Manual Transmission notably worse MPG than automatic?

I much prefer a manual transmission on any vehicle. Looking into a 3rd gen. and want to hear from owners of the manual transmission what their normal highway mpg is. The truck with a manual is rates at 2 less highway mpg compared to the automatic.

 

87,000 miles 6MT 2017 PRO. Lifetime 18.9MPG

Real men drive 3 pedals

 

That’ll be because of the gearing, especially the final drive ratio (higher in the MTs).

I get ~19mpg on the highway but that all depends on speed. Boogie and you’ll get a lot less.

The money you’ll save by buying the MT will go quite a ways in gas and enjoyment. The MT is this truck is one of the most satisfying to drive. You can’t go wrong with it!

 

My overall average is about 20 MPG, a little better in the summer and a little less in the Winter.

 

I have a short commute through town and regularly get 15-16mpg. If I make it to the highway I can get 19. But I don’t care because I’m enjoying every gallon of gas. Stick shift was the #1 reason I bought this truck.

 

On my daily work commute mix of freeway and street:
I owned a 17 AT sport 4x4: 21 mpg.
I own now a 17 MT off-road 4x4: 19.2 mpg.

The pleasure from driving the MT far outweighs the little I saved in gas mileage. Go MT and never look back. When was the last time you heard-“Man, that automatic transmission sure is a blast to drive”?

 

Man, my 4cyl Auto Trans pickup sure is a blast to drive.

 

The Manual has a 4.30 rear end and sixth gear is 0.71:1. The Automatic has a 3.909:1 rear end and a 0.58:1 6th gear.
In other words, the RPM of 6MT Tacoma is like 26% higher than the Auto Tacoma on the highway.

It's worth it though. The 6MT is geared much more aggressively and it feels like you have a lot of power. I average 14-16mpg with my Double Cab TRD OR 6MT on stock tires. I'd probably get 16-18 with an auto how I drive. I'd still drive the 6MT over an auto even if I got 11MPG

Edit: I checked my math. At 75mph a AT will be roughly 1900rpm and a 6MT will be roughly 2500rpm. Thats over 30% difference!

 

You can get decent mileage out of the Manual if you aren't in a big hurry, not bad for in the middle of winter.

 

I've had a manual for the past 30 or more years and went for the AT in the taco. I think that the AT has a higher towing capacity,if that's a concern.

My overall average, hwy, local and hustling to go ride and doing the actual math is 20, the computers will blow smoke up your ass.

 

They both aren't great on mpg anyway.

 

You can easily get 22-24 on the highway if you keep your speed down below 70. 16-18 in town with conservative shifting and throttle. You wont see those numbers til about 6K miles though. Takes a bit to break the engine and drive train in. I average right at 20.

 

Totally agree

 

See fuelly below.

It's been better than expected.

For me, I could always meet or beat EPA estimates with MTs even screwing around. AT estimates were always an unattainable goal unless doing a highway trip on cruise control.

That's just me though.

 

I find toyota on board MPG estimate is pretty accurate. Mine is always with in .5 MPG and same thing with other Toyota’s I have had.

 

6MT was the only transmission I considered. MPG is worse than the auto but totally worth it. On stock tires I was averaging 18.5 MPG now on KO2 getting around 17.5 MPG.

 

What is that, two oil changes?

 

I’ve had both. In the auto I averaged about 18 and in the MT I’m right around 20 mpg. I’ve got thousands of miles towing and my lifetime average is still 19.3 in the MT. If you do any towing, you’ll see significantly better fuel economy with the MT - 14 MT vs 10 AT

 

I have c rated tires and if I keep it to 65 I will do about 22mpg on flat land, 24-26 safe distance behind a semi. 70mph I will drop to 21 on flat.

Non interstate speeds 55-60 seems to be the sweet spot.

2018 6mt

Edit - I forgot to mention, that is with the front air dam off. With the front air dam on it’s a mile per gallon better or so. A lot of people think it makes no difference, but if it’s a completely perfect condition day, I still get about a half mile per gallon better

 

I have Blizzaks starting Nov 15, heavy E rated KO2s starting late March. 62% city, 38% highway. I knew the truck would not be like the diesel Golf I had before VW bought it back, but I did not think it would suck gas like Monica Lewinsky.