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Next-Gen 2022 Toyota Tundra: Fans Mixed on MPG Estimates

A brand new 2022 Tundra is on its way. How much MPG is good enough for buyers though?

The end of 2021 cannot get here soon enough. This is when most insiders feel we will see a next-gen Toyota Tundra hitting dealerships across the country.

I have recently written several stories for Torque News detailing my opinions on potential Tundra powertrain, transmissions, and even Tundra Hybrid specs.

Today I would like to discuss the all-important miles per gallon.

2022 Toyota Tundra mpg

2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro Lunar Rock profile view2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro - Lunar Rock

Tundra truck owners certainly care about how much they are paying for gasoline. Naturally, a big factor here is the mpg their truck is achieving.

Current 2021 Tundra fuel estimates are 13 in the city / 17 on the highway / 14 combined. We would all like to see this increase. But by how much?

Expectations are high for this latest Tundra entry – especially since Tundra has not been fully redesigned since 2007.
I plan on seeing at least two different power plant options. A twin turbo V6 gasoline-only and a hybrid.

2022 Tundra Hybrid

2021 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Lunar Rock 2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro Lunar Rock2021 Tacoma & Tundra TRD Pro - Lunar Rock

I am curious what expectations Tundra owners and fans have for 2022 model year mpg. I went to the most passionate fan base I could think of – online fan forum TundraCrew.

The question I posed is this: “What type of gas mileage do you need in order to consider a Tundra Hybrid?”

The feedback I received was enlightening.

Mike commented. “Good question!! Needs to be 30mpg like Ford F-150 one. For us, the payload would need to be around 2,100 lbs. & towing capacity at least 11k as we'd be towing a 7,000lb GVWR 27' Lance travel trailer all over North America 6 to 9 1/2 months every year. Would likely be able to justify the price tag of $70k - we'd have to get a loan for part of it.”

“F150 gets 26 highway according to its sticker. I've looked at this as I'm in the market for a truck. Part of the reason I'm holding on right now is because I did read an article speculating the Tundra will get close to 30 mpg with its hybrid.” Responded Derek.

Billie had a useful suggestion. “I wish vehicles would come with a towing city and hwy mpg as well.”

“If it gets 25+ and has more torque than the turbo 6 motors I’d be down. Electric motor torque is instantaneous as well. It’d be great for towing.” Said Alex.

VIDEO: Watch as I debate my friend TRD Jon over the better TRD Pro - Tundra vs Tacoma

Good point and low-end torque is absolutely a great benefit of a Tundra Hybrid.

Branden added. “If you are worried about fuel mileage, then a full-size truck isn’t for you. I’m more focused on reliability and capabilities than fuel mileage.”

Chris is looking for “22+ hwy.”

“Like none of us would want 22-25 mpg average; I'd love that. We all would; Let's be real. Not ready to get rid of my truck yet, but a Hybrid Tundra makes a TON of sense and I'm looking forward to it.” Said an excited Jared.

Allyn had great insight. “A high MPG city truck with b*lls for towing my boat when I need it would be awesome. 25 hwy, 18 city and 14 towing would be good enough to want to switch for me.”

“30mpg is rumor.” Claimed B Jay.

“We've waited for this truck line for quite some time, so it better be 25+.” Jeff is ready for details and specifics.

Andy had his own set of criteria. “I don’t care about the mpg for a hybrid Tundra, but I would love if they could use that for some great performance. I sold Toyota’s back in the day and the hybrid Highlander was fairly impressive over standard.”

“I mean I'd love to see 400hp, 500tq and 20mpg while still beating the ever-loving p*** out of it.” Said John.

Christopher commented. “City / Highway 18-23 driven hard or towing.”

“At least 20, and similar towing capacity as a standard gasser.” Replied Andrew.

Time for your Toyota Tundra comments

As you can see from the comments, Tundra fans have “fuel efficiency wish list ratings” that are all over the map. And it makes complete sense. Each Toyota Tundra owner drives their truck for different reasons and to serve different purposes.

Gas mileage may be more important to some than for others.

For me, I would love to hear we are getting a 2020 Toyota Tundra Hybrid that exceeds 25mpg in some capacity. I truly have no clue which way this will go, though.

What are you looking forward to with this new 2022 Toyota Tundra? Are you more looking forward to the gasoline trims or the hybrid trims?

Thanks for reading everyone. See you next story when I evaluate a new Camry all-wheel drive.

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Comments

Dustin (not verified)    March 23, 2021 - 10:12PM

I am in the market and waiting to see what this looks like and performs like. If it got 18 city 23 highway I’m all set.

Tony l (not verified)    March 26, 2021 - 9:39AM

In reply to by Sales (not verified)

Why toyota never came out with a diesel is baffling to me. All the other 1/2 ton truck manufacturers have them. Most likely because customers asked for them and the manufacturers listened. I had 2 tundras with v-8 's. But I wanted diesel and ended up with a 2020 ram 3.0 diesel and love it.

Richey Leamer (not verified)    March 29, 2021 - 10:48AM

In reply to by Tony l (not verified)

The part about this that raises the question is they sent a prototype to SEMA back in 2007. They have toyota diesel motors in vehicles everywhere in the world "except" the USA. The brand reliability would be the best selling point and give the big 3 a run for their money. So WHY have they not entered the market?

Tony l (not verified)    March 26, 2021 - 9:42AM

In reply to by Sales (not verified)

Why toyota never came out with a diesel is baffling to me. All the other 1/2 ton truck manufacturers have them. Most likely because customers asked for them and the manufacturers listened. I had 2 tundras with v-8 's. But I wanted diesel and ended up with a 2020 ram 3.0 diesel and love it.

Ted Wright (not verified)    March 24, 2021 - 7:21AM

70k are you freaking kidding! No mpg is worth that! That's 2.5x as much as my folks paid for their house in "70". Not only is the labor worker being priced out of the pickup market but is being priced out of driving period! Even a 100k+ miles piece of junk Prius is 15k$. These prices are WAY way out of line!

Gary Allomong (not verified)    March 28, 2021 - 9:04AM

In reply to by Ted Wright (not verified)

I will have to agree on the that redickuless, astronomically, outrageously high price tag. I am in the market for a new truck I drive a 2002 Tacoma bought it new but I need a more powerful truck for future towing.

Steve Bedford Porter (not verified)    March 24, 2021 - 10:44AM

The mpg seems a little too low my Chevy Colorado with the diesel gets 32 on the freeway.
It has more horsepower and torque

Bill DeMouy (not verified)    March 24, 2021 - 11:17AM

Better gas mileage would be great. Tundras will pass everything on the rd. except a gas station. I would love to see the shifter put on the colunm. That would give u lots more console room. Extended mirrors turn signal indicator in mirror.

Big blue (not verified)    March 24, 2021 - 11:25AM

Toyota still have antiquated 3 step distribution? Adds 30% to prices for distributor profit in between manufacture and dealers.

@morrisjrforpr… (not verified)    March 24, 2021 - 11:56AM

Keep the 5.7 and add hybrid 5.7, along with the new v6/v6 hybrid, its only the right thing to do also give everyone commenting a free 4x4 when they complete it. Thanks everyone and thanks Toyota and all of the big truck makers.

John (not verified)    March 24, 2021 - 12:22PM

Everyone is nuts if they think a hybrid truck is going to get anywhere near 20 mpg towing any significant weight. Real world numbers will be the same mpg or less as a gas V8.

Mike (not verified)    March 24, 2021 - 9:55PM

If your worried about the gas milage, let me put it this way, your not ready for a tundra or any other big truck. It will better to go a buy a buy a corolla or a prius

Kenny (not verified)    March 29, 2021 - 10:24AM

In reply to by Mike (not verified)

As a current silverado driver that uses slightly more fuel than a car i would absolutely be worried about fuel mileage. If tundra drops a hybrid and some updated features i would consider swapping. That said if its not more fuel efficient than im not even considering the switch. Driven fullsize silverados for 14 years and never had a problem. So looking forward to see if tundra can tempt me

Sales (not verified)    March 24, 2021 - 10:04PM

I currently sell for Toyota. Toyota does not released any information to the sales consultants or management about what we should expect to see when there’s a new/updated release. Unfortunately we don’t know until the day of. What we have heard is the 5.7 Liter will no longer be available.

Stephen Smart (not verified)    March 25, 2021 - 11:20AM

Like the one guy said, if mpg's are your concern then don't buy a full sized truck. Get a 4 banger Camry. According to my trip computer and with the cruise on at 70 mph, 20 mpg is my average. 2013 Tundra 2 wheel drive. Factory hp at 381. Dyno testing shows only 300 of those horses are making it to the rear wheels. A lot of folks don't realize how much fuel economy is affected by speed. I am on the road a lot and my observations are most people drive 80 mph or more in a 70 mph zone. When I am driving with cruise on at 60 mph, my average is 25. So from 60 to 70 mph a difference of 5 mph.

Lester McDaniel (not verified)    March 26, 2021 - 6:39AM

The best MPG for full size trucks is the Ram EcoDiesel with hwy between 33 - 35 mpg.

The 2021 Ford Powerboost Hybrid is 24 mpg in both city and hwy.

Tundra will have to get to the 33 - 35 mpg mark the EcoDiesel gets for anyone to switch to a Tundra unless they finally update their interior like Ford and Ram has done.

The upside of Toyota is they have been in the hybrid game much longer and new hybrids have a 10 year 150,000 mile warranty on the hybrid system.

Casey (not verified)    April 1, 2021 - 2:04PM

In reply to by Lester McDaniel (not verified)

Toyota dies not have to do anything now to compete.. just the resale value alone makes it better than a junk dodge. Interier?? Really? You judge a truck based on what the inside looks like? The new dodge interior makes me feel like I need to drive it to church and park it. Molded plastic does not make a truck.. comments like this is why we only get SUVs in the states..

Gregory Perkins (not verified)    June 22, 2021 - 2:32PM

In reply to by Lester McDaniel (not verified)

The tundra will have 400 hp and like 650 torque or 140 hp more than ram 3.0 diesel and 200 more torque and thats 21 city 29. 6 mpg more than ford hybrid is like 25 percent better mpg a lot more.

Chris M (not verified)    March 27, 2021 - 3:26PM

I currently drive a Tacoma and like it a lot. I'm considering upgrading to a full size truck. I don't care that much about fuel economy, I'm more interested in performance and capabilities. A roomier can would be nice too. Real world has mileage on a new F159 hybrid is around 24 MPG. I expect Toyota to beat this a little. I really hope they don't screw up the driving dynamics as that is the case with most hybrids. Sure they accelerate better in a straight line. But if you are driving through twisty road and are constantly varying throttle they are worthless. Many of you don't drive like me and won't notice but sportier drivers will understand. It's all about predictable smooth quick throttle response. Hopefully Toyota nails it.
I hope Toyota offers flat tow capability like the domestic trucks. Being able to tow a truck with my motorhome would be a huge benefit.

Angus (not verified)    March 28, 2021 - 3:51PM

I'd be willing to get a hybrid provided it has 28+mpg hwy.
As it stands on my 2019 Chev 1500, I regularly get
8-9L/100km on the HWY, and its a 5.3L Gas V8.

Never A Tundra (not verified)    March 28, 2021 - 9:17PM

My 2018 Ford F150 4X4 with 3.5 Ecoboost gets 24-26 mpg highway and 21 combined. Only gets 16 in city if I put my foot into it traffic light to traffic light.

Steve (not verified)    March 29, 2021 - 10:09AM

I am running a 2019 TRD sport 5.7 getting 15 to 18mpg all around and 12mpg towing 6000lbs. I did not consider feul economy when shopping for my Tundra. I wanted performance and reliability...and I got that. HOWEVER, my commuter vehicle is an electric Chevy Bolt. I was hoping the Tundra redesign would have a plug-in hybrid option. I know a modest battery would cost some payload rating, but I would ditch my Bolt if I could commute 60+mi round trip on full electric in a Tundra...and recharge at home while I sleep.
...maybe the 2045 model?

Fred Zappa (not verified)    March 29, 2021 - 6:49PM

Just glad I won't be in the market for a new truck until 2025 or so. Hopefully by then all the kinks will be worked out.

Ray (not verified)    March 30, 2021 - 8:29AM

It’s an oxymoron to qualify truck owners and prospective truck owners as concerned about fuel usage. By definition, a work/utility “truck” cannot be defined by testing in sterile lab conditions MPG results. Anyone concerned about these reports is in a fantasy world as carrying loads, pulling trailers, pushing snow blades, and the good old American sport, speeding, carries a huge penalty. I see truck idling for hours, w/o need at sites, at times at stores parking lots, empty and idling, and on the road, speeding. Whatever the reported mpg might be, try 50% less. So, do reports about “trucks” but to raise mpg concerns, sorry, it’s vapor wares. Thanks