Real world MPG of 2.7L 4x4 5spd Tacomas?

wildmed

New member
With financing rates so abnormally low at the moment, Im thinking about upgrading my 01' SCd extended cab w/255/85s& 2.5 in coil overs that gets ~16mpg hwy for a simple 2013 4cyl access cab. One of my main motivations is to increase fuel economy and not have to buy premium gas. Basically I'm tired of my wallet screaming in rebellion every time I want to go on a climbing trip & every time my pager goes off for a rescue. Ive looked around the forum a bit but have not really seen a true consensus, so, what kind of MPG are people seeing on the hwy with there 4cyl 4x4s ?
 

Clutch

<---Pass
Fuelly

You can get 5-6 more mpg out of your existing vehicle, if you short shift it (shift at 2000 rpm) and coast on the downhills. Running
a taller tire or changing gear ratios will bring your rpm's down for hwy travel.

If you're looking to save money, buying a new vehicle usually isn't the way to go about it.
With a new vehicle brings, the initial buy in cost, higher insurance, higher registration, what money you
might be saving in fuel costs, is spent elsewhere...could even cost you more money than what you already have.
 
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wildmed

New member
Thanks kermit,
There are many factors other than mpg improvement that are making me look into a new truck, but it lessens the blow a bit when you drive 1500miles/month!
 

Clutch

<---Pass
Thanks kermit,
There are many factors other than mpg improvement that are making me look into a new truck, but it lessens the blow a bit when you drive 1500miles/month!

You're welcome. New trucks are nice....won't be saving any money though. ;) :)

My bud has a 2nd gen. 4 cylinder AC Tacoma, he can get 22-23 hwy out of it. I can get 20-21 hwy out of my '99 V6. Have to drive them pretty conservatively though.
 
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Owyhee H

Adventurer
2011 4cyl

I have a 2011 4cyl AC 5-speed. I have stock size tires but are LR-E, a ~1.5" OME Lift, a mid rise ARE shell, normally have a couple hundred pounds of junk in the back. I normally am around 20mpg in day to day driving. I have gotten as much as 25 but that was one trip going 60mph in the summer. Without roof bars on in the summer I will get 21-22 highway (60-70mph) and 20 city. If it gets cold these numbers drop. If I go over 70 I get 20mpg and over 75, 19mpg. 75-80 into a headwind is a bear and then it really drops to ~17. :(

I find the truck very drivable and am happy with the power, but I am not in a hurry most of the time.

I tried going to 32" (235/85) tires and it hurt my mileage about 2mpg, which wasnt acceptable for me so I went back to stock. I found that these trucks are geared pretty high and although plenty of people put up with it I didnt want to hurt my mileage/ power. I often tow a raft trailer, which it has no problem with, but also hurts the mileage depending on load and if the boats(s) are inflated or rolled.

If I were to go up in tire size I would definetly regear. With 4.56's and 33's you are geared lower than stock so that would be my plan.

That is my real world experience and I am constantly watching my MPG's. I have seen people report mid 20's with a stock unloaded truck like mine but that configuation wouldnt do what I want and I dont see those #'s. I hope this is what you were looking for, good luck.
 

p nut

butter
Speaking strictly MPG's (without considering other costs of buying a new vehicle), you're not going to save much by going with a 2.7L. Maybe 3-4MPG, at best. Then you start getting bigger tires, lift, etc., the gap narrows even more.

If you're truly worried about MPG's, you may want to look at a different platform, because no 4x4 Toyota currently gives you anything close to what I would call "Good MPG." Not sure what your climbing trips and rescues consist of, but if they're anything like getting to climbing spots around here and what I've seen SAR people do, even something like a Forester would do just fine.
 

wildmed

New member
Owyhee that was exactly what im looking for! even with the mid high cab & raft trailer! thank you!
P nut- I travel around the country to climb/run/sup/ski, and use my vehicle as a mobile base camp. My ex drove a 2013 forester and it just doesn't cut it size wise. Basically I need 4x4, decent clearance, decent mpg, great durability and lots of room to sleeping/camping/gear. I recently realized I don't need a hard core off road vehicle like the one I have now. If they made a freaking awd TD sprinter we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now. The best compromise I can find at a reasonable price is a 4cyl taco with a mid high topper.
 

Revco

Adventurer
My bone stock '01 Reg Cab 4x4 3RZ 4cyl W59 5spd with 4.30s and 265/75/16 BFG ATs gets 21 city and 26 highway mpg. On the way home from work today I confirmed the city mpg because I wanted to be sure that the 21.6 mpg I came up with last time was correct. I got 21.2mpg today. I will confirm the highway mpg again this weekend when I make a highway run to the hill country.
 

montypower

Adventure Time!
Get the 4.0L V6. You'll regret the 2.7L after adding lift, tires, weight... And your MPG will be the same or less than the 4.0L when modified. My truck is heavy (see the build thread); it just set this record distance on 21 gallons this weekend (see pic below). And you need to add 3% to the distance due to the larger tires; so 440 miles! This wasn't flat driving either! Drove the mountain passes of southern Oregon and Northern Cali in 90 degree heat with AC. Driving style makes all the difference in MPG. But you're stuck with the motor you choose so learn to drive the more powerful engine and you'll have the best of both worlds. BTW... Only used 3 tanks of gas traveling from Portland to San Francisco (nearly 1,300 miles). All 3 tanks were over 400 miles. It seems very happy cruising under 2k RPM. Pulled most of the passes @ 2,200 RPM. Regular 87 octane.

2013-05-10 19.35.24.jpg

Hauled this on the return trip to Portland.
2013-05-11 10.41.34.jpg
 

Clutch

<---Pass
Get the 4.0L V6. You'll regret the 2.7L after adding lift, tires, weight... And your MPG will be the same or less than the 4.0L when modified. My truck is heavy (see the build thread); it just set this record distance on 21 gallons this weekend (see pic below). And you need to add 3% to the distance due to the larger tires; so 440 miles! This wasn't flat driving either! Drove the mountain passes of southern Oregon and Northern Cali in 90 degree heat with AC. Driving style makes all the difference in MPG. But you're stuck with the motor you choose so learn to drive the more powerful engine and you'll have the best of both worlds. BTW... Only used 3 tanks of gas traveling from Portland to San Francisco (nearly 1,300 miles). All 3 tanks were over 400 miles. It seems very happy cruising under 2k RPM. Pulled most of the passes @ 2,200 RPM. Regular 87 octane.

View attachment 161167

Hauled this on the return trip to Portland.
View attachment 161171

Yep...if you drive it like an old man, you can get decent mileage out of it. The power is still there if/when you need it.

Betcha you could push it to 30 mpg, if you quasi-hypermile it.
 

cdthiker

Meandering Idaho
I have a 2012
4 cyl 2.7 five speed regular cab
I run a decent set of agressive AT's in stock size with an ARE mid height topper that has bars...
With bars on i get 20, with out, about 22 and that is sitting at about 70 MPH some times higher some times lower
i get 19 MPG just putzing around combined town and country highway stuff

sure, your not going to win any races, but i bought my taco for the same reason you are looking for one
I travel ....A LOT to teach wilderness med courses and pick up contract work. I wanted something I could live in for two weeks at a time, that could haul all of my crap while i live in it and get me where i wanted to go 100 percent of the time


This truck fits it to the T
you dont need the v 6 unless you really plan on hauling a lot of stuff all of the time. I took a 2500 lb trailer from Salt lake to sandpoint idaho, no problems got 15 mpg

I am currently at home and have been hauling around all sorts of stuff putting in my garden for the year...
that little 2.7 handled 1000 pounds of dirt like it was nothing
am I winning races? no but i am getting decent MPG with doing truck stuff

good luck
 
2005 tacoma 2.7 access cab, 5 speed, 1.5" lift, 285/70r17

Just filled up last night and got 20.11 mpg, mostly town driving but about 30 miles of highway. I do alot of coasting though. My route to and from work i have worked out where i can start coasting from 60mph and get as far as i can possibly go by coasting down to 30mph for towns then cruise at that. absolute worst i've ever had was 17mpg while towing a car across the country. If you drive it right, you can get pretty awesome mileage.
 

TacomaJack09

Observer
I have a 2006 AC 5 speed 4x4 completely stock with AT's and a cab height camper shell. I'm averaging 22.9 with 80% city/TRAFFIC driving and 20% highway. I can easily get 430 miles out of a full tank of gas, driving however I want. My highway speed is usually between 55 - 77mph depending on the flow of traffic but I'm mostly cruising 65mph. Once I get pizza cutter tires I assume my mpg's will go up to 24mpg. Currently I have all my camping, fishing, and climbing gear in the back under a sleeping platform I built. I'd say I have about 600lbs of gear in there daily.

In all honesty I may buy a 1st gen 4runner, get it running properly and sell the Tacoma to get out of the payments.

Hope this helps!
 

surlydiesel

Adventurer
I'm going to repeat what others have said. If you want a new, more reliable, fresh truck, then buy a new truck and enjoy it and maybe get the smaller motor for a slight fuel savings. If you are buying this truck because it is only more fuel efficient, makes no sense. Especially if your truck is paid off, in decent shape and you know it top to bottom. If you have a car payment with a new truck, do the math, more than likely you will not save enough in gas to pay for the payment and the cost of gas in the new truck. Bottom line, if you want a new truck just get it, don't do it for gas savings...

Cheers,
Jorge

Oh and my 01 Reg Cab gets between 18mpg in the winter to 22mpg in the summer around town. I've seen 24 on the highway but that's going slow.
 

nickw

Adventurer
If you can stomach the look, how about a Subaru Crosstrek? I know you mentioned not liking the Outback, this is similar, but ohh so much cooler. Lots of ground clearance, reliable, great gas mileage, etc.
 

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