Which Toyota truck is the better MPG towing rig? Who wants to wager a guess?

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A couple weeks ago we loaded up a brand new orange Toyota Tacoma TRD with myself, Kent (Mr. Truck) and Brian (TFL’s new Technical Editor) and headed out to I-76 for a real world towing test.

We also strapped on Logan horse trailer with 5600 pounds of non-horsey weight, and drove the new Taco 100 miles at an average 70 MPH to find out the real world towing MPG of the new truck. You can watch that video below.

When it was all said and done the new 2016 Toyota Tacoma averaged 8.4 MPG in real world testing pulling 5600 pounds with a combined truck, trailer and Team TFL weight of 10,740 pounds. We couldn’t help but notice that the Toyota Tacoma’s new 3.5L V-6 that produces 278 HP was working pretty hard to move the Taco down the road. In fact the engine stayed pegged between 4000 and about 4500 RPM for most of the test run.

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That of course got us wondering about which truck is the better Toyota MPG towing rig: the Taco or the Tundra? In fact I made a bet with Brian and Kent that newish Toyota Tundra would beat the Tacoma’s 8.4 average MPG number towing the same trailer, weight and number of people on the same 100 mile highway loop. I figured that the Tundra’s 5.7-liter V-8 that produces 381 hp @ 5600 rpm and 401 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm would be more relaxed and more fuel efficient towing 5600 pounds. I bet the boys that the Tundra will get at least 9 MPG to the gallon versus the Tacoma’s as test 8.4 MPG.

Phone calls were made.

Dates were added to google’s TFL group calendar and a test Toyota Tundra was loaned to us by the kind PR people a Toyota. That truck was scheduled to be delivered to our offices yesterday. Alas a winter storm turned Colorado’s highways into ice skating rinks yesterday so the new Tundra will arrive today.

Tomorrow TFL’s test Logan Horse Trailer will be loaded, weighed and strapped onto the Tundra and we will once again dine on hot dogs and Doritos from the Love’s truck stop.

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By the end of business hours tomorrow we will know which truck is the better MPG towing rig at 5600 pounds of weight.

Will is be the new Toyota Tacoma or the newish Toyota Tundra with the bigger and more powerful V8?

As you know I’ve bet the boys the Tundra will return a real world number of at least 9 MPG on TFL’s 100 mile test loop at 70 MPH. Keep in mind that the official EPA numbers for the Tundra are 13 MPG in the city and 17 MPG on the Highway. The EPA rates the 4WD Automatic Toyota Tacoma we tested below at 18 MPG city and 23 MPG on the highway. On paper at least the Taco should return a better towing MPG number. But in real world towing testing the results maybe much different.

There is still one unknown factor. The 2016 5.7-liter V-8 Toyota Tundra comes with either a 4.10 or a towing 4.30 axle-ratio. We’re still not sure which axle-ratio our test truck will have until it arrives later today. Of course the 4.30 axle-ratio as equipped with the tow package Tundra would most likely be the better towing MPG rig. Time will tell.

Who wants to wager a guess in the comments below and join in on our wager? Will the Toyota Tacoma or the Tundra get the better towing fuel economy results? You know that I’ve bet the boys the Tundra will get at least 9 Miles to the gallon towing 5600 pounds for 100 miles at an average speed of 70 MPH.

What’s your guess? Will I be buying the TFL boys truck stop hot dogs or will they be buying lunch?

 

 

 

Roman Mica
Roman Mica is a columnist, journalist, and author, who spent his early years driving fast on the German autobahn. When he’s not reviewing cars or producing videos, you can find him training for triathlons and writing about endurance sports for EverymanTri.com as our sister blog’s publisher. Mica is a former broadcast reporter with his Master’s Degree in journalism from Northwestern University.