Real world fuel mileage for mid-size pickups and suv's

Zombie Woof's reported mileage in the Chevy Colorado experiment (https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/the-woofs-2o11-colorado/73901/page1/)

got me thinking.. What do other mid-size trucks and suv's get for mileage?

If you're willing to share, please post what you have observed in yours. Tell me what year and engine/trans if possible. If you describe how you drive, even better.

I want a small truck or 4runner size SUV (no minis) and want to compare what's out there based on fuel economy. I'm familiar with fuelecomony.gov but am seeking real world experiences.

Preferably nearly new, but interested in all ages.

They all seem to hover around the same point, 20-ish mpg, for the same exploder/trailblazer/durango sized models.

OHSCrifle wrote: Zombie Woof's reported mileage in the Chevy Colorado experiment (https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/the-woofs-2o11-colorado/73901/page1/) got me thinking.. What do other mid-size trucks and suv's get for mileage? If you're willing to share, please post what you have observed in yours. Tell me what year and engine/trans if possible. If you describe how you drive, even better. I want a small truck or 4runner size SUV (no minis) and want to compare what's out there based on fuel economy. I'm familiar with fuelecomony.gov but am seeking real world experiences. Preferably nearly new, but interested in all ages.

My experience is that they tend to suck. No new experience but older vehicles not great. My 99 Jeep Cherokee with a 3" lift and 31" tires, neither one mpg enhancing features by the way, averaged low teens.

01 f350 7.3 21 unloaded highway 15-17 with trailer and full load. does better than my 99 Cherokee 4.0 that got 18 unloaded and 13 towing a dolly and car, which became a little scary in the mountains. In snow the Cherokee will run circles around the f350(gets stuck in wet grass).

07 V8 4Runner. 4WD (full-time 4WD).

With mixed driving I typically avg 16 mpg. I can squeak out 19 on hwy only driving.

my boss is managing 24 mixed in a 99 1500 4x4 with 3.08 gears. my 99 jimmy averaged 18 and my exploder got 15. all mixed with probably 70 percent being city

Fuelly.com is my usual source...take the average for a certain year/model/engine and call it good.

I have a 97 mitsubishi Montero, 3.5l/auto. I get 18 avg, 12 towing.

Not really midsize, but 2005 ford ranger 2.3l/manual gets 28 average.

I got around 18mpg mixed driving in my 2008 V6 Tacoma (Automatic), best was 22.5 on a highway trip at 75. Never tried hypermiling or towing long distances. It was a great truck, towed a Uhaul 6x12 trailer loaded with furniture up and down the some hilly freeways pretty well. Probably about 4000 lbs total. I could tell it was there, but it never felt underpowered or under braked.

Our 97 V8 AWD explorer got between 15 and 21. Average was probably 16-17.

The wife's Liberty, 2WD, 3.7 V6 gets around 17 in town and 22-23 on the HWY.

Brokeback wrote: Fuelly.com is my usual source...take the average for a certain year/model/engine and call it good.

Thanks for the link Brokeback.

Thanks so far everyone for the info. I'm in GA, so don't really need 4x4, if that helps narrow it down. I have always lamented Ford's decision to make the Sport Trac instead of a Ranger double cab....

I know somebody from work who claims her 2011ish 4x2 tacoma double cab with a V6/auto got 24 highway.. that's what got me started on this lark.

Interested in the new dodge 1/2 ton diesel pickup on fuel mileage.. but paying $10k premium for my 15-20k miles per year isn't enough to justify. EcoBoost also interesting...

Careful of highway mileage claims as speed will dramatically affect that. My 2007 crew cab 5.3 Chevy will get between 18 and 23 on long highway trips purely dependent on how fast I drive.
I get 16-17 mixed in my truck with a lot of short school runs and such. Towing the RX7 at 70mph is a pretty steady 14. I can consistently increase my mileage by 10% or so just by caring and driving like less of an ass.

I just spent 10 minutes on www.fuelly.com and can proclaim mission accomplished in this thread. Win.

No experience with new(ish) but I get 16-18mpg around town in a '96 Sonoma with an automatic and a 4.3 V6. Highway mileage usually hovers around 22mpg and have recorded up 24mpg on a few trips.

The around town stuff is almost exclusively for short, round trips in stop and go traffic for less than 20 miles so it really hurts economy. Highway trips are normally done at 70mph, starting with a full tank and filling up at the 1/4 tank mark. Stops between fill-ups are rare. I do get some benefit from a full bed cover that reduces aero drag.

05 Dakota, 4.7, auto, 4x4. 20 highway at 70 or less. 15 mixed(mostly 2 lane 55 plus lots of hilly and curvy roads)

I daily a 2003 Land Rover Discovery II with 80,000 miles on it. Full time four wheel drive with the 4.6 and the ubiquitous Automatic Trans. Rated for 12 in town and 16 mph on the highway.. I manage to eek out about 15 in mixed driving by accelerating and braking carefully.. but I still do my usual 5 over the limit.

Towing my 3500 pound boat plus however much the trailer weighs... I can drop mileage down into the single digits... which hurts when it only takes premium

Yeah. My dad offered his F250 with the V10 and the HD towing trans to me after it turned 100k miles.. For less than trade-in value. Good for 11mpg running empty downhill with a tailwind....

Too bad it won't fit in my garage and I lack sufficient driveway for it..

2005 Xterra 2wd 4.0 v-6 manual trans 19.5-19.9 mpg on 15 mile commute with 10 miles interstate and the rest a mix of city & suburban. 23.5-23.9 mpg on pure interstate trips driving approximately 7 mph over speed limit with most being 67-77 mph. Higher mpg on flat land (I-95) & lower mpg on hilly terrain (I-81). Also had a 1992 Ford Ranger 2wd regular cab longbed with tonneau cover 4.0 v-6 auto trans that got about 0.5 mpg less under same circumstances.

1991 Isuzu Trooper with a 3.4 V6, manual transmission, big tires, and crap stuck all over it. I get about 16 on the highway, 12 towing. Around town, it's 13ish.

It's not a truck, but my 5200-ish-pound Pontiac Catalina Safari gets about 13 mpg on the highway. Around town, it's a bit less.

Real world: 2014 Subaru Forester, non-turbo, 6-speed manual. 8000 miles so far in 5 months, overall avg mpg right at 28.5. This includes almost no city driving, but it's about 75% two-lane highway at 50 - 65 mph, 25% 30 mph 3rd gear on unpaved roads with steep hills at 9000 feet. Plus one trip that included around 700 miles of interstate at 75 mph.

Quiet, rides well, adequate power (I have a 2001 4WD Tacoma for light towing and serious off-highway work, it averages right at 20 mpg in the same conditions as the Subie - and it has 210,000 miles on the odo), Forester handles pretty well, love the thing.

Dang, other than being easier to park (and not including the new forester) it seems like there's not much advantage of getting a small ute/SUV. Same awful mileage but a lot less capacity.

03 dodge 1500 4x4 4door short bed 360 - 12.8

91 dodge w150 4x4 ext cab long bed 318 - 15.2

99 gmc Sierra 4x2 reg cab long bed 5.3 - 19.8

04 gmc Sierra 4x2 reg cab Long bed 4.8 - 18.6

03 Chevy silverado 4x4 ext cab long bed lb7 - 21.4(always towing)

All of those were mine and all but the 91 dodge I drove over 60,000 miles. The two wheel drive work truck GMs are pretty good on mileage.

i know you said no minis but my wife gets about 26 in her 99 CRV AWD automatic, just for comparisons sake

Last night, for E36 M3s and giggles, I hooked my phone into the OBD port and was reading the avg MPG. Hitting almost no lights and keeping an average speed of 50mph... my Disco was reading 22mpg by the time I got home.

And yes.. smaller SUVs are easier to park.. and in the case of my Rover, more nimble off road (which the discovery was designed for)