Do I have great taste in rigs or what?

[Idahotom]

My '08 HB 5 sp. is my good weather driver, lousy weather also, but deep in the winter AWD isn't just a convinence or a safety issue for me, it's a necessity. There's a reason there is a ski area on the mountain I live on.... and one stretch in particular on my 1 1/2 mile dirt road home off the road to the ski area gets drifted in on a regular basis. It can get very dicey even with a 4x4 of any type, sure I can walk the last mile, at night and right into the usual wind the storm brings, but what about the groceries left in the car overnight? Then when the county finally gets around to plowing, my cars in the way, been there done that, AWD is REQUIRED up here. I also need a rig I can tow behind the crane, and my new used rig will be that rig.

So anyway, I traded in my trusty 600 buck Toyota All Trac, and I delivered it 750 miles away to the dealership I bought my new ride from. At 63 mph mostly the AllTrac turned in a grand final performance, posting 35.99 mpg! Best of all I got a tradein of $1,000.00 so in the 3 years I thrashed it other then a water pump it cost me nothing and I actually made money, what a deal!

The '89 Alltrac was getting on in years, had no air or cruise (the Yaris, my first car ever with both, has spoiled me) and no power windows. That's important as my dog has trained me to do all our town and secondary road driving with the rear windows down, no matter the weather, but when I get on the interstate for the 11 mile drive to town, it can be a PITA to drive and crank the rear windows up, real awkward ergonomically. The 2000 Toyota Rav4 5 sp I got for 5500 bucks plus the AllTrac has all the mod cons and of course AWD and did I say it's a Toyota? Plus it's white so matchs the Yaris, my crane truck, and my Dodge diesel pickup.

It made the trip home at 75+ mph, and the air on the entire way. I got almost 28 mpg. Big deal you say, and I agree, but I NEVER drive that fast except to get across Wyoming..... and once back in my home shop I gave it the same treatment my Yaris got. I stripped out the rear seats, spare and jack, the receiver hitch and ball (and I'll take off the entire hitch frame next and sell it as I will never tow with it) and pumped up the tires to a couple pounds over the max rating on the sidewalls. Then I got another ScanGauge which I of course use in the Yaris.

So.... here is the point of all this on what is a Yaris forum, with the ScanGauge yet uncalibrated as I have not filled up yet, but with the ScanGauge set up properly for this particular engine, I am getting mileage very near what the Yaris gets. and I average mid 40's. It DFCO's like the Yaris, and the biggest mindblower is it COASTS as good as the Yaris! Keeping in mind it's taller profile and it's full time AWD I can hardly believe this, but I know my coast points, how fast to go to coast a certain distance etc. usually a turnoff or a stop sign. I have to think that fine tuned calibration after several fillups will show some error in the readings, but even taking that into account it would appear that getting mid to high 30's in this little mini SUV (it's like a little panel truck inside, LOTS of room) will be a piece of cake, and maybe even lower 40's..... I have to thank this forum (and my own common sense) for the driving techniques that I use on my Yaris and that readily now transfer over to whatever other rig I am driving. Also, assuming there are a lot of Toyota freaks like me on this forum, if you need a fuel efficient AWD ride, check the Rav's out, I absolutely love this thing, and even caught myself driving it into town a couple times when I should have drove the Yaris! Any Yaris/Toyata fan would love the Rav4 is the point. In particular the older ones, pre 2001, after 2000 they got "improved", bigger, more powerful, and heavier. That reminds me, the thing is LIGHT, about 2600, not bad for all the goodies and the size.