Fuel efficient 4wd vehicle?

[3DisneyBuggs]

Is that even a possibility? Me and DH both have vehicles that get 9 and 11 mpg. It is getting ridiculous with gas prices going up. DH has to have 4WD. He manages DS's baseball so he needs room for equipment. Are there any 4 WD trucks that are good on gas? My minivan lease is up next July and I will gladly get a car for myself. If DH can trade in his truck for a gas friendly model, I would be so happy.

 

[shelly3girls]

We have a Honda Pilot and the gas mileage is pretty decent definitely much better than any other medium-large SUV (not including the hybrids). Does your minivan really get that bad mileage? When we researched the Honda Odessey the mileage was advertised as being close to many bigger sedans.

 

[DAKTOLCMM]

Saturn Vue has pretty good mileage...about 25 for highway. They do come in AWD.

The newer Chevy trucks are pretty good as far as trucks go. My buddy has an Avalanche that gets about 18 on the highway.

Like the poster above..the Pilot is a pretty good vehicle, we use them at work. Nothing outstanding, but a nice solid vehicle. Might want to check into the new Tundra as well.

 

[debbi801]

How big a truck are you wanting? I know the Ford Escape Hybrid comes in a 4WD version. I have the front wheel drive version, that was all we needed.

 

[debster812]

It's not a truck, but I love love love my Subaru Forrester.

Subaru makes nothing but All Wheel Drive vehicles. My commute home today was very cold, long, snowy, and icy. My Forrester was a champ.

 

[arminnie]

DH has to have 4WD. He manages DS's baseball so he needs room for equipment.

Do you really need 4WD or just the room of an SUV? The 4WD really cuts into the gas mileage.

My Honda Odyssey has drops down to 3 cylinders when acceleration is not needed. I get about 27 MPH on the highway.

 

[Gillennj]

Do you NEED 4wd? We had a 4wd Escape (LOVED it, but traded in for a minivan) and NEVER used the 4wd. We live in NW OH, so we do get snow. We just never needed the 4wd.

 

[dvc at last !]

We just purchased the VUE and love it !

 

[BCFD 88]

I think the Ford Escape would be a great choice imho...

 

[Alice28]

It's not a truck, but I love love love my Subaru Forrester.

Subaru makes nothing but All Wheel Drive vehicles. My commute home today was very cold, long, snowy, and icy. My Forrester was a champ.

I was going to suggest the same thing. While we have not had a Forrester, we have had an Outback and now the Tribeca. The AWD on Subarus is FANTASTIC. Great handling in poor weather. The Outback got very good gas mileage, and the Tribeca isn't as great, but definitely better than what you are getting now.

 

[mudnuri]

I'm also lost why you 'need' 4wd....but....

if you need the room of the bed of the truck- you wont find a vehicle with it, unless you get another truck. Yes, minivans have lots of room, and so do SUVs, but they are not as easy to load/unload as an open bed of a pick up. if you NEED the truck, not the 4wd, why not buy a 2wd truck?

If you need the roominess of a bed, but could care less about how easy it is to load, why not look at a hybrid crossover thing. i'd never own one, but I'm not worried about gas mileage. heck, my Durango averages 12.5mpg so it's obviously not why I chose my rig...

I have no clue about the ford vehicles, by personal choice, but I think you need to clarify if you need the bed of the truck, or the 4wd, or just the room...that would make our replies make more sense

Brandy

 

[CowboyCO]

The 2007 Honda CRV gets 28 mpg hwy, Pilot gets 22 hwy


The Toyota Highlander gets around 24 mpg. There is also the Highlander Hybrid which gets in the 30s

 

[i3utterfli82]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Saturn Vue!!

 

[ceecee]

You don't really need a 4WD to haul baseball equipment. My minivan does that fine and gets way more than 11mg. I would stay away from the larger SUVs, I can't imagine paying more than I already do to fill my van.
Our friends have a Yukon and she never drives it, uses her son's junker instead because it sucks up the gas. They can't sell it and the trade in is low because people are switching to smaller cars.

 

[firsttimer03]

I have the new 2007 Honda CRV AWD and have about 3,000 miles on it and am getting 25.5 mpg. The book states I should be able to get 28 mpg.
I LOVE THIS CAR/SUV!

 

[Lisa_M]

we have a 4wd vibe, but I'm not sure if you're looking for SUV or not. Anyway, we like it because it's a car, but roomy and a little higher up. it gets 30-33 mpg hwy and 26-28mpg city.

 

[southernbelle_amy]

Toyota Rav4, the new model 2006 and 07 are much bigger and have good gas mileage, I love mine.

 

[Gillian]

There are a ton of choices out there for carrying stuff, it just depends on what other uses you need. Baseball stuff isn't that big, but most small SUVs might not be able to handle it without folding down the seats (which you might need for people). Most of them have flexible seating, but you'll have to look at it carefully. As mentioned, the Pilot is decent on gas and it also has room for 8 or 7 people, but not when you're carrying a lot of stuff.

I'd say make a list of needs and wants and then come back and ask for more suggestions. Does he need 4wd or awd? or neither?

If you're getting rid of the minivan also, just think about what kinds of stuff you'll need to lug around in the future and how it will happen. Can you easily borrow a truck? When we only had 2 cars, it was sometimes a pain to go to Home Depot or yard sales. The minivan is great at handling everything! But also a station wagon-like vehicle is good.

 

[deba]

We have been researching this very thing. Found this on another site:

2007 Most and Least Fuel Efficient Trucks,Vans and SUVs

EPA Size Classes
(ranked by city mpg)
Make/Model MPG
City Hwy

Most Efficient Pickup Trucks:

Ford Ranger Pickup 2WD
4 cyl, 2.3 L, Manual(5), Regular 24 29
Mazda B2300 2WD
4 cyl, 2.3 L, Manual(5), Regular 24 29
Toyota Tacoma 2WD
4 cyl, 2.7 L, Automatic(4), Regular 21 27

Most Efficient Sport Utility Vehicles:

Ford Escape Hybrid FWD
4 cyl, 2.3 L, Automatic(CVT), Regular 36 31
Jeep Compass 4WD
4 cyl, 2.4 L, Man(5), Regular 25 29
Jeep Patriot 4WD
4 cyl, 2.4 L, Man(5), Regular 25 29

Most Efficient Minivans:

Dodge Caravan 2WD
4 cyl, 2.4 L, Auto(4), Regular 20 26

Most Efficient Cargo Vans:

Chevrolet Van 1500/2500 2WD
6 cyl, 4.3 L, Automatic(4), Regular 15 20
Chevrolet Van 1500/2500 2WD
8 cyl, 5.3 L, Automatic(4), Regular
GMC Savana 1500/2500 2WD
6 cyl, 4.3 L, Automatic(4), Regular 15 20
GMC Savana 1500/2500 2WD
8 cyl, 5.3 L, Automatic(4), Regular

It looked better in the colored chart found here:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bestworstEPAtrucks.htm

 

[MommyTo5]

We have a Honda Pilot and the gas mileage is pretty decent definitely much better than any other medium-large SUV (not including the hybrids). Does your minivan really get that bad mileage? When we researched the Honda Odessey the mileage was advertised as being close to many bigger sedans.

I also have a Pilot that was purchased new last November... it's the 4WD EX. EPA mileage estimates for the 4WD are 17 City/22 Highway (the 2WD option is slightly better at 18/24). I'm very satisfied with this as I've noticed a lot of other SUVs are much worse! By the way, I really love my Pilot and couldn't be more pleased!!! The design is awesome, it's loaded with safety features and options, and drives wonderfully in the snow, ice, and rain.