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George (not verified)    April 1, 2021 - 12:22PM

In reply to by David Losh (not verified)

I got my 2021 Rav4 XLE in early January. So far, it averaged around 36mpg in winter driving, mostly in the city, with the heat on. Since it’s gotten warmer and I’ve turned off the HVAC, it jumped to 40mpg, as promised. This is all in ECO mode.

I believe you could do better in suburban driving as I have to frequently accelerate and brake in less than smooth ways here in NYC.

That said, the heating system uses the engine in the traditional, coolant exchange way. That means it turns on the engine to heat up the cabin, while keeping the engine at operating temps. That eats gas. The air conditioner compressor, on the other hand, works off the battery (electrical) and not the engine, so you should be getting close to that 40mpg even on the hottest days. Michigan isn’t exactly Florida, so you may very well get better than 40mpg most of the warm months.

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