What’s normal fuel economy on a newer 5th gen?

$2.599 for regular 87 at Costco in Memphis TN today.
Private stations are about fifty cents more when they are not near a Costco.

 

Regular is still under $3 for me but I will probably be driving 35,000 to 45,000 miles a year in the future so I have to plan ahead. If gas goes to $5 I’d be screwed if I buy something that get bad fuel economy.

 

I think I paid $2.87 at my local Inges (North East TN / north west NC Grocery store). I don’t have Costco yet (Johnson City, TN) but probably will sooner rather than later.

 

My issue is I probably will have to start driving around 35,000 - 45,000 miles a year in the future and getting bad fuel economy will hurt especially if gas gets expensive again.

 

If you were around in the 70's you should have a good feel for how this will go. If you were not? Wisdom says not to buy, unless, you can easily afford to feed it.

 

That’s a lot of miles. If you’re driving for Uber, a 4Runner wouldn’t be the best choice.

 

I have to agree with @Moon Landing and @ElectroBoy . You're going to be spending a lot on fuel if you drive a 4Runner that much. Gas is already getting expensive again, and I doubt it's about to drop back down anytime soon.

 

I guess we can trade in our 4Runners for a Prius.

Just under $4 in Idaho. I barely drive 200 miles a month so not a big deal, but if I was commuting then certainly, I would be unhappy.

 

Are people implying that newer models get better fuel economy, or that older vehicles get crap fuel economy from expected wear and tear?

Mine has always been somewhere between 14 and 16 with a lift and 285s.

 

To hell with that!

I drive about 2,000 miles a month and mine isn't going anywhere.

I don't think so.. Nothing has changed since '09 so there's no reason to think fuel economy would be different.

Edit: I re-read your post. I wouldn't expect fuel economy to suffer from old age until you're really up there, maybe 300-400K miles or more. Even then, it could probably be solved with some maintenance.

Mine's been averaging 15-ish with 295's, but I can get close to 20 if I try.

 

Not Uber

Yeah a 4Runner wouldn’t be great for Uber, but luckily that’s not what I’m doing. I have some personal reasons why I have to drive that much which sucks, but not the end of the world.

 

Well, the 4Runner might cost you a lot at the pump, but it will get you there. A colleague of mine had a Tundra, and said the extra cost of fuel is worth it for the low cost of maintenance/repairs. 4Runners are considered one of the most dependable vehicles on the road.

 

I just paid 287 to fill up yesterday in Rhode Island. I've only had to pay above 3 a handful of times so far this year. I'm old enough to remember when Bush was president and gas was well over $4 a gallon, and $4 a gallon in 2007 took a MUCH bigger hit out of my budget and than what it would now.

OP, if you're driving 45 -50k a year, that's also a ton of miles to put on a new vehicle. You buy a new 4R now, in four years you'll have 200k on it.

I would say if you want the 4Runner, buy the 4Runner, but also pick up a used Honda Fit or Corolla or similar to use your commuter. Yeah you'll have the expense of a second car, but you'll save a lot of money in fuel, and also depreciation, on the 4Runner.

Edit: just to be clear, I'm not even trying to be political mentioning Bush, that's just when I remember gas prices as being the highest, in that time period.

 

I saw some posts here commenting about fuel mileage on older cars.

My previous 95' Honda Civic would easily get 40+ mpg on the highway. So when I hear about mpg estimates on newer hybrid vehicles, I'm not impressed.

IMHO, the problem with newer cars is that they are far heavier than older compacts.

 

This is a huge factor! Your '95 Civic got 40 mpg because they weighed 500+ lbs less than the current version. Unfortunately new (better) safety equipment adds weight.

I got 30-40 mpg beating the shit out of my brother's '87 Corolla FX16, but it weighed almost 800# less than the current Corolla.

So, for a car that weighs ~1000 lbs more (Prius) to get 50+ mpg is impressive to me.

 

I’ve been daily driving 4Runners since 1987. The cost of fuel is built into my budget. If gas prices rise too high I eat one less restaurant meal between fillups.

 

True, weight is a big contributing factor. That's why I have zero interest in adding hundreds of pounds of unnecessary aftermarket equipment to my 4Runner so I can say I have an "overland" vehicle.

 

Same. That's why I've only added functional weight.. Armor, recovery gear, tools, beer, etc.

 

*laughs in Californian*

 

I still can’t figure how anyone is getting 18,19, and 20+ mpg. I’ve never put a pencil to it, but the gage has never averaged anything higher than 16.5. Even on long trips and highway miles, 16.5! I’m actually curious if the digital gage is stuck there? Then I think, it’s still worth the frequent pit stops to own the 4R, and if I were going for great gas mileage, I’d own a Camry or Prius.

 

Cruising at 55-60 MPH you can get 20+ MPG. stop and go and higher speeds will drop it quickly.

 

This has been my experience too.

I am wondering if drivers at lower altitudes, e.g. Midwest or east use more fuel than drivers located in higher mountain states. Since the fuel controls have to adjust the mixture for optimal combustion.

 

The gauge might be stuck there if you are reading the “long” historical avg mpg. Have you tried reading the mpg since engine start? Put that screen up before a highway trip. As long as you arent going too fast you’ll probably see a higher average.

Putting pencil to paper is most accurate over a given distance, and usually a bit better than my fuel tank average on the computer.

 

Yeah, reset that gauge. You could be getting 20 MPG on a highway trip and never know it. Right now it’s showing the average since the last reset, or maybe since you first started driving it.

 

Not sure why others get so poor mileage, I get 24-25 frequently... Lol. This was on a long road with almost no traffic, very few stop signs and speed limit 30 (see AVG speed). Going 70-80 I get anywhere from 16 to 19, depending on the road. Here in South where I currently live there are not many hills and I am also just couple hundred feet above sea level I am getting 17-19, depending on traffic. It happened to see less than 10 MPG when driving couple miles. I think the MPGs depend largely on the driving habits and roads driven (lots of uphills/downlills, traffic). In my opinion, best way to check mileage is to drive on a relatively flat country road when there is no traffic, few stop lights, light acceleration, for at least 30 minutes, with speeds in between 50-60. That should lead towards a 20+ MPG.

 

This brings up a good general point. Have you all heard the joke “there are lies, damn lies, and statistics?” MPG is a statistic. Statistics tell a story. Anybody reporting a stat, is a story teller. It doesnt mean all stats are lies, but it is as easy to deceive with stats as it is with words. Stats are not pure “data”, because decisions have to be made as to how/what/when to measure things. And stats cant/shouldn’t really be interpreted until you know how/what/when the data was collected.

Before reporting a stat, you need to set the stage, so to speak (as @thermorex did above). Are we reporting MPG over the course of a tankful? A weeks worth of commutes and errands? Pure highway mileage?
A days worth of uber runs and idling?

Depending on the parameters set for measuring MPG, you can get wildly different numbers, that may or may not have usefulness depending on what it is you want to describe.

I tend to think of MPG as generally the most useful to measure over the course of a tankful. Plenty of time to get a good varied sample, but not so long that Im including data from a year ago, which wouldn't tell me much about MPG now.

If I want to feel better about things, I’ll measure MPG “after start” and get on the express way, down hill, with a tailwind . If you like the 4runner, I recommend the same methodology

 

I have gotten better than 18 MPG for the 7K or so I have driven thus far -- but it is also either heavy traffic in town or mountainous upstate. I'd expect in the high teens generally. Haven't installed my Sprint Booster yet, but wondering if that will encourage me to spend more gas!

 

Recently took a three day trip with four adults on board plus our luggage. Total distance was 401 miles. I did that on one tank. At fill-up it took 20.1 gallons. So there was about 3 gallons left.

At fill-up the computer reported 20 MPG exactly -- so almost dead on.

Also, a few miles before fill-up it went from counting down the estimated miles remaining to displaying "Refuel." In other words, I drove it a few miles past the point where it said 0 miles remaining, and it still needed only 20 gallons to fill.

 

Yeah, the light comes on around 5 gallons left, and 0 miles remaining usually around 3 gallons remaining. Knowing this can get you in trouble.