Real World MPG with 5th Gen?

[c350z]

I must drive like a race car driver or something, I have no idea how people are getting that kind of gas mileage.

On my current 2015 4runner TRD Pro I am getting 16.5mpg.

In my 2015 4runner SR5 4x4 I got 17mpg.

 

[RysiuM]

I must drive like a race car driver or something,

Yep, that will do. :naughty:

 

[tm965]

'16 limited getting 16.0 mpg over the last 2300 miles. Probably half highway half dc area traffic.

 

[-dustin]

Weird, gas mileage usually increases in the summer with warmer air... Although I doubt it would affect you that much, perhaps with summer months and warmer weather you are driving with your windows open more? Open windows increases drag, thus lowers fuel economy. Based on the vehicles shape, you can expect 8-20% hit on gas mileage with Windows down at highway speeds, with SUVs being on the lower end due to their already boxy shape (sedans have a more noticeable hit). Most people think running the AC is more work on your engine, but it's negligible compared to the drag you create by driving down the highway with your windows open.

#themoreyouknow


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well, the one variable not accounted for - my wife. she'd been driving the 4Runner a bit. apparently she has a lead foot. she hasn't driven it the past couple weeks, and i'm back up to 18.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

16.4332 mpg

 

[ToyoDriver]

I must drive like a race car driver or something, I have no idea how people are getting that kind of gas mileage.

On my current 2015 4runner TRD Pro I am getting 16.5mpg.

In my 2015 4runner SR5 4x4 I got 17mpg.

I baby it man. I'm in a 4,500lb 4x4 - I drive accordingly. I leave earlier to get places, and if I'm late, I'm late. I'm not trying to get out-braked by some Mercedes with 18" rotors and rear end anyone. I cruise at ~73 on the interstates. I try to keep the eco light on as much as possible when taking off at redlights. If I did more highway driving I'd be >20mpg easy.

 

[Brandonium]

15.92 with 550 miles on odo with 90% stop and go on secondary hilly roads and city driving. Purposely staying away from the freeway until I get all of my Xpel installed.

If you live in a hilly area I don't see how anyone could get any better MPG when city driving.

 

[Dalko43]

15.92 with 550 miles on odo with 90% stop and go on secondary hilly roads and city driving. Purposely staying away from the freeway until I get all of my Xpel installed.

If you live in a hilly area I don't see how anyone could get any better MPG when city driving.

This is typical for the 5th gen. If you baby it on the highway, 22-23mpg is possible. But regular driving in stop-and-go or hilly areas kills the mpg pretty quickly. Anywhere from 15-17mpg in the city sounds normal to me, depending on the weather and terrain obviously.

 

[Brandonium]

That's what I figured. My trip computer is telling me 15.2 but after doing the math it seems it was a tad higher. My first tank I averaged 14.8 according to the TC. It's really hard to feather the throttle in hilly areas. Tried to do that last week and ended up driving like I was 80 (20 under the speed limit and a 30 minute acceleration time). op2:

I just keep her in sport and if I an starting up a hill I just give her the required amount of pedal to get her up to speed in a normal amount of time.

This is typical for the 5th gen. If you baby it on the highway, 22-23mpg is possible. But regular driving in stop-and-go or hilly areas kills the mpg pretty quickly. Anywhere from 15-17mpg in the city sounds normal to me, depending on the weather and terrain obviously.

 

[Snowgun]

Just got a 2016 TEP, put 255/75/17 duratracs on it and a toytec ultimate lift the next day.

I drive 30 min to work every day, half city half highway. My first tank of gas got me 17.6mpg.

Interested to see what it will do on a highway trip.

 

[ToyoDriver]

Hmm. What is a "hill"? I have not heard of such things.

And they eat into your MPG, you say? :sing:

 

[Brandonium]

Like a fat kid in the candy store. Those hills LOVE munching on MPG's.

Hmm. What is a "hill"? I have not heard of such things.

And they eat into your MPG, you say? :sing:

 

[RysiuM]

This is typical for the 5th gen. If you baby it on the highway, 22-23mpg is possible. But regular driving in stop-and-go or hilly areas kills the mpg pretty quickly.

Here is the the part of my vacation trip:
1. I fueled up at Salida, CO and drove on I50 to Royal View Campground - about 50 miles non stop at 55mph through hills.

2. Took a short drive to Royal Gorge Bridge - about 5 miles hilly road 30mph

3. Drove to Pikes Peak and back - total about 180 miles mostly 65mph highway and 19 miles steep climb and back on scenic Pikes Peak Road

4. Next day I drove to South Dakota via I25 (30 minutes stuck 4 miles in "accident on highway" traffic and more than 90 minutes slowly going through Denver in "rush hour").

5.Next fuel stop was in Mead, CO just 30 miles north of Denver on I25 (still heavy traffic there)

So on that drive was total 390 miles and took 16.763 gal giving me 23.25mpg.


On the other part of my trip driving non stop constant speed at 85mph on I90 in Wyoming between Sundance, WY and Buffalo, WY (with short side trip to Devils Tower) resulted fuel economy at 18.3mpg

So two things are killing mpg in 4Runner: high speed (over 55mph) and "stop'n go". This SUV has very high wind resistance (big square box) so it takes a lot of energy to move it fast. It is also quite heavy so it also takes a lot to start it rolling.

Going through hills is not a problem as what you burn going up you will get back rolling down.

I hope this will explain where the gas is going.

 

[oljedi11950]

Yes considering we're driving a box & with (my4r) 285/70s & my driving habits 16.2 seems pretty good ! Would have bought a prius or corolla if I didn't want a 4x4 ! Good that gas prices are better these days

 

[Dalko43]

Going through hills is not a problem as what you burn going up you will get back rolling down.

I hope this will explain where the gas is going.

I don't think that's how it works in the real world.

1) In most downhill scenarios, the 4runner still requires some amount of fuel (due to wind resistance, gearing, tire friction) to maintain its speed. So the amount of fuel "saved" by going downhill doesn't necessarily make up for or cancel out the amount used to go uphill.

2) Realistically-speaking, the hills that you'll encounter aren't all symmetrical. Meaning that the theoretical energy expended to get up and over a hill may not necessarily match the energy gained from going down it on the other side. And even if the hill was symmetrical, its unrealistic to expect the 4runner to benefit from all that downhill energy due to the mechanical and aero inefficiencies discussed previously.

All that aside, I've religiously kept track of my mpg's. When I have prolonged drives over hilly terrain, my fuel economy suffers.

 

[Paulst2419]

I don't think that's how it works in the real world.

1) In most downhill scenarios, the 4runner still requires some amount of fuel (due to wind resistance, gearing, tire friction) to maintain its speed. So the amount of fuel "saved" by going downhill doesn't necessarily make up for or cancel out the amount used to go uphill.

2) Realistically-speaking, the hills that you'll encounter aren't all symmetrical. Meaning that the theoretical energy expended to get up and over a hill may not necessarily match the energy gained from going down it on the other side. And even if the hill was symmetrical, its unrealistic to expect the 4runner to benefit from all that downhill energy due to the mechanical and aero inefficiencies discussed previously.

All that aside, I've religiously kept track of my mpg's. When I have prolonged drives over hilly terrain, my fuel economy suffers.

My best gas mileage so far was driving in the mountains in Colorado for an entire week. I averaged over 24 mpg vs a whopping 17 mpg I get in 50/50 Houston traffic. Granted, I was using gravity with very little pedal for many miles at a time at "sightseeing" speeds. My long distance drive back to lower elevation dropped my mpg pretty drastically.

I'm completely disregarding physics and using observation only so won't make any claims on energy conservation. This engineer goes brain dead during lunch.

 

[RysiuM]

In most downhill scenarios, the 4runner still requires some amount of fuel (due to wind resistance, gearing, tire friction) to maintain its speed. So the amount of fuel "saved" by going downhill doesn't necessarily make up for or cancel out the amount used to go uphill.

This is not what I meant. Going uphill you will burn more fuel than driving the same speed level. Going downhill you will burn less fuel than going level. Going up and down at the same speed will result the similar fuel usage to just going level the same distance at the same speed. Not 100% exactly the same but the difference will not be significant.

Realistically-speaking, the hills that you'll encounter aren't all symmetrical. Meaning that the theoretical energy expended to get up and over a hill may not necessarily match the energy gained from going down it on the other side.

This is true, especially inn steep windy hills. 4Runned will downshift going up and then you will have to drive on S3 or S2 going down. This would be like driving the whole distance on S3 or S2 and of course this is not the best style for good mpg. I would not expect 24mpg going up and down Pikes Peak road where half of it is going up 25mph on 2-nd gear and going down the same speed on 1-st.

Saying that any driving fast or "hard" is not good for mpg regardless if it is hill or flat. I did not see any significant difference in mpg going on I5 from Oregon to Redding CA (small mountain passes) and driving on flat part on I5 between Redding and Sacramento.

Also contrary to what manual says, CC does not drive for the best fuel economy. CC is designed to keep the same speed so for example on hilly roads it does many unnecessary shifting while keeping "pedal to the metal". Sensitive foot and good judgment does much better job with saving fuel than on-board computer. On one of long "jumps" I made 500miles on one tank (almost 24mpg), and that saved more time than driving with lead foot.

 

[1engineer]

Going through hills is not a problem as what you burn going up you will get back rolling down.

No. Really no. There's this law called Conservation of Energy...
and then there's this fact that adding the component of acceleration due to gravity to your vehicle's closed loop system will not have the same energy value of gasoline....
and then *losses! lots of losses!* due to the inefficiency of the drivetrain...
and then there's rolling resistance...
aerodynamic drag...
parasitic losses of other functioning components...

Really it's not even close to being equal. Don't perpetuate that myth please.

 

[philien]

Mpg

2016 Trail ,6800 km. 10.8l per 100 or in English 21.8 mpg about 90% Hwy.

 

[RysiuM]

aerodynamic drag...

Actually aerodynamic drag is smaller in higher elevation due to air being less dense :flame:

All these differences are peanuts and for sure will not cause a drop in mpg from 21 to 17. On the other hand lead foot, stop-and-go or high speed "sport" driving will make it happen before you can say "rumpelstiltskin" :blabla: