The Most Fuel-Efficient AWD SUVs in Brooklyn, NY: Top 5 Ranked

The most fuel-efficient all-wheel-drive SUV we sell

It is the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid with all-wheel drive. It returns roughly 39 mpg combined, which is close to what a compact sedan managed a decade ago, and it does it while driving all four wheels through an electric motor on the rear axle. It is a two-row compact SUV, so if you need a third row it is not your answer, but on fuel economy alone nothing else in the group comes closer than a couple of mpg.

Top five for fuel economy, ranked

Two caveats on that order. Ranks two, three, and four sit within about two mpg of each other, which is inside the range that trim level and wheel size can swing, so a loaded Tucson can rate below a base CR-V. Treat them as a tie and choose on how they drive and what they cost. And if your priority is cost per mile rather than miles per gallon, a plug-in hybrid or an electric SUV beats all five, which is covered further down.

The wider picture, by fuel-economy band

Why hybrids do their best work here

A hybrid's advantage is largest in exactly the driving that punishes a gas engine: stop-and-go traffic, short trips, idling at lights. A conventional engine burns fuel while you sit still and throws away energy every time you brake. A hybrid shuts the engine off, runs on the electric motor at low speed, and recovers braking energy back into the battery. That is why hybrid city ratings are often higher than their highway ratings, which is the reverse of every gas vehicle you have owned. Brooklyn driving is close to the ideal case.

The all-wheel-drive part matters too. On most of these hybrids, the rear wheels have their own electric motor and no driveshaft runs the length of the car. Traction arrives the instant an electric motor is asked for torque, which is faster than any mechanical system can react, and the fuel-economy penalty for choosing all-wheel drive over front-wheel drive is usually about a single mile per gallon.

What the mileage costs you up front

A hybrid version of the same SUV typically costs a couple of thousand dollars more than the gas version, so the honest question is how long it takes to get that back. The arithmetic is simple enough to do on your phone: take your annual miles, divide by the gas model's combined mpg, then by the hybrid's, and multiply the difference in gallons by what you pay per gallon. That is your annual saving. Divide the price difference by it and you have your payback period in years.

For a Brooklyn driver doing modest annual mileage, payback can stretch out. For anyone commuting daily, driving for work, or sitting in traffic regularly, it usually arrives well inside the time most people keep a vehicle, and everything after that is profit. Tell us your real annual mileage and which two vehicles you are weighing, and we will run the numbers with you rather than guess at them. If the math does not favor the hybrid for how you actually drive, we will tell you that.

Hybrid batteries, and what the warranty covers in New York

The most common worry about a used hybrid is the battery, and New York buyers are in an unusually good position here. Because New York follows California emissions standards, hybrid and electric-vehicle battery components carry extended coverage: commonly 10 years or 150,000 miles, rather than the 8 years or 100,000 miles that applies in most other states. Terms differ by manufacturer, model year, and whether coverage transfers to a second owner, so ask us to confirm what applies to the specific vehicle in front of you before you decide. It is a real advantage and it is worth checking rather than assuming.

Certified, used, or new

Each franchise runs its own manufacturer-backed certified program: Toyota Certified Used Vehicles, HondaTrue Certified, Hyundai Certified Pre-Owned, Kia Certified Pre-Owned, and Acura Certified Pre-Owned. On a hybrid there is more to inspect than on a gas vehicle, so a documented manufacturer inspection is worth a little more here than it would be otherwise. A used hybrid without certification is the lowest-cost way in, and every used vehicle across Plaza Auto Mall is inspected before sale and priced up front.

One thing specific to all-wheel drive, hybrid or not: tires should be replaced as a matched set, because mismatched circumferences strain the driveline. Ask about tire condition and matching on any all-wheel-drive vehicle you are considering.

Five brands, one visit, one trade appraisal

Because Plaza Auto Mall brings five franchises together on Nostrand Avenue, with more than 1,000 vehicles within a seven-minute walk, you can drive the entire top five back to back on the same afternoon. They sit within a few mpg of each other on paper and feel quite different from the driver's seat, which is the part no spec sheet tells you. One trade appraisal covers all of them and one finance office handles the paperwork.

Shop by rooftop

• Plaza Toyota — RAV4 Hybrid, Highlander Hybrid, Grand Highlander Hybrid, 4Runner, plus Toyota service
• Plaza Honda — CR-V Hybrid and the Honda AWD lineup, plus Honda service
• Plaza Hyundai — Tucson Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid, Santa Fe Hybrid, IONIQ 5, plus Hyundai service
• Plaza Kia — Sportage Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid, Sorento Hybrid, Telluride Hybrid, EV9, plus Kia service
• Acura of Brooklyn — Acura SH-AWD models and the electric ZDX, plus Acura service
• Plaza Parts — genuine parts, accessories, and winter tires for every rooftop

Trade, finance, and delivery

Get a firm number on your current vehicle before you shop with the Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer, and we will appraise it whether or not you buy from us. Financing runs through one office regardless of which rooftop the SUV came from. Delivery is free within 25 miles, and service pickup and drop-off covers the NYC metro area.

Languages spoken on our team: English, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Arabic, French, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Uzbek, Tajik, Turkish, Haitian Creole, Polish, and beyond. Ask for a salesperson in your language when you arrive on Nostrand Avenue and we will find the right person.