Yes, and they should be required for fast-travel and have built-in storage. Let them be used for fast-travel even without having already visited a location by just picking a spot on the map if there are clear roads between here and there. Occasionally have random encounters when fast-travelling which take place in temporary locations, after which you just get back in the vehicle to continue the journey.

Add an optional driving mini game for giggles.

And then make the wasteland huge. Multiple towns and cities, not all on top of each other. Put important caves, power plants, army bases and such in the middle of nowhere, so you have to know where they are to travel to them effectively. And also let players see distant landmarks as silhouettes like in Wind Waker.

Vehicles shouldn't need fuel. Fusion Cores should last effectly forever. It's a dumb gameplay hack to have made them short-lived.

"This fusion core has been powering our whole building for years, but if you take it, it will only last in your power armor for one hour."

But wear and tear should be extreme unless you spend a lot of time and money fixing your vehicle up, but then it can also get stolen, so that's risky, but you can always steal it back if you can find it! Imagine finding the camp of the raiders who stole your vehicle, killing them all, and finding all your stored gear spread amongst them.