Type a shoe name, like Pegasus, Clifton or Kayano.

New Balance FuelCell Propel v4

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 10.7 oz · 6mm drop · 34/28mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The New Balance FuelCell Propel v5 replaced it

How it ranks

The New Balance FuelCell Propel v4 trails most daily trainers in our data. Comfort and value are its strongest sub-ratings. The rating rests on 12 runner reviews and 3 other rated shoes in the FuelCell Propel product line.

New Balance FuelCell Propel v4

of 5

Bottom-tier

46/100
Overall
46
Comfort
63
Value
58
Cushioning
55
Durability
51
Appearance
51
Confidence

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

94/100

94

What runners say

“Saved from the abyss of foot injuries caused by high arches and supination”
5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a marathon came from the HOKA Rincon 3
“Awful sizing—runs 1 size small”
3/5 Full review 16 mpw training for 5K and 10K
“Rubber is a bit thin; mediocre durability expected (~350 miles)”
5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a marathon came from the HOKA Rincon 3
“Too squishy/heavy to pick up the pace”
3/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Endorphin Speed 2
“Feels like Nike Pegasus in give, but more stable for underpronators”
5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a marathon came from the HOKA Rincon 3
“Started hurting after 4 months/200 miles”
3/5 Full review 16 mpw training for 5K and 10K
“Plate rolls up on lateral side, acts as guard against overpronation”
5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a marathon came from the HOKA Rincon 3
“Cheaper upper construction leads to inadequate lockdown”
4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the HOKA Clifton 9
“Kept up great through 350 miles”
4/5 Full review 40 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the HOKA Clifton 9
“Upper is overly roomy”
5/5 Full review 30 mpw training for a marathon came from the HOKA Rincon 3

Prefer this shoe over another

33% 3/9

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.


Pros

  • Reviewers rate comfort 4.5 out of 5 and cushioning 4.2 out of 5.
  • It lists at $110, below the $150 median for daily trainers on sale, and three reviewers call it a bargain for a plated shoe.
  • Two reviewers say the TPU plate firms up soft foam, one finding it steadies their supination.

Cons

  • Averaging 10.1 oz across the men's and women's builds, it is well above the 8.9 oz median for daily trainers on sale, and two reviewers find it heavy and squishy at pace.
  • Reviewers rate durability 3.6 out of 5, and two expect about 350 miles from the thin outsole rubber.
  • Reviewers rate appearance 3.5 out of 5, its lowest dimension.

Rating & Confidence vs. other shoes for sale

Each dot is one rated shoe for sale, placed by its rating and by how much evidence sits behind it. Shoes toward the top right are both well rated and well established.

Confidence
50 60 70 80 90 100 25 50 75 100

Better Shoes Rating

FuelCell Propel v4 rates 46. This shoe has high certainty. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the New Balance FuelCell Propel

Each dot is one version of the FuelCell Propel, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.
  • FuelCell Propel v5

    2024 · 1 review

    68 Below average

    37 Confidence

  • FuelCell Propel v4 This shoe

    2023 · 12 reviews

    46 Bottom-tier

    94 Confidence

  • FuelCell Propel v2

    2020 · 1 review

    61 Below average

    23 Confidence

  • FuelCell Propel

    2019 · 3 reviews

    48 Bottom-tier

    80 Confidence

Reader Ratings

12 ratings
5/5 3
4/5 3
3/5 6
2/5 0
1/5 0

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight
10.7 oz
Release
2023 Q1
MSRP
$110
Stack Height
34mm heel - 28mm toe
Drop Height
6mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Showing 6–8 of 8 written reviews

Great Shoe for Underpronators

5/5

Overall

This shoe saved my from the abyss of foot injuries caused by high arches and supination. The shoe itself is just a normal running shoe. The plate doesn't do much of other than stiffen up ridiculously soft foam and make it feel somewhat rigid. It feels a lot like the Nike Pegasus in terms of give, but it's more stable for us Underpronators. The plate rolls up on the lateral (outside) side of the shoe and acts as a guard/guide against going to far in that direction. So for people with high arches and who underpronate (like me) this is a fantastic shoe. It doesn't hurt that the MSRP is $110 (though if you look around you can find a pair for $60). Even better, the plate doesn't roll up on the inside of the shoe, so it doesn't push you back to the outside like stability shoes can. Basically this is a stability shoe for supinators, which is miracle, as all we could ever do before is buy highly cushioned shoes that blunted the impact of lateral foot strikes. 

It's not perfect. The upper is overly roomy. New Balance doesn't size consistently. The Rebel runs way small, and this shoe runs true to size maybe a little bit. I think the rubber is a bit thin and foresee mediocre durability (350 miles or so). 

But still for the price, amazing shoe that really helps supinators. 

Anonymous runner · Jan 15, 2024

30 mpw training for a marathon came from the HOKA Rincon 3

Comfort
5/5
Cushioning
5/5
Durability
4/5
Appearance
5/5
Value
5/5

Solid daily trainer, and cheap!

4/5

Overall

A budget daily trainer. Plated, can be used for speed work. However, they are heavier than ideal. The upper is cheaper than usual, which leads to inadequate lockdown, but this is not a major issue. I must have ran 350 miles in them, and they kept up great.

Anonymous runner · Dec 19, 2023

40 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the HOKA Clifton 9

Comfort
4/5
Cushioning
3/5
Durability
5/5
Appearance
5/5
Value
5/5

Great value plated shoe

5/5

Overall

Lovely show to run in, which was a great surprise with the price point. 

Anonymous runner · Jun 13, 2023

45 mpw training for 5K and 10K came from the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 39

Comfort
5/5
Cushioning
5/5
Durability
4/5
Appearance
4/5
Value
5/5

Alternatives

Other shoes worth considering.

More from New Balance

Compared to other shoes

See how this shoe compares to others like it.

Current shoe
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Reference shoe
Newest / Lowest price
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Shoe properties
Type
Daily trainer
Daily trainer
Daily trainer
Pronation
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral
Weight
10.7 oz M
8.5 oz M
8.5 oz M
Stack
34/28mm
37/31mm
40/35mm
Drop
6mm
6mm
5mm
Release
2023 Q1
2024 Q2 Newest
2023 Q1
MSRP
$110
$120
$145
Best price
$59.97 Lowest price
$149.99
Ratings
Overall
Bottom-tier (46)
Below average (68)
Exceptional (99) Best overall
Comfort
Below average (63)
Below average (69)
Exceptional (99) Best comfort
Cushioning
Bottom-tier (55)
Decent (70)
Exceptional (99) Best cushioning
Durability
Bottom-tier (51)
Below average (66)
Very good (92) Best durability
Appearance
Bottom-tier (51)
Below average (69)
Very good (91) Best appearance
Value
Bottom-tier (58)
Decent (76)
Good (88) Best value
Specific shoe

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