After 800 miles I'm at 22 mpg.

 

Mixed driving, Winter (CT) @ 23->24 MPG, Summer @ 28->30 MPG.

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I’ve only put around 500 miles on our 19 hybrid limited platinum but my first tank was 26 mpg (per the vehicle gauge). I’m averaging 29 halfway though the second tank. Both tanks have involved a fair bit of idling as well to learn the vehicle features, etc or they’d be a little higher. So far I’m very happy with it.

 

Assuming you're in a part of the country that typically gets cold for the winter, I'd blame the weather and "winter gas" for that problem. A few hundred miles will not tell you about your overall experience for mileage.

I drive a mix that's mostly city and short trips but some rural roads as well, and I also admit I have a lead foot pulling away from stoplights. I track MPG using an app using odo readings and amount of fuel pumped in; I don't trust the car's built-in trip computer at all. I've found that my lifetime average for my vehicles is very close to the "City" EPA rating. My V6 AWD Highlander is rated 18/24; my app is showing 19.18 at the moment.

On a per tank basis, my MPG is all over the map. Usually in the winter I'm anywhere between 14 and 18, and in the summer I'm between 19 and 24. In late November/early December I turned in a couple of 15.5 tanks myself. It was colder out at that time (20s-30s); the last 3-4 weeks have been above normal temps (a lot of 40's) and I'm back up to near 18 for the last couple of fill-ups. It's inevitable that colder weather will be coming back soon. I usually don't let the car idle and "warm up" before driving when it's cold, so I'm not affecting the MPG that way.

This experience is consistent across multiple cars. By some fluke, my driving habits end up being very similar to however the EPA comes up with the City rating.

 

My 2019 XLE was averaging via the trip computer reading 17.2 mpg for the first 2000 miles and the last few hundred miles seems to be at around 18mpg, the car has become smoother to drive , just seems to be using less in city driving, give it more than 400 miles and concentrate on driving the car as smoothly as possible to give it a nice start to life so to speak.:wink:

 

All small town stop and go in Havasu I get about 14 with my 2018 Platinum. In the Phoenix area the last 6 mo, 16-17 since we use freeways at times. Typically 25-28 on highway trips.

 

Your average fuel economy for anything other than pure highway driving will be HEAVILY dependent on traffic conditions, number of cold starts, driving habits, etc. and not easily comparable to anyone else's numbers. In the Detroit metro area (sometimes a mile between stoplights), my 2017 HL SE AWD averages between 20 and 22 mpg but it would be much lower in a more congested area. It will do between 25 mpg and 28+ mpg at a constant 70 mph. By comparison, my 2011 HL base V6 FWD would do between 19 mpg and 21 mpg in similar metro area driving.

Just for grins, I did a quick back of the envelope comparison between hybrid and non-hybrid. Assuming 20 mpg non-hybrid and 30 mpg hybrid and $2.50/gal gas, the hybrid would save me about $2000 over 50,000 miles. Unless you are simply looking to reduce gas consumption or betting gas prices will rise steeply, given the higher initial cost I'd call that roughly break even.

Paul

 

Your average fuel economy for anything other than pure highway driving will be HEAVILY dependent on traffic conditions, number of cold starts, driving habits, etc. and not easily comparable to anyone else's numbers. Unless you are simply looking to reduce gas consumption or betting gas prices will rise steeply, given the higher initial cost I'd call that roughly break even.
Paul

^
This sums it up.
I was really happy with my MPG's when I first got the car, as I drove it like I just bought it, and babied it off the line.
I was getting 18-23city, and 29-33hwy. But now I drive it like a tool(and added weight to the car, lol, so it's dropped significantly.
Now I get closer to 16-18city, 24-27hwy. As mentioned, driving habit is the biggest factor(all other things being equal).

Oh, and if you want to compare with more drivers results for fun, do a Advanced search with some keywords, as we have a LOT of logs

 

I only have 275 miles on my Limited AWD and the dash computer say 19.6, mixed highway and mountains and most of that was in PWR mode.

 

The difference between the Toyota vs Honda hybrid system is that the Toyota electric doesn't drive the wheels at speeds > 40mph, whereas the Honda (Accord, Clarity, Insite) the electric can drive at all speeds.
Depends on your amount of start/stops and slow speed driving.

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Very happy with my hybrid mileage, over the summer I could hypermile to a personal best of 31.3 from refill to refill - but I had to drive really conservatively. Normal commute I get 29-30 which dropped a little in the cold weather to 27-29.

On the 'is it worth the initial purchase price discussion' - when we leased our 2018 hybrid platinum the monthly was a little cheaper than the straight platinum gasoline model, which suggested to me the residual price for a Hybrid is also a factor, i.e. it retains value a little more.

 

Think of the long term and cost per mile. The higher cost of the hybrid and repairing it could very well exceed any savings in fuel over the life of the vehicle. However, it you are the type of person who trades off vehicles every couple of years that is not such an issue. Anything that fails in a hybrid is pricey to repair and there will be plenty of stuff to fail once the warranty expires. I would never own one, and by the time that is the only choice I will be 6 feet under but, hey, that is just me so, happy hybrid motoring to those that think they are the cat's meow.

 

Just to chime in a bit here as a 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid owner. Before buying it, I drove every version of the Prius, and the 4 cyl and 6 cyl Camrys. The 6 was a beast but unnecessary for me. the 4, while not as gutless as the Prius, left a lot to be desired in the torque department. Then I drove the Hybrid. What a difference! A CVT (LOVE IT!) and more torque. So why are some of you saying that the only thing to consider is mileage differences and cost differences? Hybrids are a different experience than gas-only. I will never buy another vehicle with discrete transmission gearing, or a non-hybrid (unless if I live long enough, a fully electric when charging becomes less of a hassle than today)

 

From what I have read you will "' definitely love your CVT " when it needs repair. The replacement costs near double a standard fixed gear transmission . Read up on Subaru. After the class action suit they paid, replaced, and gave money to customers paying for faulty transmissions back to 2010. Also had to warranty any CVT to 150,000 miles. Not recommended for towing it seems they are not the total replacement car companies want to depend on for customer satisfaction. Personally I think they are great, .... in someone elses driveway.

 

Had 2006 highlander hybrid and replaced it with 2019 highlander hybrid. No problems with the 2006 at all - still was going strong.

I tried the non-hybrid highlander and the quickness just wasnt there. I mighy as well get any other SUV. I agree, it is a different driving experience with the hybrid, more torque. Btw 2006 was getting 26 MPG while 2019 is about 30-31MPG summertime for my driving through traffic and max highway speed of 60mph (just cant drive faster since my area is too congested). I do actively manage by pressing EV mode, ECO mode and keeping lighter foot on the gas and let the pedal go often. But when needed, like when merging on highway or when i am in hurry, the car has enough pick up to put a smile in my face.

Last thing: for some reason 2006 hybrid highlander was faster off the line. Perhaps less ‘restrictions’.

 

Don't fear. I've had 3 Toyotas and none of them have needed repairs beyond the most minor things such as a failed w/s washer pump and a side window shade in a van; unlike every other vehicle I've owned. So don't fret about the trans.

 

I have a 2019 L E Plus non hybrid. I keep meticulous records ( O K I'm OCD) about fuel economy. After 12 fill ups, 129.7 gallons , my average MPG is 23.92. I don't depend on the cars readout, just use a log on fueleconomy.gov.

 

2019 Highlander Limited Platinum Hybrid. 2500 miles. Around town = 29.5MPG, highway = 27MPG. Breakeven on upcharge for hybrid about 3 yrs depending on price of regular gas (and your current MPG which sounds quite low). Good luck.

 

I ended up buying my xle hybrid after talking to a handful of nyc cabbies n uber drivers(highlander hybrids are all over the place here). Uniformly all of them swore by the reliability of the engine n transmission. I've averaged 27mpg in mixed driving over 3500 miles on my '19 thus far. I'm hoping the cvt/awdi holds up.

 

2016 Hybrid Limited Plat. 28 mpg highway consistently, 28 mpg city when it's relatively flat, 21 mpg city in the very hilly part of Seattle where I live.

Honestly the thing I like most about the Hybrid isn't the mileage, but the ability to sit in the car with climate control running and the engine usually off, only spinning up for a minute or two once in a while. Very relaxed engine speed at highway speeds is nice too.

The "CVT" isn't a conventional CVT, but a fixed planetary gearset that allows the engine to vary its speed by spinning one of the electric motors up or down. Use this "Prius simulator" to see how it works: http://eahart.com/prius/psd/ The only difference with the Highlander is that there is also the rear wheel motor in the mix, independently providing a bit of power or regen. Because the "transmission" is just a fixed gearset and the electric motors are doing all the work, the powertrain is exceedingly reliable.

 

My overall average of 9470 miles, which excludes first tank, sits at 27.2 mpg calculated. I'm pleased with that number. It is probably mostly highway miles.

 

My wife's 2017 has averaged 25.6mpg through this winter with 17inch winter tires on. This is on the car, not hand calculated. She's normally around 29 in the summertime on factory tires.

 

So many factors to consider; like elevation, % of ethanol, weather, your driving habits, etc.

My 2019 Limited gets 31 in city driving with gas that has up to 10% ethanol in the winter months and 27-28 during the summer. I live on the MS gulf coast, where winters are mild (we have seen 70's in Jan). I try to pay close attention to the MPG slide bar. Keep it to the right of the white line, as much as possible and coast to red lights and stop signs. Look for gas without ethanol if it's the same price. When I lived in MI, they didn't charge a premium for ethanol-free gas, which gives up to 10% better MPG. Down here, it's $0.50 more per gallon and not worth it.

 

My 2016 non-hybrid XLE got 23-24 mpg whereas my 2019 non-hybrid Limited Platinum gets 26-28, a significant improvement. My last tank showed 28.2 (best yet), and I've also found the dash computer to be accurate, another plus. This makes the hybrid--at least for me--not really worth the extra expense.

 

You're right about the hybrid not being worth the added expense, but it works for me. Primarily because summers are very hot in the deep south and I'm in a school pick-up line for almost two hours a day (total, two kids, two different schools). So I have to run the A/C most days and the hybrid keeps the engine from constantly running.

 

Take it back. I have a highlander hybrid 25 mpg combined hwy/city

 

The first couple thousand miles on our Highlander was in the neighborhood of 20 mpg. After an oil change and break in including pulling a car trailer for some retrivals mileage increased to the mid twenties. It's not a 40 mpg econo box one prays everytime a pot hole is contacted but a great riding all around safe unit. I have pulled cars and trailer in western Wisconsin bluffs as it handles the task better than my 3/4 truck . No complaints ( except for the lift gate junk activators which Toyota refused to fix without a thousand dollar tab ) on ride, handling, towing, or additional transport activities.

 

After 4 years of driving my 2019 HyHi, I am getting around 8.2-8.5 L/100km (which translating to ~27-29mpg). The best month I got is 7.8L/100km, which I could never be able to repeat. Winter obviously would get a higher consumption taking into account of running the heat and snow tires.
I used to driving a Sienna which had around 13-14L/100km. So, I am quite happy with the number of this V6 hybrid. It has the power to tow my 3000# RV trailer around. Of course, the mileage is totally different number in this case.