Chart Of The Day: But We Need AWD Edition

I'm certainly not going to try and argue the Canadians -- or the Americans residing in mountainous regions -- out of AWD. But, I would humbly suggest to all of them that, if their winter conditions are such that AWD is mandatory, they also should buy a second set of "minus-sized" wheels and mount 4 real snows on them. The reason for this, is that I assume they want to be able to stop and turn. However, the fuel economy and weight penalities of AWD are real, although severity of them depends upon how the AWD system is implemented. As an example, a poster above talks about his Subaru getting 26 mpg on the highway. For comparison, my '02 Saab Aero wagon (FWD) gets an easy 30 mpg with a moderate load and the a/c running, at 65-70 mph. My family's interest in going to a part of West Virginia that gets over 100 inches of natural snow has meant that we have owned some sort of AWD or 4wd vehicle for a long time. However, for the vehicles we have owned since 1994, we have purchased a second set of wheels with snow tires on them. The previous two vehciles (a Jeep Wagoneer and an AWD Toyota Previa) would get stuck with all-seasons; although a set of cable chains on the rear wheels of the Previa did the trick -- albeit requiring speeds to be low. My youngest daughter took our Saab wagon to Madison, WI, where she attends college. With four new all-seasons, she reported that she was "all over the place" in the snow. So, I bought four new snows for the existing set of spare wheels that I had. Now, she says everything is fine. Another impediment to snow travel, I find, is traction control systems. On the Saab, the Pilot and even my Z3, traction control systems produce worse performance on snow. (The z3 has a limited slip differential and has all-seasons on it.) The other observation I have is that vehicle weight matters a lot. Initially, I thought I could get away with all-seasons on my Honda Pilot (because we don't go up to West Virginia much any more), but my wife felt pretty uncomfortable driving it in the first couple of snows we had (and I'm speaking about stopping and turning ability, not getting stuck). Of course, the thing weighs over two tons. By contrast, the Z3, at 2700 lbs. is surprisingly effective in snow, as long as it's not too deep.

I live in Canada and own a 2003 Jimmy 4WD. Most of the time its sits in my driveway, and uses uses zero fuel. However when I need it its very nice to have. BTW I've lived in Ontario my whole life and learned my winter driving skills over 40 winters, with rwd and fwd. Nothing,not snows, chains, studs, nothing works as good as 4 wheel/all wheel drive.

Tires: While living South of the Mason-Dixon, my RWD RX-8 rarely saw snow and wore the stock performance tires. First time it hit any real snow, I was sliding off I-75 faster than any of my Snow-belt bred driving skills could kick in (safely came to a stop in grassy median, btw). Fast forward to this fall, having moved to Western PA. Clad in Michelin Alpin's, I can run circles around any all-season tired AWD vehicle, and have a ball doing it. Wouldn't believe the fun I had driving in Western NY snowbelt on a ski trip. SUV's: If a growing family pushes me to get a CUV, SUV, MUV, QUV or other any other *UV, I have to think that I'd get AWD or 4WD. It's a given that I've sacrificed any hope of high MPG anyways, and why would you own one of these without knowing it could go anywhere? Of course if I'm still living in winter country, I'm still going to put winters on it. Performance AWD: More likely than an SUV for me, if money allows me to go upscale in performance and luxery, I'll be looking at the AWD option to get power to the ground from all four rubbers. I'd probably put more weight on the handling and power/weight, but it'll definitely be a part of the decision. In Summary "Must have AWD!" = WRONG But I'm still going to consider it for any SUV or performance car I may buy in the future. Oh, and for goodness sake, get some winter tires everyone!!!

I've got a unique perspective on this. I've had six years with both a RX8 with snows and a Legacy GT with all-seasons in Michigan. The RX8 is a fantastic winter car so long as the snow is no more than 6 inches deep. It stops on a dime in snow and the sensitive chassis lets you know exactly how much traction you have. I'm still amazed at how many people think a rwd sports car makes a terrible winter car even with snow tires. On the other hand the we keep All-seasons on the Subaru because it can't be stopped even with them, but it is so much more fun than the RX8 in the snow. Nothing beats the easy, low speed drifts that the all seasons allow. Granted, the drifting appears like it has terrible traction, but I've never been stuck in it. They'll both get you were you want to go perfectly safe, but the All-seasons make the Legacy a party in the snow.