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Coldjensens, what do you consider to be great fuel milage. A quick look at the chevy site says the Silverado gets 14-18mpg, my friends new Tundra gets that. No that good if you ask me and thats is with its smallest V8. Its bigger V8's don't even list their gas milage. I wonder why?
The Suzuki Samurai was touted as getting 30 MPG. That was back in 1986 when they came out. In the real world, though, the mileage was somewhat less, depending on driving conditions. Due to the lack of power, driving them on the highway usually resulted in worse mileage than around town, because the engine had to work too hard to keep the vehicle up to speed. They are still pretty good, solid vehicles, though any that are still around will generally have high mileage on them, since they haven't been sold in the U.S. since the 1995 model year. There are tons of modifications that can be done to them to build them into decent multi use vehicles (on and off the highway). There are several Suzuki clubs around the country and they use these vehicles regularly for off highway excursions, often on the most difficult of trails.
No 4X4 truck will get that. Tacoma 4X4's with the 2.7 will only get 18 to 22mpg but you can only get it as a 5-speed. You can get an older one with an auto though. If you put bigger tires on it, it will get much worse. That said they do come with 31 inch tires which are big enough for me.
The new hybrid tahoe is rated at 20 city/ 20 hwy so you might look at that. I have an AWD ford freestyle that is plenty roomy and gets through the snow and ice just fine.
There is an epa web site with new estimates that are now based on real world conditions that you might want to take a look at. http://www.fueleconomy.gov/***/findacar.htm (broken link)
If what you want is within 2-4 mpg of what you consider a high mpg vehicle then all you have to consider is what your comfort is worth to you.
If you need a truck for it's hauling ability then get a truck. If all you need is 4x4 or all wheel drive then don't look at trucks. It sounds since you are wanting "big tires" that you're looking at the "cool" factor more than the functionality of the vehicle. Generally big tires don't do a darn thing for you other than making it look cool and in fact hurt mileage, raise the center of gravity making the vehicle more unstable and actually work worse in the snow since they are wider.
As you can see from where I live we have "a little" experience with snow and ice.
I have a 85 ford with 35 inch meat. Diesel. 9 inches of lift. I get 14 in town and 20-21 on the highway if I'm nice to it. I bought it new and geared it for 55 with standard tires. But then when the speed went back up, I put the 35's on it. She's only got 310,000 miles on it but gets good milage if I run it 60-65. If I push it to 75, my milage drops big time. But if I'm nice, I'll get 20-21.
But check the price of diesel now and I'm not making any difference in price per mile.
Fuel effeciency, oversized tires, 4x4....sometimes that combination isnt always workable. The oversized tires are an automatic weight issue, as we know theyre a bit heavier. The sad thing is, many carmakers use ordinary passenger car tires on trucks...which personally is dumb, because theres a reason for making truck rated tires. Maybe its a cost issue, who knows, but the consumer doesnt get anything out of it, we still have ot go spend the extra for what 'should' be on there. And every 4WD truck Ive ever owned cant compare to an ordinary 2WD truck in mileage, no matter what make, even those 'little' 6-cylinders. A lift kit looks good but they dont corner worth a dang and Id be a little skeptical on those curves on mountain or desert roads. Those EPA test ratings must be based on flat or downhill grades, because I, nor anyone I know who owns a 4x4 of any make, has never gotten 30+ mpg on the freeways.
I understand a 4X4 is going to eat more fuel as opposed to a 2WD, basicvally if at all possible I would like to find a 4X4 that gets better than 15 mpg, if that is at all possible.
Of course with that said I'm thinking something along the lines of a small truck with a 4 cylinder.
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