What's new

Economical daily 4wd?

Leadfoot21

Red Skull Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2021
Member Number
3723
Messages
456
Under 5,000 dollars and with fuel economy in mind which economical budget 4wd would you go for? Seems to be getting tougher and tougher . Sold my daily car and am looking for a replacement can’t find much or think of much .
 
I'm really liking my 2000 Grand Vitara so far. Picked it up pretty cheap so I should be well under 2k into it completely sorted. Has a small v6 and is rated at something like 18/20, for me that's pretty good mpg. Being body on frame and having low range were a must for me.
 
open local craigslist, put max price $4500, search for 4wd and make some calls on some 4cylinders that look interesting

should be able to easily get a solid grand cherokee in that price range, but you won't be above 15mpg in all likelyhood
 

2500 grand cherocar


4300 ford ranger


2000 nissan pickup


1500 ford f250, sure it will make 12 mpg maybe, but $3k buys a bunch of fuel
 
I’m watching Craigslist daily . The market is so crazy high things are priced 2-3 times there actual value . I put in max price on Craigslist and don’t turn up much of anything . I’ve done my fair share of Jeep’s especially and they suck way too much fuel and in over that . I’ve been looking for sidekicks and trackers and rangers etc . It’s slim pickings for a cheap 4wd these days . Thought maybe someone would suggest something I didn’t expect a little untraditional that I could enjoy .
 
ah, i can't hardly get on to craigslist without finding something i want to buy :laughing:

how much 4wd do you need for your daily? all the neat stuff doesn't get good fuel economy, and all the good fuel economy stuff doesn't 4wd too hard. Subaru's, escapes and other AWD small SUV/Cars make great commuters that can hit most offroad stuff. rangers/explorers/full size trucks are all interesting and do much better offroad, but suck down the fuel.

I commuted in my 87 toyota pickup bare bones for years and it was always a mid teens kind of event, sure it could squeek out 20 if you really tried. had a tracker for many years and it was good on gas in stock form but that drops off pretty quick. if you don't care about body damage, a stock tracker will go about as many places as a stock subaru with similar panel dents.
 
I don’t need much 4wd I’ve always lived in the country and recently moved to the city . I do a lot of hunting and want something I can take hunting in the fall . Honestly would love to find something with a 4 or 6 cylinder but with some room for car seats I have 2 kids of my own and gf has one as well . Fuel economy isn’t extremely important but I do commute about 50 miles a day . I daily drive a cts-v normally so I’d like to let it sit in the garage .
 
And I’d love to find a clean 4 door tracker and lift it a couple inches on some meats .
 
How much work is this thing doing when you’re hunting? Shitty winter roads, or bushwhacking cut-lines with 2’ snowdrifts? If it has to do it all, that’s the big fat question mark for me. There’s a far cry between what our cutie-pie Mazda CX-5 will do with good winter tires, and a legit off-road oriented 4-wheel drive truck or Jeep will do.
 
A lot of work honestly here’s the deal . My brother and I hunt together he is in a wheelchair from a side by side wreck . He’s pretty limited as to where we can hunt unless he can be driven there because he can’t let his legs get too cold so even in a side by side with cab it doesn’t work the best . I can get out and walk to a stand but clearly he cannot . So we cross creek crossings and big ditches etc that you’d otherwise do in a atv or side by side .
 
I picked up an 08 Jeep Liberty 6 speed 4wd for $5500. It's a pile of shit but manages to get 20mpg somehow.
 
An AWD Explorer v8 can really get down... but any Explorer 4wd would do 2002 and older...this bucket surprised me:
 
I have been looking for the vitaras very difficult to find it seems that aren’t already used up . Found one a bit newer but haven’t heard back . The explorers are long past their prime too well known for their longevity . I haven’t found much .
 
If you consider anything over 15 to be 'good' MPG, look at a 1996-2000 Mountaineer. My mom has owned hers for 14 years, it just keeps running with basic maintenance. Recently had to replace the rear axle u-bolts/shock bracket and u-bolts due to rust. Only major work in that time period. She averages 17mpg with mixed driving, can get 20-21 on long trips. All the fancy shit still works. Mom is older but doesn't drive 40 everywhere so I don't think that is why the mileage is so good for what it is. Friend of mine had one years ago and got about the same MPG kinda beating on it.

NOT a ford fanboi at all, but I recognize quality when I see it. Last of the roller 5.0's, with basically a HD Ford Ranger drivetrain behind it. Nobody seems to want them anymore. Haven't priced them lately, but a couple years ago nice ones seemed to be 2K around here.

If you want better mileage than that, first-gen RAV-4's seem to be under 5K (around here) and seem to keep running good well over 200,000 miles.
 
I'd put the first gen Mercedes ML430 or ML500 on your search list. Under the radar vehicle w/ low resale.

Solid V8 drivetrain (280 hp and 18-19 mpg highway)
Body on frame
Low range
Full-time awd w/ individual wheel traction control is pretend lockers (open front/center/rear diff, no shitty vc clutches to wear out).
It aint a wheeler, but t-bars and coils spacers should fit 33's. Everything is tucked up in the frame pretty well that you could do a flat skid from front to rear diff.

Of course for 5 grand I'd be searching the typical 4Runner, Land Cruiser, Seqouis, Montero, Xterra, Armada, 5.0L Explorer, Jeep, Tahoe, Suburban too.
 
Last edited:
Speaking of the grand vitara...

What model is the manual trans? Hoping some aisin offshoot like the ax15/r15x?

Is the 07+ unibody that bad?

I would love a montero SR, but everyone I find is trashed.
 
I'd do a 4dr Jeep of some kind (w/part-time tcase), or a 96-02 4runner. Better with a stick shift. Not extreme economy, but whatever.
 
Someone posted an extended cab Tacoma 5 speed way too cheap on Craigslist for the current market today with a awesome camper shell for 5k . I immediately emailed but I’m pretty sure it’s an older gentleman and I’m guessing it goes to the first person he contacts . I’m watching Craigslist literally by the hour my daily will be gone tomorrow and I really don’t like driving the Ctsv on a daily basis . I don’t have good control of my right foot .
 
A lot of work honestly here’s the deal . My brother and I hunt together he is in a wheelchair from a side by side wreck . He’s pretty limited as to where we can hunt unless he can be driven there because he can’t let his legs get too cold so even in a side by side with cab it doesn’t work the best . I can get out and walk to a stand but clearly he cannot . So we cross creek crossings and big ditches etc that you’d otherwise do in a atv or side by side .
Get the a running and driving wrangler, install heated seats and get him a heated blanket. Hunt with the top and windows down. There is a reason college kids shooting deer out of season always use a Wrangler if availible.
 
Hard to beat Frontiers for the money. Only about 15-ish mpg with the v6/auto but they aren't that popular in the aftermarket so the prices arent too crazy compared to a Taco.

I bought an 02 that was lightly wrecked for $350 and currently have an 05 I got for $700 (allegedly needed a trans, ended up being a bad crank sensor).

The 05+ is way better than the 02 btw. The 4.0 v6 has decent power and the suicide doors on the extended cab makes life so much easier.
 
Hard to beat Frontiers for the money. Only about 15-ish mpg with the v6/auto but they aren't that popular in the aftermarket so the prices arent too crazy compared to a Taco.

I bought an 02 that was lightly wrecked for $350 and currently have an 05 I got for $700 (allegedly needed a trans, ended up being a bad crank sensor).

The 05+ is way better than the 02 btw. The 4.0 v6 has decent power and the suicide doors on the extended cab makes life so much easier.

The older V6's drink (3.3L?), and some need premium (supercharged?). My neighbour has one and his Ram 1500 w/hemi is cheaper to fuel.
 
Not much out there these days. Seems like you used to be able to find a bunch of $1,500-$2,000 rides that needed a thing or two, then it turned into rusted out 2001 F-150’s with 300k mikes being worth $3,500, now we are in another stratosphere.

As far as overall reliability/maintenance costs, the 2000-2006 Tahoe’s and Suburban’s are hard to beat. Don’t remember what MPG mine got but it had to be close to 20 on the highway.
 
Get the a running and driving wrangler, install heated seats and get him a heated blanket. Hunt with the top and windows down. There is a reason college kids shooting deer out of season always use a Wrangler if availible.
Many states have special hunting licenses for handicapped people to allow them to shoot from a vehicle. Make sure you aren’t breaking the law if yours doesn’t, or you don’t have the license.
 
My brother is legal to do it . I went and looked at a grand Cherokee tonight that was lifted recently and had lots of new parts . I drove half an hour to see it and it was littered with rust . Lost out on the Tacoma first person that called bought it . This market sucks in messaging someone about a 4 runner that is really clean a few hours away from here .
 
Top Back Refresh