Jeeps & Gas Mileage: Here Are The Numbers (8 Examples)

With gas costs increasing each year, its no surprise that cars that use less fuel are preferred by buyers. Jeeps are one of those cars that everyone is wondering whether they have good or bad gas mileage.

This is surrounded by the fact that Jeeps seemingly have everything going for them. They look good, last a very long time, and can get you where other cars can’t.

But what about their mileage?

Do Jeeps Get Good Or Bad Gas Mileage?

The Jeep Wrangler gets on average of 17 mpg for city driving and 23 mpg on the highway. A modified Jeep with heavier tires and steel bumpers will get lower mileage because of the weight.

Let’s dig into the numbers!

How Is The Mileage On Jeep Wranglers?

Jeep Wranglers, in particular, aren’t very fuel-efficient.

This is due to a number of factors. First of all, the Wrangler isn’t exactly the most aerodynamic vehicle out there. Bad aerodynamics makes the car sluggish in windy conditions and the car has to pull more weight. The engine in a vehicle has to pull all the drag and weight the vehicle is put under.

More work for the engine means more fuel consumed. More fuel consumed by your car means a huge hole in your pocket for fuel costs.

This is what the average car buyer is worried about. Rising fuel costs together with maintenance and repair costs are what consumers are taking into consideration when buying cars.

So a car with good gas mileage is somewhat preferred over one with bad gas mileage.

However, there are others out there who just want the experience of owning a Jeep. Outdoor offroading adventurists or regular Jeep enthusiasts love their Jeeps. With all this support for Jeeps, one would wonder if the Jeep’s gas mileage is as bad as its thought to be.

Because the thinking is if all these Jeeps have such bad mileage, why are people still buying them? This might be due to the fact that the average Jeep owner knows that Jeeps can get you a lot of value in the long run and also because of its unparalleled 4×4 capabilities.

For example, if you take a quick visit at any of the many Jeep forums online you’ll notice the love surrounding the brand. Jeep owners know that the weight of a Jeep will mean less fuel efficiency. You’ll notice that even though they know that most Jeeps aren’t super fuel-efficient, they are still looking to add even more features to the Jeep.

More steel bumpers, bigger tires, and other upgrades add to the weight of the vehicle, therefore more fuel needed. So does this mean that all Jeeps are terrible fuel hogs?

This is not entirely the case. As with any other car manufacturing brand out there, different Jeep models have different gas mileage ratings.
Let’s start off by taking a look at some of the Jeep models that have good gas mileage.

These Jeep Models Have The Best Mileage

Judging from this list, it looks like Jeep has finally made changes to some of its latest models.

These later models are much more fuel-efficient than their older counterparts. This might be due to complaints from the market. If more people kept complaining about fuel efficiency and their gas not lasting as long as on other cars, Jeep might have improved on their latest offerings.

The Jeep Renegade seems to be the most fuel-efficient.

It sits at about 27mpg combined, which is more than what we’ve seen in the past Jeep models. Take note that these 27 miles per gallon are the combined city and highway driving average.
Even though 27 miles per gallon isn’t all that great, for a Jeep, it makes a huge difference.

Another factor that allows Jeep to get more fuel-efficient cars into the market is that they can make both 4 wheel drive and 2 wheel drive vehicles of the same model. The 2WD models won’t be as huge a gas hog as the 4WD models.

This is because the engine pulling all 4 wheels in a 4WD Jeep has to work that much harder than it’s 2WD counterparts.

This is in fact what’s also happening with both the Jeep Compass and Jeep Cherokee which are both FWD.

Both models have front-wheel-drive systems, meaning that the power from the engine is delivered to the front wheel tires only.

Both these models come in at 26 mpg combined for both city and highway driving.

Keep in mind that city driving and highway driving can consume different amounts of fuel. This is because when you’re driving in the city, you tend to have speed changes more regularly. This means stopping at intersections, accelerating and slowing down more often due to shorter street lengths.

Whereas, when you’re driving on the highway, you keep a constant speed.

There’s less rapid acceleration and braking because the road is much longer. This saves the car from working overtime and therefore it uses less fuel. It’s also part of the reason why these particular Jeep models are getting relatively good mileage.

Another huge factor that needs to be considered is the driving habits of the driver. An inexperienced driver can use way more fuel than is necessary. This can lead to complaints that the Jeep isn’t fuel-efficient, but that might be due to the driver’s habits.

With that said let’s look at some of the models that are less fuel-efficient.

These Jeep Models Have The Worst Mileage

It’s no surprise that the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Grand Cherokee are the highlights of this list.

These two models have been known to consume quite a lot of fuel than their competitors. And again we can see a huge improvement for these models because earlier models were far worse than this.

Older Wrangler models were known to get a dismal 18 miles per gallon on average. In these 2019 offerings, we can see quite a significant change in fuel efficiency.

Modern technologies might be one of the factors at play here. With technology, Jeep can introduce electronics to efficiently control fuel consumption. As advanced fuel control technologies evolve, we will eventually see more fuel-efficient cars on the roads.

But for Jeep, this has never been the aim.

Jeeps are built for offroading and so it goes without saying that they are different from the average everyday car.

A Jeep has to have towing power as well. This is because when going for an outdoor 4×4 weekend, you might need to pull an RV or a boat. The Jeep needs all the power and weight to be a workhorse when you need it to be. All this weight means more fuel consumed by the Jeep and therefore more costs.

This is why you’ll find that Jeeps are often preferred as offroading vehicles than for everyday driving.

This does not mean Jeeps can’t be used as everyday drivers. With the demand for family comfort inside Jeeps, the newer models are now as comfortable as full-blown family SUVs.

In fact, there are a few that are used like that. For example, the Jeep Renegade and the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk are often used as family cars.

This is even though both these models are on opposite points of the spectrum when it comes to fuel efficiency.

The Jeep Renegade boasts an impressive 27mpg, while the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk gets you about 13mpg.

These models are used both for offroading and city driving, but most owners are confused as to why Jeeps are different when it comes to fuel efficiency.

This often happens when long trips are taken and the driver wants to know how long the Jeep will take them before they have to pull up to a gas station again. The question then is:

How Far Can A Jeep Drive On A Full Tank?

A Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4WD can get you about 400 miles on a full tank of gas. This varies depending on what upgrades the car has.

These numbers are different for every Jeep.

Miles undergone on a full tank of gas vary with every driver because we don’t all drive the same way using the same routes. Jeep Wrangler owners report getting between 200 and 300 miles out of their Jeep on a full tank of gas. So, nothing is ever written in stone when it comes to a Jeep.

Highway driving will get you more miles from a full tank of gas than city driving. A good idea is to look at the fuel gauge or reset it whenever you fill the tank. This will let you measure the distance driven compared to the gallons of gas used.

If you happen to have a number of upgrades to a Jeep, the miles you can go on a full tank of gas will decrease significantly. Bigger aftermarket tires and adding steel bumpers and other upgrades to a Jeep adds more weight. This then leads to bad gas mileage.

So the very same model Jeep’s fuel-economy will vary from owner to owner. There’s always those who can penny-pinch and get their Jeeps to run for over 300 miles on a full tank of gas. With ever-increasing fuel costs, a few tips might come in handy when you need to get your Jeep to use fuel efficiently.

Tips For Improving The Gas Mileage On Your Jeep

1. Avoid Chunky Offroad Tires

Not only do bigger tires look cool on a Wrangler, but they also improve offroading capabilities. But the problem is they are heavy and add more weight to the Jeep, resulting in less fuel efficiency.

2. Choose A Four-cylinder Engine.

A four-cylinder engine on a Jeep Wrangler uses much less power and therefore less fuel. Choosing a manual transmission instead of an automatic can also get you more fuel efficiency.

With a manual transmission, you can also put the Jeep in neutral and coast a bit every now and then.

3. Improve Driving Habits

For a manual transmission Jeep, your driving habits can drastically improve fuel efficiency.

More control over the Jeep means you can control gear shifting better to improve overall strain on the engine and therefore improve fuel efficiency. Good habits can mean driving a tad bit slower and accelerating steadily from a stop.

4. Less Baggage

Although the Wrangler doesn’t have a lot of space for carrying, reducing whatever you don’t need in the Jeep can also help.

This means the Jeep will have less weight to carry and likely result in improved fuel efficiency.

5. Less four-wheel-drive gear use

The 4WD gear comes in handy and can let the Jeep do offroading as well as its made to, but it’s not always necessary. The 4WD gear is a huge fuel hog and using it only when necessary can go along way in improving fuel costs.

6. Regular Maintenance

Getting a tune-up every now and then is recommended for every Jeep. better yet, keeping to the maintenance schedule can greatly reduce repair costs and keep the Jeep running at it’s best.

Changing the air and oil filters and installing new spark plugs can go along way in improving the fuel efficiency of a Jeep.

Conclusion

To be honest, Jeep owners and 4×4 enthusiasts already know that offroading vehicles are a huge fuel hog.

This is no different for Jeeps because they do offroading better than most of their competitors. This means that buying a Jeep needs some research beforehand to prevent any disappoints and regrets. If fuel efficiency is important to you in a vehicle, then Jeeps aren’t the best option for you.

They aren’t specifically made for everyday driving and therefore fuel efficiency isn’t a huge priority when they are made.

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