Just took my first extended road trip in the RAV. 350 miles round trip, about 2/3 of it on I-95. Running with the cruise set at 70 all the way, with 3-4 blasts up to 80 to get around folks that wanted to drive .5 MPH slower than I did.

Lot of elevation changes between Bangor and Brunswick to dick with the mileage, plus the other third of the trip was stop-and-go 2 lanes, also hilly.

In all of this, the RAV gave me 39 MPG! And that's calculated fillup to fillup, NOT the computer guesstimate. I never managed that with the Corolla, really, REALLY pleased considering the larger, heavier vehicle and AWD.

What model? Just bought an XLE for my daughter, advertised 28 combo milage.

quote:

Originally posted by PeteF:
What model? Just bought an XLE for my daughter, advertised 28 combo milage.

2020 LE

Which engine is in the LE? Our 2011 has the AWD, V6 3.5L. It gets mid-20s at best.

Mechanically, awesome, solid car. At over 160k, I've only ever had to swap out the battery besides doing normal maintenance.

quote:

Originally posted by PeteF:
What model? Just bought an XLE for my daughter, advertised 28 combo milage.

Yeah, that's what my 2015 LE averages. Still not bad considering it's AWD.

quote:

Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
Which engine is in the LE? Our 2011 has the AWD, V6 3.5L. It gets mid-20s at best.

Mechanically, awesome, solid car. At over 160k, I've only ever had to swap out the battery besides doing normal maintenance.

I love those V6 AWD Rav4's !!! God Bless

I think most people don't realize the wonders that cruise control will do for mileage. I am a firm believer in using it. We have a 2018 Highlander XLE and it gets decent mileage for a vehicle that's 5,000 pounds. But I love my Civic getting 41 MPG and even 42 depending on conditions.

quote:

Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
Which engine is in the LE? Our 2011 has the AWD, V6 3.5L. It gets mid-20s at best.

Mechanically, awesome, solid car. At over 160k, I've only ever had to swap out the battery besides doing normal maintenance.

I think it was 2017 when Toyota started went from the 6 speed auto to the 8 speed auto. That increased mileage a decent big since the motor is operating at lower RPM.

2.5L 4 cylinder.

Surprisingly zippy for a mouse motor.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
I think most people don't realize the wonders that cruise control will do for mileage. I am a firm believer in using it. We have a 2018 Highlander XLE and it gets decent mileage for a vehicle that's 5,000 pounds. But I love my Civic getting 41 MPG and even 42 depending on conditions.

I think it was 2017 when Toyota started went from the 6 speed auto to the 8 speed auto. That increased mileage a decent big since the motor is operating at lower RPM.

I tend NOT to use CC because of the hills around here. It'll kick down 2 or 3 gears trying to maintain set speed. I'd rather drop 5mph getting to the top than watch that tach wind up.

If I'm striving for best mileage, I use a blended approach - leave CC on where it's mostly level, turn it off to climb significant hills and turn it back on when it levels out.

I'm also not fond of the way it downshifts to use engine braking on the downhills. I don't imagine it hurts mileage, but it gets pretty jerky. I'll turn it off and let it use engine braking without downshifting. On some of the bigger hills around here, I can gain 5-10 MPH on the way down. Depending on area and traffic, I may touch the brake a little but mostly I use the "truckers" approach - momentum gained going down hill is used to my advantage going up the next one.

EDIT: It occurs to me that it'd be nice to have a "sensitivity" control on the cruise. Something like having the option to select a "+/- 5mph" window on the cruise.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
I tend NOT to use CC because of the hills around here. It'll kick down 2 or 3 gears trying to maintain set speed. I'd rather drop 5mph getting to the top than watch that tach wind up.

If I'm striving for best mileage, I use a blended approach - leave CC on where it's mostly level, turn it off to climb significant hills and turn it back on when it levels out.

^^^^
This!

New Siennas have 2.5L 4cyl w/battery assist and advertise 35mpg city or hwy. Our 3.5 awd Sienna gets avg of 20 and I love it.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
2.5L 4 cylinder.

Surprisingly zippy for a mouse motor.

That's the engine my 2017 RAV4 hybrid has (along with the front/back electric motors, totaling 155kW) and it does manage to get out of its own way nicely.

Got it because I really liked my wife's 2016 RAV4 hybrid. Both are great cars, hope you enjoy your RAV4 as much as we do.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

..In all of this, the RAV gave me 39 MPG! And that's calculated fillup to fillup, NOT the computer guesstimate. I never managed that with the Corolla, really, REALLY pleased considering the larger, heavier vehicle and AWD.

Is yours a hybrid? Our 2017 Rav4 (4 cyl) could get 26mpg on the highway (generally around 75-78mph) and maybe 20 around town.

That is a surprise. A nice one. My RAV4 (2019or 2020 I forget) did not get that good of mileage numbers. It also felt under powered for size. I wish I had gotten the hybrid just for the extra oomph. It was a nice car though, just not for me.

I am very surprised you are getting better mileage than with the Corolla. Doesn’t make sense.

My wife has a 2019 RAV4 Hybrid Limited. She rarely does any highway driving. Only one real road trip since she has owned the vehicle, Orlando area to northeast Ohio to visit the kids. Her fuel consumption on that trip was about the same as Paul's in the original post: 39 to 40 mpg.

Where the hybrid really shines, is in my wife's normal driving pattern: stop and go during commuting hours with a lot of waiting at red lights. Almost all of her driving is this pattern, and she gets close to 40 mpg doing this, just about the same as highway cruising.

Our daughter recently bought a 2021 Highlander Hybrid and is getting close to 40 MPG in combined highway/city driving. She lives about 10 miles from her office. She loves the car. Based on this, we ordered one to be delivered next month - maybe. 40 MGP in a 3 row SUV is crazy.

Yup. Hybrids on the freeway are just expensive gas powered cars. City driving is their sparkle.

Still surprised a RAV4 beats a Corolla on the highway though. That defies logic.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Still surprised a RAV4 beats a Corolla on the highway though. That defies logic.

It does, doesn't it?

One reason I hesitated buying an AWD. I figured I'd be happy with anything over 20 MPG.

Actually, my '03 Corolla did better than my '12 Corolla. It actually flirted with 40 MPG on a road trip to Cape May, NJ.

My first car that I ever bought new was an 89 Corolla and on freeway trips it was well into the high 40’s. 45,46, it also had no features to weigh it down either. Lol