Fuel Efficiency and 4WD When you think of fuel efficient vehicles, most likely you do not think of 4wd vehicles.  Since most 4WD vehicles are large sport utility types, then you would be right in that respect.  However, it is possible to get a 4WD vehicle that is at least moderately fuel efficient, as long as you are willing to settle for something smaller than a Cadillac Escalade or Ford Escape, unless you want to get a hybrid vehicle. When you choose a 4WD vehicle, you don’t have to choose a vehicle with poor gas mileage.  You can get a smaller 4WD vehicle with decent gas mileage and still have the ability to go off road like you can with larger vehicles.  Additionally, just because you are looking for a fuel efficient 4WD vehicle does not mean that you can only choose from imported vehicles. 4WD Vehicles, AWD Vehicles, And Fuel Efficiency When you are considering fuel efficiency in a 4WD vehicle, you might think that all 4WD vehicles get bad gas mileage.  Just because a vehicle is a 4WD vehicle does not mean that it is not fuel efficient.  You need to consider the size of the vehicle.  Larger vehicles are less fuel efficient because they are hauling around all the extra weight.  If you look at smaller 4WD vehicles, you will find that they can come close to the fuel efficiency exhibited by “regular” vehicles.  Subaru started with the smaller 4WD vehicles, and many other automakers followed suit, both foreign and domestic.  These smaller 4WD vehicles get better gas mileage than the larger 4WD vehicles.  Tough Subaru advertised their vehicles as AWD vehicles; the only difference between an AWD vehicle and a 4WD vehicle is that the 4WD part of the vehicle can be turned off and on as needed. The fuel efficiency isn’t governed by whether the vehicle is 2WD, 4WD, or AWD.  A vehicle’s fuel efficiency is determined by the size of the vehicle.  A larger vehicle will generally be less fuel efficient than a smaller vehicle because the motor will have to move more weight around than the smaller vehicle will.  Though there is a larger front axle and transfer case to allow the vehicle to switch from 2WD to 4WD, there isn’t a noticeable difference in the fuel efficiency as long as you don’t use the 4WD constantly. Domestic vs. Imported 4WD Vehicles Until recently, the US automakers weren’t trying to make high mileage 4WD vehicles.  Americans were still willing to buy the bigger and boxier SUV’s, allowing automakers to focus on the vehicles that brought in the money.  Since the US didn’t emphasize fuel economy, and because trucks did not have a minimum mile per gallon requirement, the automakers were more than happy to comply with the call for bigger vehicles.  US consumers didn’t care because gas was cheap, even if they weren’t planning on going off road with their cars.  Then the price of gas skyrocketed.  Domestic automakers found that the imports had better gas mileage, and if they were going to continue to compete in the 4WD vehicle market, they would need to drastically change how they did business.  They started focusing on hybrid SUV’s because these were the vehicles that were the easiest to make drastic improvement to the fuel economy.  It might not seem much to improve a car’s fuel economy from 25 to 30 mpg, but when you improve a vehicle’s gas mileage from 15 to 20, it’s a noticeable difference.  Additionally, most imports already got over 30 miles per gallon, so it was easier for the domestic automakers to improve the vehicle type they had perfected, the SUV. Considering A 4WD Vehicle With the poor gas mileage for most 4WD vehicles, you may be wondering who should consider getting a 4WD vehicle instead of a traditional 2WD vehicle.  If you are going to be driving off road, you may want to consider a 4WD vehicle to help you get over the uneven terrain.  If you live in the northern US, you may want to consider a 4WD vehicle to be sure that you will get where you are going safely even if you hit a patch of black ice or other slippery road.  If you have to drive on a dirt road, you may want a 4WD vehicle to help you get over the potholes without having to worry that you may get stuck in a pothole, or slide off the road because your vehicle can’t get enough traction on the road.  You may not want to consider a 4WD vehicle simply because you are looking for a larger vehicle.  Yes, a 4WD vehicle has more space, but you need to balance the amount of space with the fuel efficiency.  On the other hand, you may want to consider a gasoline electric hybrid or a diesel vehicle when you are choosing a 4WD vehicle.  Since both these types of vehicles get better gas mileage than a traditional vehicle, they are good choices when you are looking for a fuel efficient 4WD vehicle.  If you choose these types of vehicles, you can choose larger vehicles and still get comparable gas mileage to that provided by a smaller 4WD vehicle. Finding More Information On 4WD Vehicles If you are trying to find out which 4WD vehicles are the most fuel efficient, you can visit the US government website at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/best/bestworstEPAtrucksNF.shtml.  This page lists various trucks, vans, and SUVs, and their gas mileage.  Though the list is a combination of 2WD, 4WD, and AWD vehicles, you can get an idea of what the advertised fuel economy looks like for these vehicles. If you are looking for the most fuel efficient 4WD vehicles, you will want to compare some of the 4WD cars on the market as well.  Since these vehicles do not sit as high off the ground, they have less wind resistance.  Additionally, there is less metal for the motor to move, helping the vehicle use less fuel.