What vehicle (or vehicles) do you think are the perfect intersection of capability and fuel efficiency?
Posted by Loose-Wheels@reddit | overlanding | View on Reddit | 48 comments
if the far end of the (stock) capability spectrum is say a wrangler rubicon , and the far end of the fuel efficiency spectrum is an EV or a Prius plug-in, what vehicles do you think balance both of these things the best? It’s of course subjective because people’s needs are different, but thats what makes it interesting!
poketort@reddit
If you only need to go about 200 miles out and back and take forest service roads, Tesla Model Y with KO2 tires and a lift-kit will do it just fine. That's what I drive and I've found it's capability just fine. I've gone across the back roads of the Mojave Preserve with no problem. BLM roads in NV and CA. Death Valley National Park, Carrizo Plaines, Forest Service roads in PNW. The capability is fine and I think its equivalent to a Subaru Outback/Forester. The model Y has good amount of room inside. I have a refrigerator that runs full time where other people have gas tanks, a kitchen sink on the back plumbed with a 3 gallon Dometic reservoir, camp stove, queen sized inflatable bed inside with A/C and heating in "Camp Mode", Off-road mode makes it easy to drive through sand and crawl over rocks, I keep a tow rope, 12v inflator and patch kit, shovel and other emergency gear in the front trunk.
The Model Y is very comfortable to live out of and drive. However, I came here looking for something with better range that would still have good efficiency and similar amenities. It's hard to beat 110 mpg equivalent, But I have the battery capacity equivalent to about 3 gallon gas tank.
I do also go to some fairly remote places and would like to be able to explore once I get there instead of needing to think about turning around and getting back to a charger right. Nothing seems to have the same amenities and efficiency. I really don't like going to gas stations but I'm willing to for something that gets 40-50 mpg and can still do all the things my Tesla does.
JipJopJones@reddit
Suzuki Samurai/Jimny
monstertruck567@reddit
Oh man, I wish!
magniankh@reddit
Diesel Land Cruisers and diesel Land Rovers.
According-Tax-1433@reddit
Further far end > Jeep gladiator w/ a long range tank and a camper. Camp, rock crawl, Fast desert, long distance, and carry mtb & rock climbing gear. Why limit your experience?
AnotherIronicPenguin@reddit
RAV4 Prime, Tourareg/Cayenne TDI
Professional-Art251@reddit
When factoring diesel be sure to account for the extra cost of the fuel over gasoline. It usually ends up not being any cheaper.
AnotherIronicPenguin@reddit
Maintenance is often more expensive than the gas equivalent as well. But "fuel efficiency" is not the same thing as the cheapest operating cost. OP may be considering range as a factor. Plus the torque curve of diesel engines is well suited to large, heavy tires and truck duties.
lukesaysrelax@reddit
2nd on the Duramax. I drive a GMC Sierra with the 3.0 baby duramax, and average 21mpg. When I tow my trailer, usually in mountain areas, I average 15mpg.
curiousthirst@reddit
How big of a trailer are you pulling?
lukesaysrelax@reddit
Its a small poptop, 3000lb loaded.
curiousthirst@reddit
These seem to meet a lot of needs without being too unwieldy/overkill. Nice setup!
ChibaCityFunk@reddit
A lot of the cars mentioned in this thread don’t have a sufficient payload for overlanding… where do you all put the fuel, water, food and camping gear?
Turbulent_Ad_4579@reddit
Lol, brother you realize people go backpacking right? Like carry all that stuff on their back, for hundreds, even thousands of miles?
I've camped out of whitewater kayaks and rafts, bicycles as well. People do it off motorcycles too.
All the heavy gear people in this sub buy is extremely optional, despite what some would tell you.
ChibaCityFunk@reddit
Sure. Friends of mine went to Iran and Sierra Leone by Bicycle. Another friend did the Pyrenees on the GR10 trail with a backpack. But they don't go to places that are hard to reach far away from civilisation. There is always some infrastructure they can rely on.
If you have the infrastructure you can just take any car.
But going to the Skeleton Coast or the Richat Structure (for example) is a very different thing.
44d92df7e1f409b33bab@reddit
Wrangler or Gladiator Ecodiesel
iin10ded@reddit
i just bought it. a 25 outback wilderness. it will do everything ever needed my 4 runners to do, be nicer to drive, more comfortable and get 30 hwy.
Grouchy-Falcon-5568@reddit
This little thing has proven to be incredibly capable and a great overall car. I live in Utah and we can go a ton of places with it. That being said, I'm not rock crawling in Moab and I'm not taking it to White Pocket, but it gets us to so many places beyond basic roads with comfort and reliability.
CafeRoaster@reddit
If we’re talking four wheels, maybe a Rivian.
dadmantalking@reddit
Yamaha Teneré 700. 45-55 mpg, long travel suspension, and faster on dirt than anything on four wheels while fully loaded for adventure.
CandidateParking776@reddit
How does it handle on hard trail? Wanting an upgrade so I can take longer trails (currently on a WR450F) but I can’t decide if I’m gonna do a rally upgrade or just upgrade to an ADV bike. I’m 99% dirt biased and ride trails like this - but there’s a 180 mile loop near Moab I want to hit really bad
dadmantalking@reddit
I'm not Pol Tarres and it's not a dirt bike, but if you can muscle around 450lbs of Bike you'll be okay. I also have an FE350s that I occasionally use for harder trails, but mostly I use it for scouting routes for future ADV rides leading friends around.
CandidateParking776@reddit
Yeah i def can’t just muscle it around, at least not for long. My throttle control is p good and I’ve seen videos of a kid on a Hayabusa on Pritchett Canyon. I’m used to hard enduro on dual sports, but T700 plus saddlebags is a full 200lbs more. It’s just hard to gauge how it actually handles dirt/obstacles, because videos online are either Pol Tarres absolutely sending it, or a weekend warrior dropping it on flat dirt. I am somewhere in between the 2 lol. I can def overtake obstacles but if the bikes fighting you over everything (unless you’re 7’+) I may as well just upgrade the 450 for longer trips.
LiabilityLandon@reddit
Came here to say a DR650, but this is an even better answer. I love my DR but I would love to have T700
CalifOregonia@reddit
The Wrangler 4XE had a lot of promise for this specific purpose but Jeep is struggling these days. Honestly people are accomplishing a lot with Rivians, you just have to be mindful of where charging options are in off the beaten path towns... and be willing to pay over $80K for the privilege of efficiency. Outside of that, best you can expect with a contemporary body on frame truck/SUV with a true 4x4 system and the ability to clear reasonably large tires is between 20 and 25 mpg. To beat that efficiency you're looking at crossovers which can get you to 90%+ of the places that you want to go, but the capability is significantly less.
cman674@reddit
For the cost of a Rivian you can put gas in a 20 year old Jeep for another 40 years. It’s simply not worth the efficiency from a monetary standpoint. If you just care about emissions then it’s a conversation.
CriticalAd2425@reddit
You can get used low mileage R1T for less than $50k.
cman674@reddit
I think the math still holds
CriticalAd2425@reddit
Not if you add in the daily repair costs of a Jeep. I’ve owned two.
MojaveMac@reddit
RAV4 hybrid, because most of these people drive on basic ass forest service roads.
cookerz30@reddit
I take the forest roads topless
comma_nder@reddit
As a basic ass forest service road driver, 100%. I’m not in it for the Motorsport of it at all. I just want nice places to camp that aren’t in campgrounds, and like to string those campsites together without going back to pavement, when possible.
HtnSwtchesOnBtches@reddit
I have a tundra with a 38 gal tank. Though efficiency isn't there, overall range is. A taco can do better in mpg but throw in a couple gas cans and you got the same range
CandidateParking776@reddit
97 f250 with a 7.5l 460. She makes 12 mpg on highway, and 1 gpm when crawling ;)
getinwegotbidnestodo@reddit
2003 Toyota 4Runner Sport with the V8 motor.
LiabilityLandon@reddit
I'm in that club, but fuel efficiency is not really a thing. Mine is definitely capable and is as reliable as a hammer, but my best tank ever was 16.7, that was slight downhill towards the coast averaging about 63-65mph. Going up the east coast with my dr650 on the hitch carrier I averaged 14.8mpg there and back over about 2000 miles. My last tank with just me in it was 15.1mpg.
If you run highway speed (70mph+) it's basically 15mpg no matter what you do. Granted, I have 2.5" lift, 265-70-17 e rated AT's, and full time 4wd.
curiousthirst@reddit
Drive through/over/past anything but a gas station. I loved mine!
Freedom_33@reddit
Mountain bike? E-bike? Touring bicycle?
boanerges57@reddit
The ramcharger seems interesting in this regard
FrogFlavor@reddit
Old subaru outbacks.
Oh. Electric? Idk. I don’t think the infrastructure is quite there for electric backcountry adventures. Despite the handful of loud people who swear it’s fine.
LastEntertainment684@reddit
You’ve got some EV off roaders out there.
Rivian has been out for a while and they do fairly decent, though the biggest complaint being they lack mechanical lockers.
Mercedes G-wagon electric is probably the most efficient and capable off-road vehicle you could buy right now, at least in the states. Downside is it’s only got about 260 miles of range. It’s also typical G-wagon expensive, I’m seeing them for like $150,000 used.
Then you’ve got the Hummer EV, which is fairly decent but quite large and heavy.
Soon you’ll have Scout, which will offer both EREV and EV variants.
Even the inefficient Hummer is getting around the equivalent of 50mpg based on energy consumption.
godofgeneralmalaise@reddit
I'm super excited for the EREV Scouts. They sound super capable and I like the whole concept of electric but with a gasoline generator if you need it.
Small_Sight@reddit
Wrangler/gladiator ecodiesel
KreeH@reddit
Rav4 plug-in hybrid and hybrid, Subaru Forrester & Outback & Crosstrek hybrids, and Jeep 4xe (if they would every fix their quality problems), Ford Maverick hybrid pickup, Bronco Sport, and maybe Ford 150 Powerboost hybrid.
Shmokesshweed@reddit
I was gonna reply, but you hit the nail on the head.
hercdriver4665@reddit
Unless you need 4wd, then it’s a minivan.
Temporary-Cricket455@reddit
Depends on what Overlanding means to you.
Could be rock crawling and camping halfway down the 2 day trail.
Could be mud bogging through DBBB. Could be mostly gravel FSR.
Need to pick the terrain first, because that changes the choice a bit.
Loose-Wheels@reddit (OP)
Totally, given those categories listed, what do you think is best for each?