2024 Tacoma Hybrid's 25 MPG (highway) revealed by TFL

[Gear_yyc]

I keep forgetting that is going to be an option in the US. For Canada, we will not see a hybrid Sport. Only TRD OR, Limited, TH, and Pro.

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[SonoranSurvivalist]

I don't buy it honestly. I've got a hybrid RAV4 and the primary source of fuel savings is from either snail slow starts to prevent the ICE engine from turning on early, and then coasting at speed where all the electric motor needs to do is just maintain the speed. When that happens it straight up turns the engine off. As far as I am aware, that's not what the Tacoma will do and the engine will stay on. Also, the Tundra doesn't really gain any real MPG gains from the hybrid system either.

 

[JustAnotherDingus]

Good points but the secret sauce that nobody has figured out is high MPG **and** power. You get one or the other but never both.

And-- There's only so much you can do with the three box design far as aero goes, hence the godawful ugly air dam on the lower spec gasser Tacomas.

25MPG is pretty damned good in a truck, all things being said and done. Especially when you consider 20 years ago the 1G Taco was getting maybe 20mpg on the highway with a stiff tailwind... and weighed significantly less.

agreed. I think the closest to the best of both worlds is a PHEV powertrain though those come with their own trade offs as well.

I recently drove a family member’s wrangler 4xe for an eclipse road trip and that thing was zippy. But once the battery runs out you’re lugging extra weight and the mpg dips. Still, over the course of 400 miles, we averaged just under 22 MPG with my lead foot. They have a lift and 33 inch BFG’s on it too.

I realize that’s apples to oranges for several reasons, but I think it would be interesting to see this type of powertrain on a midsize pickup. I live in a city and do a lot of driving to and from vendors throughout my workday and a plug-in hybrid would fit super well for me and I imagine a lot of people who use their trucks mostly for commuting/weekend warrior set up as well.

 

[ShadowFox]

My last tank was all city and a with the manual in a trd offroad I got 18mpg. Hwy at 75 I’m around 23-24mpg with 1300 miles on the truck. I expect to see 25/26 once we’re fully “broken in”

 

[BourbonRunner]

Yes 25 MPG is good in a truck for sure. That makes the non hybrid version even more impressive at 24 mpg without the complication and expense of the hybrid powertrain. Hybridization of the Toyota truck line, as well as Land Cruiser, 4Runner, goes against the reason I think most people buy Toyota...reliability and longevity. Batteries are in a constant slow state of degredation from day 1 and there is no way to stop the laws of physics that are working on that battery every day.

So will anyone want a 10-15 year old Tacoma Hybrid facing an expensive battery replacement? If your buying your Tacoma for the long haul are you comfortable knowing that some day you will have a significant expense on a hybrid that you wouldn't have on a plain ICE? I don't know but if I were shopping used/older/out of warranty, I would put a premium on finding one that used a plain old gas motor. In Toyota's defense I don't think they had a choice not to offer hybrid powertrains due to government pressure to do so.

Much as I loathe nanny state interference in the auto industry (and elsewhere), if there's one company that does hybrids well it is Toyota. It's been almost 30 years since their first hybrids debuted and over time they've diversified the lineup to cover most angles, the trucks being the last to get the drivetrain. Probably with good reason- that bulletproof reliability is the major selling feature.

20 years ago the Prius got beat up on the battery cost being a large percentage of the total acquisition cost of the vehicle. Today the batteries can be had for a couple grand. Over time that price has been driven down and will continue to do so.

agreed. I think the closest to the best of both worlds is a PHEV powertrain though those come with their own trade offs as well.

I recently drove a family member’s wrangler 4xe for an eclipse road trip and that thing was zippy. But once the battery runs out you’re lugging extra weight and the mpg dips. Still, over the course of 400 miles, we averaged just under 22 MPG with my lead foot. They have a lift and 33 inch BFG’s on it too.

I realize that’s apples to oranges for several reasons, but I think it would be interesting to see this type of powertrain on a midsize pickup. I live in a city and do a lot of driving to and from vendors throughout my workday and a plug-in hybrid would fit super well for me and I imagine a lot of people who use their trucks mostly for commuting/weekend warrior set up as well.

Totally. The PHEV is a good bridge between hybrids and BEV's.

I really like the 4XE platform, and would strongly consider a Gladiator Mojave with one provided it doesn't destroy the payload... and if it was a Toyota hybrid vs a DaimChrysLantisFiat.

 

[ridetime]

Much as I loathe nanny state interference in the auto industry (and elsewhere), if there's one company that does hybrids well it is Toyota. It's been almost 30 years since their first hybrids debuted and over time they've diversified the lineup to cover most angles, the trucks being the last to get the drivetrain. Probably with good reason- that bulletproof reliability is the major selling feature.

20 years ago the Prius got beat up on the battery cost being a large percentage of the total acquisition cost of the vehicle. Today the batteries can be had for a couple grand. Over time that price has been driven down and will continue to do so.

If I was going to buy a Hybrid it would definitely be a Toyota.

Much as I loathe nanny state interference in the auto industry (and elsewhere), if there's one company that does hybrids well it is Toyota. It's been almost 30 years since their first hybrids debuted and over time they've diversified the lineup to cover most angles, the trucks being the last to get the drivetrain. Probably with good reason- that bulletproof reliability is the major selling feature.

20 years ago the Prius got beat up on the battery cost being a large percentage of the total acquisition cost of the vehicle. Today the batteries can be had for a couple grand. Over time that price has been driven down and will continue to do so.

If I was going to buy a Hybrid it would be a Toyota. In their trucks and BOF SUV's however I am still looking for the real benefit of the I-Max powertrain. So far extra weight, less storage, extra cost, additional drivetrain complexity, as a tradeoff for a very modest increase in fuel efficiency and more power that isn't really needed.

My other vehicle is a Wrangler 392 so I do understand the more power part. I would still rather get it with displacement and or Turbo's than batteries. Tow and payload capacity are also reduced. Many will want the Hybrid regardless of all the negatives. I'm sure I'm missing the positives. Hopefully someone can educate me.

 

[oxi]

Trailhunter 4R is using 265/70 on 18's, seems to be the logical choice if you are keeping the factory 18's hence why I chose that size for my TRD Sport before this reveal.

 

[Ruissimo]

Many will want the Hybrid regardless of all the negatives. I'm sure I'm missing the positives. Hopefully someone can educate me.

My wife has a hybrid Sienna. It has A LOT more off-the-line power than the older V6 it replaced. Comes in handy in certain situations.

I mean, that's one example.

She also gets 36+mpg on what is basically a mini bus that weighs 4,725 lbs. It is a 2.5L hybrid, vs. the 2.4L in the Taco, and I'm sure the gearing for truck things requires the extra power and torque, whereas for the bus, you wanna save on gas.

I supposed this is one of those "you can choose two of the three options" situation, and the options are "power", "good on gas" and "cheap".

 

[Desert4G]

All I care about is the $.

 

[ridetime]

My wife has a hybrid Sienna. It has A LOT more off-the-line power than the older V6 it replaced. Comes in handy in certain situations.

I mean, that's one example.

She also gets 36+mpg on what is basically a mini bus that weighs 4,725 lbs. It is a 2.5L hybrid, vs. the 2.4L in the Taco, and I'm sure the gearing for truck things requires the extra power and torque, whereas for the bus, you wanna save on gas.

I supposed this is one of those "you can choose two of the three options" situation, and the options are "power", "good on gas" and "cheap".

Except the good on gas doesnt apply to the Tacoma Hybrid vs the Gas version because they are essentially the same and Hybrid definitely isn't "cheap". So that leaves power. Tacoma gas has plenty of that already. Hybrid technology is great in many applications but the Tacoma isn't one of them.

 

[Tsturbo]

I don't buy it honestly. I've got a hybrid RAV4 and the primary source of fuel savings is from either snail slow starts to prevent the ICE engine from turning on early, and then coasting at speed where all the electric motor needs to do is just maintain the speed. When that happens it straight up turns the engine off. As far as I am aware, that's not what the Tacoma will do and the engine will stay on. Also, the Tundra doesn't really gain any real MPG gains from the hybrid system either.

It is all about increasing torque, try reading or watching a YouTube video and you would have/will understand.

 

[SonoranSurvivalist]

It is all about increasing torque, try reading or watching a YouTube video and you would have/will understand.

Maybe you're misunderstanding, I've always argued that the hybrid was about added HP and torque, and not efficiency.

 

[Tsturbo]

Maybe you're misunderstanding, I've always argued that the hybrid was about added HP and torque, and not efficiency.

Maybe, but your comments seem to indicate the opposite. No need to comment back on that.

 

[North]

People have long paid many $1,000s of dollars in premiums to get the top output engine in a vehicle and spent a ton of money modding their engines with expensive superchargers, headers, etc to eek out a few more HP. An iForce Max hybrid in the turbo 4 cyl adds 48 HP and 148 lb-ft of torque over the "high output" iForce version of the engine for an initial cost of around $3,000-4,000 more, and will add a bit of a boost in fuel economy as well.

An extra 1-2 MPG might not seem like much, but the lower your overall MPG, the bigger % difference in fuel efficiency each extra MPG gives you. Meaning, if you increase your efficiency from 12 to 14 MPG you are saving much more gas than if you increase your fuel efficiency from 48-50 MPG. The difference between a truck getting 22 MPG vs. 24 MPG may seem negligible, but even of cheap gas prices it will save you $2,000 on fuel over 150,000 miles. If the only benefit of the hybrid was improved MPG, sure, that doesn't seem worth it from a cost savings perspective. That argument has alway been used against hybrids where fuel efficiency is the only goal. But in the case of the Tundra/Taco hybrid system, you are getting a pretty massive gain in performance for the added cost, as well as a little added fuel efficiency and range as an added bonus.

Another way to look at the benefit of the hybrid is, what sort of MPG could you expect to get if the Tacoma IForce Max was producing 326 hp/465 lb-ft without the hybrid system? The Chevy Colorado ZR2 with 310 hp and 430 lb-ft is getting around 17 combined. So, you may be only gaining 1-2 MPG over the mid-output, nonhybrid Taco, but you're gaining maybe 6-8 MPG over the (still lower output) Colorado ZR2.

As far as the potential for battery replacement down the road, there are so many costs associated with owning and maintaining a vehicle that a few thousand dollars many years down the road should not really be a major concern for anyone. Toyota fans seem to think that just because a vehicle may need repairs in 150,000 miles it means the vehicle is broken now. I currently drive a 100 series Lexus, widely considered to be one of the most reliable vehicles ever built, and it's left me stranded on the side of the road 2,000 miles from home on 3 different occasions and has required many somewhat expensive repairs in 85k miles of ownership.

The cost of (possibly) needing a replacement hybrid battery down the road (assuming you even own this same vehicle by then--my Prius had 265k on it when it was totaled out, original battery) is a real expense to consider, but so are tires, fuel, car washes, oil changes, insurance, etc. When someone slaps a supercharger or a larger set of tires on their vehicle to improve its performance, do they actually sit down and calculate out how much extra money in fuel it's going to cost them over the vehicle's remaining lifespan?

So, for a few thousand bucks you get a big bump in power and torque, a little fuel savings, plus I'd presume the hybrid motor reduces wear and tear on the ICE a bit as well. Yes, it's an added complicated component that could have issues down the road, but no vehicle manufacturers are going out of their way to build basic, super simple vehicles anymore. Vehicles now are loaded up with all sorts of fancy electronics, turbos, screens, etc. Personally, I'm much more worried about having to replace that digital gauge cluster than I am a hybrid battery.

Many of the Toyota fans who bemoan adding more complicated modern technology in the new models aren't the ones buying them new anyway; they're the ones who want to be able to buy them with 200k miles on them for cheap and then drive them for another 100k. Hopefully these trucks are as reliable as their predecessors, that's still an unknown, but full size truck power and performance with MPGs in the low-to-mid 20s sounds pretty good to me.

 

[ridetime]

People have long paid many $1,000s of dollars in premiums to get the top output engine in a vehicle and spent a ton of money modding their engines with expensive superchargers, headers, etc to eek out a few more HP. An iForce Max hybrid in the turbo 4 cyl adds 48 HP and 148 lb-ft of torque over the "high output" iForce version of the engine for an initial cost of around $3,000-4,000 more, and will add a bit of a boost in fuel economy as well.

An extra 1-2 MPG might not seem like much, but the lower your overall MPG, the bigger % difference in fuel efficiency each extra MPG gives you. Meaning, if you increase your efficiency from 12 to 14 MPG you are saving much more gas than if you increase your fuel efficiency from 48-50 MPG. The difference between a truck getting 22 MPG vs. 24 MPG may seem negligible, but even of cheap gas prices it will save you $2,000 on fuel over 150,000 miles. If the only benefit of the hybrid was improved MPG, sure, that doesn't seem worth it from a cost savings perspective. That argument has alway been used against hybrids where fuel efficiency is the only goal. But in the case of the Tundra/Taco hybrid system, you are getting a pretty massive gain in performance for the added cost, as well as a little added fuel efficiency and range as an added bonus.

Another way to look at the benefit of the hybrid is, what sort of MPG could you expect to get if the Tacoma IForce Max was producing 326 hp/465 lb-ft without the hybrid system? The Chevy Colorado ZR2 with 310 hp and 430 lb-ft is getting around 17 combined. So, you may be only gaining 1-2 MPG over the mid-output, nonhybrid Taco, but you're gaining maybe 6-8 MPG over the (still lower output) Colorado ZR2.

As far as the potential for battery replacement down the road, there are so many costs associated with owning and maintaining a vehicle that a few thousand dollars many years down the road should not really be a major concern for anyone. Toyota fans seem to think that just because a vehicle may need repairs in 150,000 miles it means the vehicle is broken now. I currently drive a 100 series Lexus, widely considered to be one of the most reliable vehicles ever built, and it's left me stranded on the side of the road 2,000 miles from home on 3 different occasions and has required many somewhat expensive repairs in 85k miles of ownership.

The cost of (possibly) needing a replacement hybrid battery down the road (assuming you even own this same vehicle by then--my Prius had 265k on it when it was totaled out, original battery) is a real expense to consider, but so are tires, fuel, car washes, oil changes, insurance, etc. When someone slaps a supercharger or a larger set of tires on their vehicle to improve its performance, do they actually sit down and calculate out how much extra money in fuel it's going to cost them over the vehicle's remaining lifespan?

So, for a few thousand bucks you get a big bump in power and torque, a little fuel savings, plus I'd presume the hybrid motor reduces wear and tear on the ICE a bit as well. Yes, it's an added complicated component that could have issues down the road, but no vehicle manufacturers are going out of their way to build basic, super simple vehicles anymore. Vehicles now are loaded up with all sorts of fancy electronics, turbos, screens, etc. Personally, I'm much more worried about having to replace that digital gauge cluster than I am a hybrid battery.

Many of the Toyota fans who bemoan adding more complicated modern technology in the new models aren't the ones buying them new anyway; they're the ones who want to be able to buy them with 200k miles on them for cheap and then drive them for another 100k. Hopefully these trucks are as reliable as their predecessors, that's still an unknown, but full size truck power and performance with MPGs in the low-to-mid 20s sounds pretty good to me.

As sort of an auto enthusiast I can relate to buying the top engine option. I do exactly that for pretty much any vehicle I buy. I own a Wrangler 392 and my wife has an X5 M50i. Those vehicles were designed with a focus on performance both being large heavy vehicles than can accelerate to 60 in 4 seconds and run 1/4 mile times in the 12’s.

But a Toyota Tacoma’s claim to fame is reliability. That is why people buy Toyota over other brands. It’s why you see these things running around the desert in third world countries with a .50 caliber BMG mounted in the bed. I’m not saying the Hybrid will have problems I’m just saying the non Hybrid is less likely to do so. Hybrid has its advantages in many applications.
I just don’t think the I-Max is a game changer for what most people use a midsize truck for (Home depot, light hauling, light towing). It’s nice that those who want it have that choice though.

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