Automotive: AWD Vehicles with Good Gas Mileage

While it is true that small cars often get the best gas mileage, they generally are poor at driving in snow or other difficult conditions. All-wheel-drive vehicles are better at this, but most have poorer gas mileage. However, it is still possible to find an AWD automobile which has relatively good gas mileage (no less than 20 MPG in city/town areas). Few trucks meet this criteria, but a number of small SUVs, station wagons, and other cars do.

SUBARU: Most AWD cars and SUVs made by Subaru have gas mileage in the 20-30MPG range. For example, the 2000 Subaru Forester and Subaru Legacy Wagon both (with automatic transmission) receive about 22-27 MPG. There is also usually not much difference in gas mileage between Subaru sedans and wagons.

TOYOTA: The new Toyota AWD hybrid vehicles have high gas mileage, but are still quite expensive to purchase. The 2001 Toyota RAV4 gets 23-27 miles per gallon. The older 1992 Toyota Corolla All-Trac wagon receives about 23-29.

EAGLE: The 1995 AWD version (with manual transmission) of the now-discontinued Eagle brand's Summit Wagon receives 20-24 MPG. The 1998 Eagle Talon AWD version sports car gets about 21-28 miles per gallon.

AUDI: Audi offers several car models available in Quattro versions, meaning that they have all wheel drive. Depending upon the model, Quattro versions usually range from about 17-31 MPG. The 1999 Audi A4 Quattro has gas mileage of about 21-29MPG, and the 2007 Audi A4 Avant Quattro gets 22-31.

MERCEDES: Some all-wheel-drive Mercedes cars (identified as "4Matic" versions) meet this criteria, although not all of them do. The 2002 Mercedes E320 4Matic gets 20-27 MPG, and the 2007 ML320 CDI 4Matic SUV receives 21-27 miles per gallon.

MAZDA: The manual-transmission version of the 2003 Mazda Tribute SUV gets 22-25 MPG. Most other AWD Mazda vehicles, including trucks and MPV wagons/vans, do not get a minimum of 20 MPG in city/town driving.