Is there a economical 4WD vehicle?

[rshack]

Looking for a fuel efficient, dependable 3-4yr old vehicle, AWD or 4WD. Son has a highway commute 1hr, (49mi) to work and back every day.
Winters in NE OHIO can be tricky, so thinkin of the 4WD or other options.

Any thoughts or suggestions/

Thanks

[marksr]

No such animal

Obviously the smaller the engine and lighter the vehicle, the better the fuel milage should be. Having hubs that will disengage will also help [cuts down on drag]

[Gunguy45]

Economical is relative when it comes to 4wd. A front wheel drive (FWD) model of the same vehicle will normally get a few more miles per gallon.

I'd look at a CRX or a RAV-4 if yer looking at the mini-SUV type. Otherwise a Subaru for a car. None of these will be real cheap, but the first two are some very dependable models.

BTW, FWD with a good set of snow tires (set of 4, not just the front) in the winter will probably be better than 4WD with all season tires. Cheaper to buy and more economical to drive.

Ohio winters are one reason I live in AZ now.

[oldchevy4x4]

Originally Posted by Gunguy45

I'd look at a CRX or a RAV-4 if yer looking at the mini-SUV type. Otherwise a Subaru for a car.

Ditto

Subaru
AWD, interior room, good reliability.
If he's looking for a truck I'd suggest a Toyota Tacoma 4cyl 5 speed, or a RAV-4 if he needs a small SUV.

[Speedwrench]

subaru will be the most fuel efficent veh with awd or fwd.

I had a 79 brat that got 55mpg hwy. 34 in town.
to bad i rolled it.

if we're not supposed to eat animals why are they made out of meat?

[HVAC-Guy]

Look no farther than a Jeep Wrangler.

#1 - It's 4 Wheel Drive & short wheel base is perfect for wintery conditions
#2 - Best of both worlds, 4 WD & convertible for the nice days.
#3 - Quality, second to none !
#4 - 2.5L Wrangler gets great fuel economy
#5 - You won't look like a geek while driving it.

[barryds]

As for other thoughts, you could consider a fwd sedan and a real top shelf set of winter tires. Nokian RSi's come to mind. You'll need to take them off in the summer, but you'll be rewarded with better fuel economy. My thought is awd just helps get you into trouble. It's tires, brakes and steering that gets you out of trouble.

[WTDR-DTY]

i can only speek off personal experience and i am very straightforward person. so, based on 4 yrs of driving 2004 cr-v with real time 4 wd in AL, TN, IN, and WA:
1. drives in 2 fwd mode most of the time
2. automatically goes to 4wd when front slips
3. we have been through some nasty weathers in either state, she did like a champ, unless driver does something stupid.
4. 52 cubic feet cargo space if needed
5. i am 6'5'' and i was VERY comfortable in it
6. high seating position, safer and good for knees
7. fuel economy solid 25/26 mpg mixed commute, depending on season - does best summer time.
look into craigslist sales. we found one for a friend off craigslist, 2004 cx 4wd, with 34K miles on it, for $11K only, 2 yrs ago. yes, it had rebuilt title - damaged tailgate, replaced, otherwise - perfect car, still drives like a champ.

i drove rental toyota 4runner for a month not so long ago, with maybe 8K miles on it - to my surprise, it did solid 23.6 mpg mixed commute. fantastic car, btw.
speaking of jeeps - before i had that 4runner, i had jeep grand cherokee for one day, i could not stand it, it was horrible on mileage - 15.4!! i swapped it for 4 runner the next day, could not stand driving it, was not right.

[santawatt]

Go for Subaru.

They really know about making road cars with 4wd/awd. They are not focused on off-roaders but on road cars. And this makes a difference in how they designed their cars, japanese manufacturers really care about fuel consumption.

[ecman51`]

Trying to figure out the WHYS of good gas mileage can be vexxing. You hear stories where people with bigger vehicles with bigger engines can get better mileage than someone with a lighter vehicle with a small 4-banger. Strange!

That said, consider something I figured out today. Remember how I said my neighbor got a different car? He said his first mileage check came back at 34 mpg. I got 24 this last check. That said, we both agree that mileage drastically comes down in winter (we get 20 below or so up here, and idle vehicles longer, etc.)Anyway, figure for comparison that he will avg. 32thru the year, and I will avg. 22. He has a Nissan Sentra with a small? 4, dual overhead cam, 16 valve engine - and I have my little 2.5 4-banger Dodge.

If we both drive 20,000 miles per year, (which is close to being right) he will save $1136 a year over MY gas bill (based on $4 gas)! Wow! I could buy another used car for that! If I found a car like his, I would pay for the car, in gas savings, in just one year!

[Icondude]

Front wheel drive works just fine in bad weather.

[mwf54321]

Some years ago, I worked in Colorado - winters and summer. I leased a Subaru Outback (I think) AWD and felt it got pretty good mileage. They currently have a 2.5 ltr 4cyl that gets 20/26 mpg. Probably not too bad for AWD. Subaru Forester may also be an option.
Good luck
PS - my '07 4 cyl Malibu LT gets 24/30 mpg - actual verified mpg - too bad its not AWD. I'd definately recommend if it was!!

[zed80]

I have a Geo Tracker/ Suzuki Sidekick 4x4.....and basically it kicks ass....great mileage and awesome in the winter weather. I've had it 4 yrs., and it owes me nothing! Cheap reliable transportation, and it is awesome in the winter! Always starts no matter the conditions etc. , die hard vehicles, as "bare bones" as mine is.....never has let me down.......ever!

[Icondude]

Originally Posted by zed80

I have a Geo Tracker/ Suzuki Sidekick 4x4.....and basically it kicks ass....great mileage

Define "great mileage". IMO the figures quoted fora Subaru Forester aren't particularly good.

[hoary]

I bought a 77 Subaru wagon (in ALaska) for the 4WD and good gas milage. It got 25 Mpg, even in the winter, but the cost in maint was waaay too high.

I bought an 85 Dodge D-50, Diesel, 4X4, (really it was a Mitsubishi) which also gave me 25 Mph in the winter. It was a lot more reliable than that Butt Ugly Subaru, but the parts were so daggond high.
Every winter I had to pull the Transmission and replace the input bearing because of a design flaw.
Finally I put AMSOIL in the Transmission and never had any more trouble with it.

Last couple years I've shopped for one of those little Diesel 4X4's but they have all dissapeared.

[tucats]

I owned a 2003 Honda CRV AWD and it was great in the snow plus had good gas mileage. I wouldn't pass up a good buy on a Subaru either. Both great cars.

[Paulwa]

Don't know about the rest but for several years we drove a 1990 Dodge Caravan front wheel drive around 18 mpg and never got stuck with it in any of our snows here in Washington. Just last year I saw a 1997 ford Explorer short wheelbase two door and it is four wheel drive but only shifts to full four wheel automatically when called for or can set there manually. I really love this vehicle and it also is around 18 mpg. Maybe not that great a mileage compared to the foreign makes but hey the price of gas is now down below $2/gal.
Paul

[WeatherWarrior]

Originally Posted by HVAC-Guy

Look no farther than a Jeep Wrangler.

#1 - It's 4 Wheel Drive & short wheel base is perfect for wintery conditions
#2 - Best of both worlds, 4 WD & convertible for the nice days.
#3 - Quality, second to none !
#4 - 2.5L Wrangler gets great fuel economy
#5 - You won't look like a geek while driving it.

I would disagree with this recommendation. Wranglers with the soft top tend to have high insurance rates and are broken into regularly. They are extremely cold in the winter, and repair costs high.

I would stick with some of the other recommendations on this thread regarding small Ute/crossovers/pick-ups.

[WeatherWarrior]

Originally Posted by Paulwa

Don't know about the rest but for several years we drove a 1990 Dodge Caravan front wheel drive around 18 mpg and never got stuck with it in any of our snows here in Washington. ......
Paul

I had a 1996 Dodge Caravan and drove many times in the snow as well as during my storm chasing adventures. It did fine in most situations. You can find an AWD version of the Caravans all the way up to 2005. I only wish you could get AWD with Stow-n-go...but not available. There are so many Caravans on the road that are old, I bet they are really reliable. I know I'm going to replace my 1996 with a newer version soon.

[Largine]

Hi friend,
I interested in open jeep so anyone who has information about it please give me information.Actually i have lancer car 2005 make.

[donaldo88]

My 2001 CRV (above....CRX is that cool little 2-seat hatchback they made in the 80's) gets 24-25 in winter and 25-27 in summer, with 5spd std and on-demand AWD. I still can't tell when the rear wheels kick in. Stone reliable at 148K, although I was disappointed I had to put $500 in it to eliminate 'check engine'. And surely the newer ones are even better. I'd actually be OK with a FWD Civic or whatever, I've never gone anywhere I was uncomfortable with FWD cars. But the higher ground clearance of the CRV is definitely a plus it you get in the deep doodoo.