Toyota Corolla Real World MPG

Karen_S · May 2005

This topic is for Corolla owners to report their actual MPG.

"Real World" Fuel Economy vs. EPA Estimates

jim56 · June 2005

My 2003 Corolla (standard trans) gets 44 MPG on the highway - no kidding!
I live in Texas. I usually drive 60-70 mph.

JB

gang · June 2005

MPG seems to depend on quite a few factors: driving habits, road condition, weather (wind, rain, temperature, etc), speed, traffic condition, etc.

My experience with '03 Corolla LE Automatic is that the car is VERY sensitive to weather temperature, much more sensitive than a couple of other cars I have driven. With 70% highway driving, my numbers vary between 32 MPG under 20 F in winter and 40 MPG above 90 F in summer.

Gang

toyotacor · June 2005

My 2 week new corolla gave me 32 mpg with mixed city and highway driving with AC on all the time in hot TX weather. I know that my driving is not fuel efficient friendly so i will be happy that i get 35 mpg once the car goes through its first oil change. Still this 50% better than my old car - 1996 infinity g20 which gave 20-25 mpg in the city-highway driving conditions.

krissyberg · June 2005

Hi all,

I have a 2005 Corolla S, Auto - purchased March 30, 05 and now has 7741 miles on it. (100 mile commute per day).

Of my hour long commute, 1/2 is at 75mph 1/2 is in stop/go 20 - 55mph.

May actual fuel economy is 31.93 mi /gal with an average fuel cost of $2.06 per gallon. I use 87 octane, and have changed oil once - planning to switch to synthetic at my second oil change at 10k.

I track everything on my PDA with Two Peaks Personal Vehicle Manager, so I have up to date stats all the time.

I've replaced the stereo and speakers - just didn't like the sound of the stock stuff, but other than that nothing on the car has been changed. Though I am thinking about putting in a dash kit to make it look a little more fun.

Krissy

giantkiller · June 2005

I'm getting 38 MPG in mixed city and highway driving here in Houston and nearby suburbs. For trips of 50-100 miles on the freeway, I'm getting 42 MPG. I have an automatic and always have my AC on.
I have the S model with extra value package and I paid 15500+TTL last January. The fit and finish, the sporty look, plush interior and MPG, I'd say it is a good buy.

toguy · June 2005

My 2002 Corolla LE has consistently returned MPG in the high 20's in (Toronto's!) winter and low 30's in summer (35% city/65% hwy). Despite the fact that those numbers are lower than what most people quote here, I'm happy with them since my driving style is probably the reason I'm getting them (i.e. a/c-heating on all the time, frequent revving to 4000+ rpm to overtake slower traffic and jackrabbit stop-light starts/stops!)

Having said that, Consumer Reports had 29 mpg on average with the same Corolla, so I'm not doing too bad.

Also, I had a 96 civic before and, despite the fact it was much less powerful, it consumed about 15% more fuel under the same circumstances.

joshscar · July 2005

I have a 2004 Corolla LE with an Automatic transmission.

When i am not using the A/C in normal driving conditions I get about 29-30 MPG in the city. During the Summer when I am using the A/C (90-115 degrees) I get about 26-29 MPG.

With about 90% freeway (65-75 mph) and 10% heavy city driving I get 35+ MPG on a tank.

Josh

nmrt · August 2005

my corolla gave me 39-40 mpg on a drive from atlanta to philadelphia. i was driving at 70-75 mph all throughout with the ac on.
nowadays i get 34-36 mpg highway and city combined but i know that just on the highways i still get 39-40 mpg consistently with ac turned on.
my driving habits are between two extremes -- at times i meticulously follow the corolla owners's manual guidelines for optimum fuel efficiency by chaning gears the the therin mentioned speeds. but at times i become a maniac trying to suck every once of horsepower the car has by changing gears at high rpm.
in all, i am very happy with my mpg but i wish the car had more POWER!

people, if you get a change upgrade your stereo and speakers. i did and you have no idea what you are missing. perhaps thays why you havent upgraded them yet

mlewandowski · August 2005

City gas mileage 27 with air conditioning, 30.5 without. Highway mileage 36.4
at 65 mph, 34 mpg at 75 mph. 7700 miles on the car.

laurelgrae · August 2005

My poor S was totalled last week....trying to decide if I should get another. I had it for 13 months. Mixed driving I usually got around 34...mostly highway I would get around 40. I miss my car and have to buy a new one soon, although no dealer seems to be able to find "my" car, ABS/Sidecurtain etc.

Stupid 16 yr old kid

laurelgrae · August 2005

Whoops...forgot to say that I had 13600 miles on my car (used it to commute).

ohmygosh · October 2005

I purchased a 2005 Corolla S automatic with expectations of getting good gas mileage. I started out getting about 33 on the highway and 26 in the city. With only 4000 miles on the car and primarily city driving, I am now getting about 20 in the city. I am confused and somewhat upset. My husband's Highlander is getting close to 20 in the city.

giantkiller · October 2005

How do you drive?

nfriday · October 2005

Hi- I am in the market for a new car. I am particularly interested inMazda 3, Honda Civic, and Toyota corolla. I am having a hard time finding 5 speeds and one of the toyota dealers I visited told me that the automatic corollas actually get better MPG than the 5 speeds do. Oh by the way he only had automatic corollas on the lot. He was incorrect wasn't he?

giantkiller · October 2005

Yes. Stay away from him. Consider this, the guy lied about an information that are readily available to you as a consumer (brochure).

mcdawgg · October 2005

Even if you find a stick to test, you may have to do a special order to get a stick with the options you want. I had to do this back in '98 when I was trying to buy my '99. Takes up to 3 months, but it's worth it.

The salesman was probably lying, but maybe just mistaken. Some automatics do get better mileage than the same car with a stick. It just has to do with the gearing of the final drive ratio.

sexydarin · November 2005

Still get about 700,000 km on a 40L full tank. Driven at over 70+ mph most of the time. Change the oil every 4,000 miles or so. Just a beautiful dependable car. I can't believe it, but is still have all the original exhaust system parts. Haven't had to change the muffler yet. This car is like the energizer bunny. It keeps going and going and going.....

I wish women were as dependable as this car is.

cougar7 · November 2005

cougar7 · November 2005

I am getting about 35mpg in city and 41 mpg in highway.

earth · November 2005

I am getting about 35mpg in city and 41 mpg in highway
-------------------------

How in the dickens are you getting 35 mpg in the city ? Was it rated at 29 mpg city on the sticker, which normally no one gets ? Don't you have any stop lights ? I have the new Civic EX coupe and starting out with 25 mpg city only driving and the lights are red real long here in my city, sometimes between 2 minutes up to three minutes...The window sticker said it might get 30 city and 40 highway, which I have not driven on yet....

bottgers · November 2005

What year is your Corolla? I just bought a '99 LE manual and I'm hoping to get that many trouble-free miles from this one as well. It currently has 64.6K and it's probably just getting broken in. What kind of fuel economy do you get with your's? Is your's a stick or an auto? I'm hoping to see at least 40 MPG with mine on the highway. Because it's a manual, it should do a little better than the auto.

bottgers · November 2005

I know many vehicles don't get what the EPA ratings says they'll get, but there are exceptions to that. I had a '98 Intrepid that was rated at 28 highway, and I consistantly got over 30, and one time I actually got 36 with it. My '93 Tercel consistantly gets over 40 (and that's city/highway combined), and I have actually gotten as high as 52, and I doubt its EPA rating was anywhere near that high. Also, one of the secretaries who works at our office has an '03 Corolla with a stick which she says pulls a consistant 44-45 on the highway. I'm also expecting to get over 40 with my newly acquired '99 Corolla manual, but I haven't had it long enough to check the mileage yet. I will report my results when I do.

mcdawgg · November 2005

My '99 LE manual gets 38 mpg on a 60/40 highway/city summer gas using AC.

bottgers · November 2005

That's pretty good. Could I assume your strictly highway mileage would then be in excess of 40 MPG, or have you never checked that? I'm also guessing (because I haven't seen any published figures) the latest generation Corolla gets slightly better fuel economy than the previous generation? Toyota seems to be pretty good about not only increasing the power output of any given engine as it becomes more technically advanced, but they tend to increase its fuel economy as well. Honda is good for this as well.

mcdawgg · November 2005

Hard for me to get a good check on strictly highway miles, because this is my commuter car. If you look at the EPA estimates, the latest generation ('03-06) does get a little better mpg than my '99.

bottgers · November 2005

looking at EPA estimates as they don't give you "real world" numbers. For example, the EPA highway rating for a new Corolla (equipped with a manual) is 41 MPG, but real world numbers are considerable better than that. I'd rather get the numbers straight from the horses mouth as I believe they are more representitive of what actually goes on.

mcdawgg · November 2005

I agree with you about getting real world numbers, but since I don't have them for all highway, the best I can tell you is that the '99 is EPA rated at 39mpg highway. The newer generations are rated higher, so I would assume that you could do better with a newer model. I have also read many people are not getting what the EPA says - much lower. But since everyone drives differently, and in different situations, the best you can do is the EPA ratings. What YOU actually get is something else.

bottgers · November 2005

....the mileage on my '99 5 speed. I drove 355 miles on my last tank of gas. 318 miles of that was all highway driving with the cruise set at 70 MPH. The rest was city driving. I averaged 35 MPG. I suppose you could 38 or 39 MPH out if you were to drive an entire tank on the highway with the cruise set at 55 or 60. Though I was expecting more than 35, I guess tha't not too bad and I can live with it.

bottgers · November 2005

??????????

bottgers · November 2005

....I drove 394 miles (again mixed city/highway, but mostly highway), this time achieving an average of 39 MPG. I don't know why my mileage was so much better this tank than during my last. My driving habits were about the same. At any rate, I'm not complaining, 39 aint too bad!

bottgers · November 2005

Is anybody out there????????

mcdawgg · November 2005

It's Thanksgiving, not many people around.

simpler · November 2005

Although I'm in Wisconsin and the car is mainly used for city travel, I'm still a little bit upset about this.
BTW, I tested the mpg before the first tank of gas was empty when it got to 100 miles. Does anyone think it could give a better number when it is over 600-700 miles?

dudleyr · February 2006

How many rpm's does the automatic Corolla turn at 60 mph. The manual is about 2,300.

ckfreund · February 2006

I have a 2005 Corolla LE with automatic and about 7000 miles on it. I have been getting very disappointing gas mileage. In all city driving, I've only been getting about 20 mpg. I live in Wisconsin where it's normally cold in the winter (but not this year). We don't have reformulated gas here. In the fall, I only got 24 - 26 in mixed driving. That was without the air or heat on. It's not the way I drive because I've gotten good gas mileage from previous cars I've owned. My other car is a Subaru Outback with manual transmission that I get the same mileage rom as the Corolla. I've taken it to the dealer and they've run a scan but could find nothing wrong. The guy there said it's not unusual for the same model of cars and trucks to get a lot different mileage. I've even tried filling up at different gas stations. Any ideas? Otherwise, I really like this car.

gangreen · March 2006

I get very close to the same mileage. If I drive at 60 on cruise, I get 40-41 mpg. If I step it up to 65-75 my mileage drops to 34-35mpg. On trips, I can't drive only 60 as it would just take longer than I could bear. Wish something could be done to get 40mpg at 70 mph.

dudleyr · March 2006

"Wish something could be done to get 40mpg at 70 mph."

Buy a Corolla with a manual transmission and put a lot of air in the tires.

emmettrose1962 · March 2006

Most salesmen will blow smoke up your butt; whatever it takes to sell a car. I got 35+ mpg on my very first tank, driving from the dealer to my home, about 100 miles away. I bought the 2006 LE with auto. With approx. 1500 miles on the car I got 38.2 mpg at 70-75 mph; 36.5 mpg at 80-85 mph, on a trip to N. Carolina from NY. This was with the temperature around 55 degrees outside, (if it matters). These are great cars for the $. I paid $17000 even before tax and tags, with wheels and a roof. I'm extrememy happy with my car. I came from a maxima, but started to freak out this past summer when the gas prices soared. I saw the writing on the wall and made the switch to a reasonable car. Never looked back.

butterflyjones · March 2006

I'm in the hunt for a economy car that gets 38-44 mpg on the road and 30-33 city. The Honda Civics are NOT getting the EPA of 30-40, neither are any others. Is there REALLY HIGHER MPG had with the stick?? WHat is the final drive ratio with the stick vs the auto?? I do not have a brochure on a Corolla so I don't have this info. HAve you had any issues with your corolla?? Since you have had the car about 6-7 months is your mpgs improving or remaining the same??? Assuming you bought the car last fall. Any info. would be appreciated. Hope all goes well for you and you get many happy miles.

thegraduate · March 2006

My girlfriend drove us to Huntsville yesterday in her Corolla. She got 203 miles on 6.1 gallons of gas when all was said and done, which is 34MPG when rounded.

The A/C was on, the cr.ctrl was used most of the time, and it has 20,000 miles on it.

dsouth · March 2006

Hey Ya'll!!!

I have a '97 Corolla CE 1.6 lt. 100 HP @ 5600 RPM. Still works like new (well, almost). My Brother and Father have newer models of the Corolla and tell me that there's room for improvement. One of the things my brother noticed on his '99 was that the aerodynamics we're awful compared to my '97. I can ride down the interstate at 80 MPH and notice some road noise and mild wind resistance in my '97, so my bro lets me test drive his '99 and WOW, he wasn't kiddin!!! The '99 can't handle 80 MPH on a breezy day, it was being pushed around like an ice cube on a hot skillet!!! the '99 has a stronger engine (120 HP @ 5600 RPM) but lacks the aerodynamics and weight to make it all worth while. My dad's '02 is similar to the '99. I have a good car that's almost 10 years old and one day (I dred this day), I'll have to get a new car. I'm sad that the corolla has been shrunk into a compact sized car. I'd like to see Toyota make a mid-sized corolla like my '97. Oh well...that's all for now. Tell me if you've noticed the same on the '98 and later model Corollas.

dsouth · March 2006

I can get 30 MPG @ 80 MPH with my '97 Corolla CE. No Joke, Great Car!!!

thegraduate · March 2006

Part of it (wind tossability)may have to do with different tires. Do you have different tires than he does? It would make a (possibly negligable) difference. My old Michelins did MUCH better than the cheaper Goodyear Integrity's I have on my 96 Accord when it comes to handling.

keptname · April 2006

Hi,

Just purchased a Corolla LE about a month ago. I'm happy to say that I've been getting 30 MPG city.

corollaaddict · April 2006

Note: all the units I use here will be in metric...dunno how to convert them into miles

Hmm...I just recently measured my Corolla's mileage when I took a trip from Toronto to Kingston (approximately 250km apart). Good day, good weather. Driving between 100km/h and 105km/h (approximately 60 to 65 mph?), by the time I get to Kingston I got 5.6L/100km. Which is pretty good.

How do you convert to MPG? :confuse:

lightfootfl · April 2006

Try dividing km by 8, then multiply by 5
100 / 8 = 12.5 x 5 = 62.5 mph I think this is it.

nippononly · April 2006

hmmmmmm...so you drove about 160 miles, give or take. You used about 14L of gas. That's about 3 3/4 gallons of gas. 160 miles divided by 3.75 gallons = 42.66 mpg. Pretty darn good, even if it was a flat drive in good weather going about 65 mph!

Those are pretty round numbers, of course.

joelansing · April 2006

I've been following the break in instructions. No 55MPH, no highway, only city stop light driving. I got 32MPG my first tank. I hear this might improve to 34MPG as it gets broken in, that would be awesome!

I will warn you.. I've been a "2 footed, ride the brake driver" in the past, but I'm trying for good MPG driving this new car. The tach on the LE helps a lot. If you take it easy on a start you can keep the RPM's under 2,000 and still not PO the people behind you.

I still catch myself goosing it from a light, breaking hard at stops, but I'm getting better. 32MPG 100% in town from someone that doesn't drive like grandma all the time, and the car isn't even broken in is nice....:)

My goal is 34MPG in town. And it seems like I've got a great chance at doing it after the break-in period. I was looking at getting a Yaris, but for only $1,000 more than a stripped down Yaris I got a totally loaded Corolla LE ($13,995 including cruise and CD changer) The good part is I think I'll get the same MPG as the little Yaris, but have a classy ride to boot! - Joe

agalas · April 2006

My 94 Corolla, with 147,500 miles, runs almost like new, and gets 35.4 mpg, combined real world mileage!

What the hell is wrong with Toyota and Honda as well?

Consumer reports claims the 2006 Corolla gets 29 mpg combined, and the Yaris gets 36 according to CD!

How can it be that 12 years of car tech advancement has yielded absolutley no increase in mileage?

With gas at $3.00, mileage is what counts! Yet car makers are playing a shell game with us!

The Hybrid Civic = 37 mpg according to CR
Prius = 44 mpg accroding to CR

My Corolla can nearly achieve the Hybrid Civic's numbers and with 1994 technology!

The 1997 Civic HX(with CVT) got 44 mpg! Same as the prius but $10,000 less, and with 9 year old tech!

I hope oil prices hit $80 and stay there! The economy grew at 4.8% in Q1 so there is no threat of recession, and honestly America needs to wake up and get it'd head out of the sand! 30 or even 35mpg is not good mileage for a 2006 car!

The new Fit, from Honda, gets 35mpg! Same as my Corolla!

In England they sell a 1.2 liter version that gets 45mpg, real world, American equivalent!

Offer that over here damn it!

Its true what CD says, automakers want to get Americans freaked out about gas prices and into 25K hybrids, when they could get equivalent mileage from a 15K eco car!

How about this! I will pay Toyota 25K for an eco box that also has hybrid and is a diesel!

In Europe Renault and Peugot are coming out with 80mpg hybrid diesles! We have nothing like that in the states!

Only when Americans get raped at the pump will they cry out for sensible cars! Only then will they stop the outrageous "bigger is better" idealogy!

When the new Corolla comes out, as well as the redesigned Fit, I hope gas is at $4.00 so that these companies finally offer us those 1.2 and 1.3 liter engines.

The horsepower wars are irrelevant! Bring on the mileage wars!

dudleyr · April 2006

Agree Hp wars are irrelevant, but I don't think you can compare your mileage to the CR mileage. I think you will find that on the CR tests the 1994 Corolla got worse mileage than the current model.

Toyota Corolla Real World MPG

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