Ask the Car People.SM


What car company has the best AWD system - READ ONLY

96 messages,  Last post on Jan 18, 2013 at 9:59 PM

You are in the Automotive News & Views-Archives Forum.

What is this discussion about? Acura, Infiniti, Volvo

Messages Page 11 of 11

#94 of 96 Re: AWD test [janeyng] by thesmd

Jan 18, 2013 (9:27 pm)

Replying to: janeyng (Sep 12, 2012 6:14 pm)
All people who have contributed to this thread are in love with their cars - and that is absolutely great, that is why we are all here on this forum.
But I feel this discussion has taken many bad turns, like sport fans arguing about their teams, or soccer moms about their kids...
There is no such thing as the best AWD system. A farmer in Idaho most likely needs a different type of AWD than a NewYorker in a rain, or a motorhead on a dry race cource.
Many posters here have erroneously linked performance of an AWD system with the behavior of their vehicle during sharp turns. That is plain wrong. I know physics. The forces acting during a turn have nothing to do with the performance of an AWD system in the sense of preventing the car from skidding. Adding a tangential force to the centrifugal one most likely will decrease your chances of survival.
AWD is all about movind a car FORWARD (or where you turn the wheels).
I've had three Subaru Imprezas in the last 14 years. The best one was the oldest one, with viscous locking center differential. I could not stop myself from plain having fun with it in Lake Placid on all kinds of snow! Deep snow on grass, and downhill? You got it! Going back uphill? You bet! Compressed snow/ice on a parking lot in front of a restaurant? I put it into spins yet being sure it would not park itself inside that restaurant! And all that with just stock tires. If it had some Blizzaks on it, "it would probably be able to climb trees" - as one guy put it once.
Later I had a WRX with electronically-controlled CD. It was OK but very hard to control on some 6" snow. My latest WRX got me home safely when I got stuck in traffic on a 4" snow and just EASILY crossed the boggy-ditchy median to get to the opposite (but free!) lane, leaving hundreds of cars behind. I had my evil laugh at all those Beemers, Merces and Lexuses I'd left behind... sorry!
This year I quietly drove my wife's Honda CRV on 1" snow over asphalt, and had a feeling that the car was struggling to keep a straight line while wiggling side-to-side a few inches all the way. That CRV was OK in a pooring rain, though...
 
ALL I AM TRYING TO SAY: You guys - just go and test-drive all those different AWD systems, right where you live and the way you usually drive, and one of those systems shall be the best for you.
Only don't do that on a sunny Summer day going 'round the block -- if you want to test an AWD

#95 of 96 Re: AWD test [thesmd] by oldbearcat

Jan 18, 2013 (9:59 pm)

Replying to: thesmd (Jan 18, 2013 9:27 pm)
I've had 3 AWD vehicles. My first was a 03 Jaguar X Type 2.5. It did extremely well in bad weather. I swapped it for an 06 X Type 3.0. The car had more suds, but, Jag had modified the AWD system for more durability, but, the system didn't work as well as the 03's did. My current vehicle, a 2011 Mercedes GLK350 4Matic, appears to work very well. I took it out in a snow storm here earlier this Winter, and, it had no problem going anywhere I wanted in 6" of snow - including the big hill I have to climb to get to my house. It also handles heavy rain with no drama. Another nice feature - this little SUV is way quicker than either of the 2 X Types I had.
 
Regards:
Oldengineer

Messages Page 11 of 11

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement