Fuel Economy Update for June - Better Range - 2016 Toyota Tacoma Long-Term Road Test

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  s197gt Member Posts: 486

  July 2016 edited July 2016

  so i went out and bought a 2001 ranger xlt w/off road package, lsd, and 4.10 gears. has the 4.0 V6 sohc and 5-speed auto. 1-owner, clean, minimal rust, 201k miles, and original shocks!
  
  i am averaging 18.5 mpg with mostly highway driving.
  
  looking at bilsteins, rough country steelies, and some all terrains. no lift at this time.
  
  you guys with your trucks (and under $2/gallon gas) motivated me to get a cheap one to see if i might want to splurge on a newer one some day. hauled a fridge yesterday... ok, it was a mini-fridge. still, took up most of the step-side bed! ha...
  

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  g35buf Member Posts: 89

  July 2016

  I know I'll get flamed by the Taco crew on the capability differences but the new gen Ridgeline is getting 21-22 mpg mixed from the earliest Fuelly reports and new owner data on the Ridgeline Owners Club forum. Honda's 3.5 V6 direct injection engine isn't using an Atkinson cycle either but does have cylinder deactivation...and the Ridgeline only has the 6 speed vs 9 speed tranny. This Taco mpg on a modern mid-sized truck is just not acceptable for most.

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  desmolicious Member Posts: 671

  July 2016

  g35buf said:

  I know I'll get flamed by the Taco crew on the capability differences but the new gen Ridgeline is getting 21-22 mpg mixed from the earliest Fuelly reports and new owner data on the Ridgeline Owners Club forum. Honda's 3.5 V6 direct injection engine isn't using an Atkinson cycle either but does have cylinder deactivation...and the Ridgeline only has the 6 speed vs 9 speed tranny. This Taco mpg on a modern mid-sized truck is just not acceptable for most.

  I agree about the terrible mpgs the Taco is getting. But does the Ridgeline still crumble like the old one did by just driving it down a dirt road?
  Edmund's old Ridgeline had serious issues when steered off paved city streets.

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  metalmania Member Posts: 167

  July 2016

  I watched an off-road demo of the Ridgeline a few weeks ago that looked pretty solid - IF you keep in mind that it's not a "real" truck in the sense of being built on a less rugged car/cuv platform. I hope Edmunds gets one into the long term fleet - being a total redesign with some unique features would seem to be a sensible addition. The truth is, for a homeowner that might want a truck for some light duty hauling and towing and not really need hardcore off road ability, and serve as a daily driver - it's probably the best package now. I just wish it looked a little more aggressive. There's just something... I don't know, doesn't look "truck" enough. I still think you could almost split the current midsize truck offerings based on what you want to do: off roading get the Tacoma, towing get the Colorado (especially the diesel), daily driver with some mix of light towing/hauling go Ridgeline. Although, I believe the Ridgeline actually has the higher payload rating. I personally like the Colorado more than the Tacoma (I'm not into off roading), and I want it to be better than the Ridgeline, but I'm starting to feel like GM didn't put enough innovation into it.

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  metalmania Member Posts: 167

  July 2016

  *Edit for my last post - the claim of the Ridgeline having the highest payload rating apparently isn't entirely true - it depends on a specific configuration of competing trucks. But it's still within 100 pounds overall, or close to that. A long term Ridgeline would be a really interesting comparison to the Tacoma and Colorado, I get the impression the only things it significantly gives up to them is hard core off-roading and towing over 5000 pounds - which realistically many light truck owners don't do. And exterior styling, but I can probably get over that - it's not as goofy looking as it used to be. Not great, but better.

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