diff --git a/src/source/raster_tile_source.js b/src/source/raster_tile_source.js
index a70857b2d13..af786786992 100644
--- a/src/source/raster_tile_source.js
+++ b/src/source/raster_tile_source.js
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ class RasterTileSource extends Evented implements Source {
     tiles: Array<string>;
 
     _loaded: boolean;
+    _avoidXHR: boolean;
     _options: RasterSourceSpecification | RasterDEMSourceSpecification;
     _tileJSONRequest: ?Cancelable;
 
@@ -56,6 +57,7 @@ class RasterTileSource extends Evented implements Source {
         this._loaded = false;
 
         this._options = extend({}, options);
+        this._avoidXHR = false;
         extend(this, pick(options, ['url', 'scheme', 'tileSize']));
     }
 
@@ -114,6 +116,13 @@ class RasterTileSource extends Evented implements Source {
                 delete (img: any).cacheControl;
                 delete (img: any).expires;
 
+                // if the tiles have aggressive caching (retained for at least 1 hour),
+                // switch to faster image loading technique for subsequent tile loads
+                const timeout = tile.getExpiryTimeout();
+                if (timeout === undefined || timeout > 1000 * 60 * 60) {
+                    this._avoidXHR = true;
+                }
+
                 const context = this.map.painter.context;
                 const gl = context.gl;
                 tile.texture = this.map.painter.getTileTexture(img.width);
@@ -132,7 +141,7 @@ class RasterTileSource extends Evented implements Source {
 
                 callback(null);
             }
-        });
+        }, this._avoidXHR);
     }
 
     abortTile(tile: Tile, callback: Callback<void>) {
diff --git a/src/util/ajax.js b/src/util/ajax.js
index 63e96d28a60..13b5dee380e 100644
--- a/src/util/ajax.js
+++ b/src/util/ajax.js
@@ -130,8 +130,21 @@ function sameOrigin(url) {
 
 const transparentPngUrl = 'data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAYAAAAfFcSJAAAAC0lEQVQYV2NgAAIAAAUAAarVyFEAAAAASUVORK5CYII=';
 
-export const getImage = function(requestParameters: RequestParameters, callback: Callback<HTMLImageElement>): Cancelable {
-    // request the image with XHR to work around caching issues
+export const getImage = function(requestParameters: RequestParameters, callback: Callback<HTMLImageElement>, avoidXHR?: boolean): Cancelable {
+    // if we know for sure that the tile is cached for a long time, avoid XHR for better performance
+    // https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-js/issues/6643
+    if (avoidXHR && requestParameters.headers === undefined && requestParameters.credentials === undefined) {
+        const img: HTMLImageElement = new window.Image();
+        const url = requestParameters.url;
+        if (!sameOrigin(url)) {
+            img.crossOrigin = 'Anonymous';
+        }
+        img.onload = () => callback(null, img);
+        img.src = url;
+        return {cancel: () => { img.src = transparentPngUrl; }};
+    }
+
+    // otherwise request the image with XHR to work around caching issues
     // see https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-js/issues/1470
     return getArrayBuffer(requestParameters, (err, imgData) => {
         if (err) {