle lol.. AND it's AWD! around the city she gets 19.7-20.2mpg city

my mother said she saw 29.xmpg when she did a 500 mile trip to the smokey mountains down the up and down hills of 81 south. when i rented a limited 4runner and took it down there on the same trip loaded up with people and luggage i saw 16mpg!

 

[JayceeP]

[MENTION=85704]Jayhawk5G[/MENTION] how fast were you driving? The posts above are lower speeds. Even at 120-128kph/75-80mph you can easily get over 20mpg(under 11.7L/100km). If just counting flat calm conditions at those same speeds,, 11L/100km or 21.3MPG+ for sure.

Great highway vehicle!

 

[rock2me]

I dont get anywhere near the MPG others get

Stock 2010 4Runner SR5 - I am averaging 16.9 MPG from day one. If I fill up and measure my around-town driving, I get 17.0-17.5. On the freeway with no load 17.5-18.0. I have never seen 19+.

Towing ~2500-3000, I get 14-15MPG.

This vehicle has been a rock of reliability but gas mileage SUCKS! I am an older guy who drives like a grandpa (according to my wife). I would never have traded in my Chevy 2500HD crew, if I thought that I would only see statistically insignificant MPG differences.

 

[JayceeP]

Stock 2010 4Runner SR5 - I am averaging 16.9 MPG from day one. If I fill up and measure my around-town driving, I get 17.0-17.5. On the freeway with no load 17.5-18.0. I have never seen 19+.

Towing ~2500-3000, I get 14-15MPG.

This vehicle has been a rock of reliability but gas mileage SUCKS! I am an older guy who drives like a grandpa (according to my wife). I would never have traded in my Chevy 2500HD crew, if I thought that I would only see statistically insignificant MPG differences.

Something doesn't add up if you "drive like a grandpa" and you have never achieved more than 17-18mpg in calm reasonably flat conditions on the highway.

 

[WXman]

On most 4runners, the display is way optimistic. I wonder if 5 th gen is the same way? I bet if you guys did some hand calc you wouldn't come up with anything close to 23.

 

[BobsTrail]

Mpg

We did a 2,900 mile trip from Southern Cal to Oregon and back last month. I did manual calculations and compared to the built in calculator.
A few fill ups the mpg was the same. Most calcs showed the manual to be 0.3 to 0.5 higher than the on board system. I reset it for each fill up. I saw a high of 24.3, a few 23s and a lot of 22s with manual calcs. We drove easy -- a lot of 65 and some 70.
With a mix of more city, I saw 18 to 20. Sand dunes brought me down to 14 probably would have lower if I stayed longer.

 

[M1911]

On most 4runners, the display is way optimistic. I wonder if 5 th gen is the same way? I bet if you guys did some hand calc you wouldn't come up with anything close to 23.

The display on my '03 is about 2 mpg optimistic.

 

[philsey]

Stock 2010 4Runner SR5 - I am averaging 16.9 MPG from day one. If I fill up and measure my around-town driving, I get 17.0-17.5. On the freeway with no load 17.5-18.0. I have never seen 19+.

Do you reset the mpg display after a fill-up, or before you hit the highway?
It is my belief that this is a running average, and if you don't reset it before going on the highway, you don't really know the highway mileage.

.... I wonder if 5 th gen is the same way? I bet if you guys did some hand calc you wouldn't come up with anything close to 23.

I think you'd lose that bet. I have read in this (5G) forum several times that the OBC is quite accurate, authenticated by hand calculation.

 

[derekp]

We made a trip from east ND to northern MI. (We had to travel south to northern Michigan...think about that for a sec.) My fuelly account shows our MPGs. I'm running a fully stock 2013 SR5. I had a cargo carrier on the hitch and my family inside. I'd like to see that type of mileage more often but I doubt that will be the norm.

2013 Toyota 4Runner SR5 (Toyota 4Runner) | Fuelly

 

[WXman]

So how, exactly, did Toyota take the exact same engine that is in the 4th gen, put it in a bigger, boxier, heavier SUV, and get mid 20s MPGs on the highway when the 4th gens are no where close?

Something seems fishy here... The physics isn't aligning.

 

[eddiebx]

Man what speed are you people driving at to get close to 23-24 MPG?? I have barely seen 17-18 MPG on long highway only road trips, and that is when I am at my best behavior with the gas pedal

 

[JayceeP]

So how, exactly, did Toyota take the exact same engine that is in the 4th gen, put it in a bigger, boxier, heavier SUV, and get mid 20s MPGs on the highway when the 4th gens are no where close?

Something seems fishy here... The physics isn't aligning.

One reason is this: "The 4.0-liter V6 adds Dual VVT-i which improves horsepower, torque and fuel economy, and comes standard in all models." Taken from the 5th Gen section of the 4Runner wiki page.

 

[1000MPH]

It's accurate and calculates from the time you reset it until the time you look at it. The range is another story.

Glad to see others are getting decent numbers.

Here are my top 5 best and worst fill-ups:

Date	      Miles	Gal.	MPG	Price
10/28/2012	187	7.1	26.3	3.859
7/25/2013	195	7.82	24.9	3.839
5/8/2011	308	12.4	24.8	4.169
8/10/2013	289	11.77	24.6	3.699
3/29/2013	412	16.83	24.5	4.099
				
				
5/14/2011	65	4.09	15.9	4.119
12/22/2012	213	12.24	17.4	3.209
2/5/2011	258	14.45	17.9	
2/25/2011	304	16.9	18	
2/8/2013	327	17.89	18.3	3.559

Oh, and I've gone over 450 miles on a single tank 5 times. The best was 475 and that includes about 20 miles of 4L dirt.
Glad I didn't end up getting the FJ.

 

[WXman]

One reason is this: "The 4.0-liter V6 adds Dual VVT-i which improves horsepower, torque and fuel economy, and comes standard in all models." Taken from the 5th Gen section of the 4Runner wiki page.

Well, the numbers being quoted here are a 26% increase from the numbers the 4th gen guys are getting. So if the simple addition of dual VVt-i can do that, in a bigger, wider, taller, heavier vehicle then Toyota has found something special and they need to make that top secret. :bolt:

I'm still skeptical. Especially when the window sticker only shows 21 highway for the 5th gen 4x4...and everybody knows the window stickers are optomistic.

 

[1engineer]

Well, the numbers being quoted here are a 26% increase from the numbers the 4th gen guys are getting. So if the simple addition of dual VVt-i can do that, in a bigger, wider, taller, heavier vehicle then Toyota has found something special and they need to make that top secret. :bolt:

I'm still skeptical. Especially when the window sticker only shows 21 highway for the 5th gen 4x4...and everybody knows the window stickers are optomistic.

These numbers that guys are quoting are their "best" numbers. They even quantify that by saying "55 mph on level ground" and such. If you would read about a million other threads here you would find that the 4Runner does get advertised mpg numbers and often beats them by a few percentage points. 25+ mpg is an anomaly though. I average around 20 mpg overall after driving 80K miles in two 5th gen 4Runners. Hand calculated on a spreadsheet.

 

[Canazes9]

Well, the numbers being quoted here are a 26% increase from the numbers the 4th gen guys are getting. So if the simple addition of dual VVt-i can do that, in a bigger, wider, taller, heavier vehicle then Toyota has found something special and they need to make that top secret. :bolt:

I'm still skeptical. Especially when the window sticker only shows 21 highway for the 5th gen 4x4...and everybody knows the window stickers are optomistic.

My '12 Tacoma with single VVt-i was rated at 1 mpg better (both city and highway) than my '07 single VVt-i Tacoma. I don't know what Toyota did to increase the gas mileage. In actual driving the '12 Tacoma with the same tires as the '07 and a nearly identical lift gets about 2 mpg better than the '07. After I got the '12, installed lift, tires, sliders and checked the mileage I was surprised, but I kind of discounted it (must have done math wrong on one of the trucks, couldn't be that much different...)

My son and I took some of his buddies and both trucks on a trip to Arkansas for spring break this year. We were convoying up there, both carrying nearly identical loads. Consistently his fuel light would come on when I still had a sliver MORE than a 1/4 tank left on the gauge. I was paying for gas on both trucks and the fill ups were reflecting the difference in fuel useage - driving ~75mph I was getting ~19mpg he was getting 17mpg (which is what the '07 got for me when I drove it).

I have not had the chance to drive my wife's 4Runner on an extended trip like that yet, but with the new Mickey Thompson MT's on there, inflated to 40psi it's showing ~21 mpg at 75mph on flat ground cruise - I believe it.... We'll be driving the new 4Runner and my '12 Tacoma to Big Bend later this year and I can compare the mileage on a long trip then.

David

 

[Canazes9]

A picture of the trucks from that trip. When I tell you they were set-up nearly identically, well see for yourself....



David