Toyota Corolla 2.0 Excel Hybrid Enormous Fuel Consumption

[Catlover]

Andy (Driver69), 

According to this link below the official mpg for the 2.0 hybrid is up to 60.9 mpg depending on alloy wheels fitted. Seems like your figure of 65 is for the 1.8 hybrid as it is quoted 55.4 to 65.9 mpg depending on alloy wheels. These will be the official WITP test figures as Frostyball’s says, nothing to do with Toyota.              
So you have a Corolla 2.0 hybrid, and being an Excel it may well be on the alloy wheel size that makes your official rated mpg somewhat less then 60.9, maybe up to 10 mpg less ie 50.9 mpg. 

https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/toyota/corolla/hatchback/mp

[TonyHSD]

When we talk about fuel consumption we all should mean full tank to full tank, no digits from dash screen, those needs time to adjust and sometimes they can easily mislead us., and sometimes for some reason they are stuck whether in lows or highs numbers.  Best way to have an average fuel consumption is to track the car for a period of time at least a week, doing so we can get more realistic figures. If anyone drives a car only for ultra short journeys like 1-2 miles each way, especially in winter then can’t expect much of what is shown really on the screen. Remember the hybrid cars are pretty much petrol cars with highly advanced stop start system that can help propel the car too. . very much like recently getting popular “mild hybrid “ from German brands. Toyota hybrids same as all petrol and diesel powered cars does not like ultra short journeys, they need to get to optimal working temperatures that takes time we don’t have so they will never reach great efficiency. For those type of journeys full EV’s are best suited or plug in hybrid that can serve you well in both situations. I believe Corolla 2.0 hybrid is proper commuter car or great for long motorway journeys. 
Regards 

[shufman]

Yeah I think that the 2.0 works better on longer or faster journeys than the Yaris did. The Yaris only did the same fuel consumption (and sometimes worse) on longer journeys whereas the Corolla seems to benefit from a more mixed drive. 
 

is anyone using the MyT app by the way? It’s connected to my car and gives a detailed breakdown of each journey. 

[Beach]

I’ve noticed a very significant difference in consumption at 70+ when it drops below 40. However lowering the speed to 60/65 it improves to high 40s or low 50s. 

Although it may seem strange to sit in the slow lane around 60, it actually makes for a more restful drive, and adds very little to journey times, or average speed over a long journey - given normal holdups, roadworks, etc.

[Catlover]

On 2/15/2020 at 11:08 AM, Driver69 said:

Still, the way they hooked be to by this car was 65 mpg promise. So it was just a trick to attract naive customers. The reality is always different from propaganda on the  mass media:) 

I know you trying to have a pop at Toyota because you disappointed in your mpg figures, but a lot of your disappointment is “manufactured” by yourself. I f you going to drive your 180 bhpcar to its max you will get no where near the mpg figure Toyota HAS to publish - a figure derived from tests that all manufacturers have to put their cars through, tests conducted to a standard laid out under an international body, tests I suspect conducted by an independent body.       
In my case, I did a 50 mile journey from Telford to Chester in June 2019 along A roads where I did 96.5 mpg. That was the second part of a journey back home from Gloucester, the first part, 116 mile from Gloucester to Chester I average 88 mpg. The day before I did a total 47 miles in the Cotswolds and averaged 79.4 mpg, up and down the roads in beautiful Cotwolds.       
Photo of my dash reading after the journey, and the readings for few days before.

I very happy with those figures, I can’t remember what the official figures are for a Prius with optional 15” wheels are, but I reckon at least the 96.5 mpg EXCEEDS the official figures.  😄

[AndrueC]

19 hours ago, Beach said:

Although it may seem strange to sit in the slow lane around 60, it actually makes for a more restful drive, and adds very little to journey times, or average speed over a long journey - given normal holdups, roadworks, etc.

Yup, I've been doing that for a few years now even before I got my Corolla. Unless you're going several hundred miles it doesn't make much difference to the journey time as you say. And anyway if your journey is for leisure an extra 15 minutes is unimportant. The only issues I've found with doing this are:

* Some motorists aren't very good at joining motorways. In particular a lot of them don't like accelerating to take up the space in front of you. Particularly annoying since that's the only space you can create to help them join. The very worst of them then also refuse to ease off to drop in behind so you either end up in a dangerous game of chicken and/or you have to move out into lane 2 temporarily which is a dangerous manoeuvre, especially at a junction.

* The radar cruise control works well when you come up behind slower vehicles if you're being especially patient and are happy to do 56 mph rather than 60 mph. However it can be a problem at exits if vehicles are slowing as they leave. You need to be on your toes ready to jam your foot down once they are clear otherwise the car will take a while to realise it can pick up speed again.

[nielshm]

19 hours ago, Beach said:

I’ve noticed a very significant difference in consumption at 70+ when it drops below 40. However lowering the speed to 60/65 it improves to high 40s or low 50s. 

Although it may seem strange to sit in the slow lane around 60, it actually makes for a more restful drive, and adds very little to journey times, or average speed over a long journey - given normal holdups, roadworks, etc.

My mpg's at 70 mph is pretty close to 50 mpg or higher. Actually, there's very little difference between 60 or 70 mph.

80 mph starts to cost. Difference from 70 to 80 is close to 20%.

[Chattacks]

The thing to keep in mind with mpg its a guidance not a given. There is no way people can expect to drive as they always have and get the quoted figures. People who drive particularly poorly and drive with brains disengaged will struggle to get the mpg but also think driving slightly differently from their usual bad manner will give them the figure. 

High MPG driving takes anticipation and planning ahead. Trying to keep rolling at lights, avoiding harsh acceleration and braking and general avoidance of the traffic light grand prix, tailgaiting and trying to go round a roundabout full throttle. Far too many on the roads these days drive like nut jobs literally racing up to a light thats red (even though they are going to be sat at it!?)etc

Basically it is you who will have to make big changes to your driving if you actually want the mpg...

[Catlover]

Bang on Schulth.

[olddriver]

I am sorry if I missed something, as I haven't read all the replies, but I don't think that one tankfull of petrol is enought to get an accurate fuel consumption, as you are not necessarily going to fill the tank up to exactly the same level, however I accept that the mpg does seem to be low.

[Driver69]

14 hours ago, Catlover said:

I know you trying to have a pop at Toyota because you disappointed in your mpg figures, but a lot of your disappointment is “manufactured” by yourself. I f you going to drive your 180 bhpcar to its max you will get no where near the mpg figure Toyota HAS to publish - a figure derived from tests that all manufacturers have to put their cars through, tests conducted to a standard laid out under an international body, tests I suspect conducted by an independent body.       
In my case, I did a 50 mile journey from Telford to Chester in June 2019 along A roads where I did 96.5 mpg. That was the second part of a journey back home from Gloucester, the first part, 116 mile from Gloucester to Chester I average 88 mpg. The day before I did a total 47 miles in the Cotswolds and averaged 79.4 mpg, up and down the roads in beautiful Cotwolds.       
Photo of my dash reading after the journey, and the readings for few days before.

I very happy with those figures, I can’t remember what the official figures are for a Prius with optional 15” wheels are, but I reckon at least the 96.5 mpg EXCEEDS the official figures.  😄

I'm not Toyota adept  like you and your wife are. My disappointment was manufactured by high fuel consumption, not by myself. You posted the data from technically different car and hybrid power train. Absolutely pointless.  

[FROSTYBALLS]

17 minutes ago, Driver69 said:

I'm not Toyota adept  like you and your wife are. My disappointment was manufactured by high fuel consumption, not by myself. You posted the data from technically different car and hybrid power train. Absolutely pointless.  

Mod comment - You either want advice or you don't, and an attitude such as in the quote above doesn't help. Do we need to lock the topic?

[Catlover]

8 hours ago, Driver69 said:

I'm not Toyota adept  like you and your wife are. My disappointment was manufactured by high fuel consumption, not by myself. You posted the data from technically different car and hybrid power train. Absolutely pointless.  

Hi Andy, I was not posting the mpg figures from my Prius to say this is what you should be achieving in your 2.0 litre Corolla, I know there are differences between the two cars. I dont consider my comments pointless. What I was showing is that it is possible to get very good fuel consumption from Toyota hybrid engines if the circumstances are favourable ie weather, type of terrain, even road surface, plus the style of driving.                  
I have spent more then a few hours on places like YouTube looking at videos of drivers who are passing on techniques they use to achieve good fuel consumption figures. By doing so I have put into practice what I have learnt, and that has meant I too can achieve the “official” mpg figures on the occasions that circumstances are advantageous, and at all times I will get better mpg then if I had not put into practice those driving techniques.                  
The official figures for your 2.0 litre hybrid show 50-60mpg, depending on what wheels you have fitted. Achieving those figures will be possible, I believe, if all circumstances are good, and that includes the driving techniques adopted.          
I cannot achieve those high mpg figures every time I drive. When I achieved those figures in late June 2019, you recall it was a hot summer, we decided to travel home from Gloucester to Chester using the A roads, never touched a Mway, so 60 mph max, often less. Beautiful scenery, very relaxing, the car engine wholly warm (which is important for good mpg I find), and I just drove the car as I have trained myself to do. If I had done that journey on a cold December day, I expect the mpg to be maybe 8mpg less, possibly more then that.            
I appreciate not everyone has the inclination to watch YouTube videos, but they helped me get the mpg I do.  If that is what needs to be done to achieve the “official” figures, it shows the “official” figures can be achieved, but the driver and other circumstances are very much part of that achievement.

I find this forum to be very helpful, and the atmosphere is very good. I have been on one or two forums in the past (not car related forums), where there are some very angry people, who, if you don’t agree with them they can rant and rave. This forum is certainly NOT like that. Here, advice is given freely, and it’s up to each individual to either accept and work along with it, or simply dismiss it, a choice we all have. I believe that concept will continue. 

[AndrueC]

The most important thing to learn to improve fuel consumption - on any vehicle - is acceleration sense and in particular 'driving without brakes'. Hybrid systems do mitigate the losses from braking but they can't recover all the energy. Thus it is still better to avoid the use of brakes and to maintain a constant average speed as long as possible. Every time a vehicle changes speed energy is expended or lost.

https://www.todaysmotorvehicles.com/article/driving-without-brakes/

My driving instructor told me, over 30 years ago, that "brakes are for stopping and correcting mistakes". There should be no need to use brakes when approaching bends and ideally you shouldn't use them much at junctions, especially not roundabouts.

One of the unsung benefits of this is improved safety. In order to 'drive without brakes' you need to develop an increased acceleration sense and traffic awareness. This implicitly makes you a safer driver. In addition by minimising use of brakes in normal driving you maintain a reserve of braking effort for emergencies. Most drivers use nearly all their braking force when approaching a junction. If something untoward happens they have little ability to brake harder. Using DWB techniques, however, most of the time you'll barely be feathering the brakes and will always have large amounts of braking capacity to call on should the need arise (and you'll likely be travelling slower as well).

[Catlover]

Good post Andrue, and the link is very relevant to the thread.

[AndrueC]

Thanks. It's also worth nothing that in most traffic conditions DWB does not increase journey times. On urban dual carriageways I've often been able to keep up with the heavy accelerate/heavy braking traffic because whilst they might pass me when pulling away I catch back up at the next junction and at roundabouts often pass them because I never had to come to a stop.

In heavy traffic conditions DWB helps you avoid stop/go situations which makes your journey more pleasant and if everyone was doing it would improve overall throughput. This is the theory behind variable speed limits on motorways - smooth out the traffic flow to improve throughput. Sadly they ruined the idea by implementing smart motorways which was a silly and dangerous idea.

[Rivorian]

Our Hybrid 2.0 184bhp Corolla TS did 5,4 litres per 100km in the Summer and 5.6 litres right know during very mild Winter in Finland/Estonia. So around 50mpg in the Winter and 52mpg in the Summer. I drive mostly in the city and in ECO mode, but I am very happy with these figures given that a 120kw (163bhp) Turbodiesel Volvo V60 with start/stop system did 6,5 in Summer and 7,3 in Winter.... for me it saves around 70-80€ per month.

Oh and the consumption has been the same since we got it with 7km on the odometer. Going for a 15 000km service on Friday

Edited February 19, 2020 by Rivorian
Typo + additional comment

[nielshm]

It's getting harder to keep my own average mpg. I think the new E10 fuel is some of the reason. Various internet posts claims 2-3% loss due to the higher percentage of ethanol, which fits my mpg's drop. The ethanol has less power compared to gasoline, and it burns slower. 

If I remember correctly, the new 2.0 engine was designed for rapid internal combustion and gas flow. It's a shame if the E10 more or less ruins that new design. 

A article about E10 vs E5 is found here. https://www.euractiv.com/section/transport/news/test-shows-e10-increases-fuel-consumption/

[nielshm]

Read this. 10% increased fuel consumption with E10 compared to non ethanol fuel. 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/new-e10-fuel-could-reduce-cars-economy-10-cent

[FROSTYBALLS]

The UK Government is still considering whether to introduce E10 petrol.

[Rivorian]

Hmm, just checked again today. Our 95 is also E10 so the fuel consumption I mentioned earlier is also with 95 E10.

[Timmon]

On 2/15/2020 at 10:45 AM, Driver69 said:

My situation looks exactly as you described. Yesterday my wife did 40 mile trip, consisted from mix of country roads and traffic jams in the  small towns. She managed to get 52 mpg. It looks like that my problem is short distances I travel and may be  my right feet. Thank you guys for discussion an useful comments. Now I figured out whats happening, and definitely there is no need to challenge  the dealer.

Glad you got it sorted. I had a feeling it is just a case of getting used to driving a Hybrid, but your mpg did seem hard to achieve, so equally, it could have been a problem with the hybrid system (although I can't remember anyone on the forum , yet, having had a hybrid problem).

I think the dealer must have had you hooked on the car 1.8 model. when I bought mine, the 2ltr was not launched, so I achieved about 68 mpg in the test drive, in a 1.8. But my sales man made it clear that if I wanted the better performance, mpg would probably be 50 to 55 mpg, depending on road conditions, driving style, time of the year, and how much of the car's luxury items I chose to use. In a Hybrid, you are much more aware of the consequence of your actions! In my last car, the only indication was noting at what speed the fuel gauge was falling.

Just see how you go. My car is on around 45mpg at the moment, but I was getting 55 in the summer. 

[Timmon]

On 2/18/2020 at 9:00 AM, AndrueC said:

The most important thing to learn to improve fuel consumption - on any vehicle - is acceleration sense and in particular 'driving without brakes'. Hybrid systems do mitigate the losses from braking but they can't recover all the energy. Thus it is still better to avoid the use of brakes and to maintain a constant average speed as long as possible. Every time a vehicle changes speed energy is expended or lost.

https://www.todaysmotorvehicles.com/article/driving-without-brakes/

My driving instructor told me, over 30 years ago, that "brakes are for stopping and correcting mistakes". There should be no need to use brakes when approaching bends and ideally you shouldn't use them much at junctions, especially not roundabouts.

One of the unsung benefits of this is improved safety. In order to 'drive without brakes' you need to develop an increased acceleration sense and traffic awareness. This implicitly makes you a safer driver. In addition by minimising use of brakes in normal driving you maintain a reserve of braking effort for emergencies. Most drivers use nearly all their braking force when approaching a junction. If something untoward happens they have little ability to brake harder. Using DWB techniques, however, most of the time you'll barely be feathering the brakes and will always have large amounts of braking capacity to call on should the need arise (and you'll likely be travelling slower as well).

Good points AndrueC . 

In my last car, the big problem I had was not using the brakes! I likes to get a shift on, but am used to slowing in plenty of time at roundabouts, and watch other cars zoom by braking furiously and tailgating in front of me. I lost count of the number of replacement disks i had, due to surface pitting, mainly on the rear. The mechanics told me to take the car for a burn up the A43 once in a while, and use the breaks hard when safe to do so. 

I actually wonder how the Corolla will fare, because my driving style is not to break at each corner, and I do coast a lot up to junctions. With the Hybrid, the energy recovery may mean even less friction on the disks, which may mean more corrosion on the disks (Usually starts at the outer and inner edges if the disk).

I will be interested to see how the disks last. 

[AndrueC]

2 hours ago, Timmon said:

I will be interested to see how the disks last. 

A very good point. They are smaller discs as well so pitting could be more of a problem. It'll be interesting to see what they say at the service in a couple of weeks. At the first service of my last Jazz the mechanic had written 0% although I was never sure about how accurately they can measure the discs, lol.

[Ampex196]

Corolla 2.0 Touring Design Sept 2019 5,100 miles

Fuel consumption excessive avg. 42-44 mpg first winter period - around 650 miles since delivery.I traded in a 2012 Auris T-Spirit which would average 55-60 mpg over winter and easily 65-70 mpg in summer months.  I'd expected some trade-off with the 2.0 litre hybrid; around 5 mpg I was told.  Consumption is actually higher by around 14-15 mpg.

I can only suspect a fault.  Stoneacre, Silverlink are unwilling to investigate free of charge:  Disgusting, having just spent £25K with them.

Though the car is a lot quicker than the old Auris, I do drive it sympathetically and use brakes as little as possible except for occasional firm applications to maintain disc surfaces in good condition and prevent sticking calipers.

I find that both the Auris and Corolla's handling benefits from sightly higher (around 3 psi) than recommended tyre pressures.  Particularly with the Vredestein Quatrac 5s' this sharpens cornering and of course reduces rolling resistance.  With the Falkens' as factory fitted to the Corolla the difference is less obvious.