New Balance FuelCell Propel v4 Review

The Propel brings a ton of value to a budget-friendly shoe. The TPU plate provides enough pop to make this shoe reasonable for uptempo runs, and the FuelCell foam is more than comfortable enough for long runs. Depending on the runner, this could be the perfect budget buy.

Performance Comparison

Cushioning and Landing Comfort

The FuelCell foam of the Propel v4 is soft, making landings comfortable on all surfaces. New Balance does a good job of making sure the soft foam doesn't feel dead or pillowy. There's still feedback from the road, and while you're well-insulated, the shoe feels firm enough to allow you to pick up the pace when you want to.

If you're after a comfortable long-run shoe, the cushioning is hard to beat at this price point. The stack height of 42mm in the heel and 34mm in the forefoot is a substantial amount of great foam underfoot.

Responsiveness

If the idea of lots of bouncy foam paired with a TPU plate sounds like a familiar recipe from more expensive, faster shoes, that's because it is. The two work well together, and we think the TPU plate gives this shoe enough pop to handle moderate paces. Because of the amount of foam and the overall weight, we don't love this shoe for anything much faster than a threshold pace.

As a daily trainer, we think the Propel is fine; in fact, it's more responsive than many other shoes in our lineup. It just isn't the shoe we'd grab for workouts.

Upper Comfort

The upper on the Propel v4 is exactly what we expect at this price point. It's fine, but it's nothing exciting or impressive.

The knit upper struggles to breathe, and we find it rougher than other, similar uppers. We also think it leaves something to be desired regarding fit and lockdown.

While we didn't experience any hotspots, our feet tend to move around in these shoes more than we like. The heel cup is rigid but doesn't have enough padding at the top to retain the heel. We find that unless our lacing is perfect, our feet move just enough to slide the insole backward, causing our toes to hang past the end while running.

The tongue is padded enough to prevent hotspots, although we wish it were gusseted. Overall, the upper is fine and gets the job done. It just doesn't rank among our favorites.

Stability

Thanks to the TPU plate, the thick stack of FuelCell makes this shoe more stable than expected. It isn't a stability shoe by any means, but for a plated trainer, it's pretty good.

This shoe could be a great introduction to the world of plated trainers/racers for runners with mild stability concerns. The shoe feels reasonably planted, but the stack height does limit its agility on uneven surfaces.

Weight

The Propel v4 is one of the heaviest shoes in our test at 10.86 oz. We typically don't care for heavy shoes; if a shoe is heavy, its usefulness beyond easy runs is pretty limited. However, we think the Propel doesn't feel as heavy as it is. It feels light enough for us to use it on long runs.

However, given the weight, we were disappointed by the traction provided by the outsole. Typically, a good portion of a shoe's weight comes from its heavier-duty outsole rubber. While the rubber on the Propel has decent grip, it didn't wow us, particularly on loose surfaces.

Should You Buy the New Balance FuelCell Propel v4?

If you want a well-cushioned, budget trainer that is great for easy-to-moderate paces, consider the Propel. It's not the best shoe in our test, but for specific users, it will be a great training partner. Finally, if you want to try out a plated shoe but don't want the cost typically associated with one, try the Propel.

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