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Worth paying extra for AWD?


mobi
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AWD or FWD?  

45 members have voted

  1. 1. Which one do you prefer when buying with your own money?

    • FWD
      10
    • AWD
      35


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You are right. The AWD will give me extra traction in few cases. However, this false sense of superiority may push me to troubles where I would not venture in a FWD car - thus avoiding the problem in the first place!

For icy conditions, as someone already said before, proper tyres are more helpful than AWD. Plenty of cars in cold countries manage very well with FWD + winter tyres.

I am not anti-AWD by any means. If I get a good deal on AWD RAV4, I'd get it but having no AWD is not a deal breaker for me. 

I don't why understand Toyota does't offer limited slip differential (LSD) in FWD in place of AWD. Is LSD more expensive than fitting a rear motor? 
 

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had an AWD (kuga) and have driven  4 x 4 landrover and off-road. Essentially only useful when needed so much depends on how often you really need it bearing in mind extra costs new.  extra fuel usage over time. an potential for bigger bills when  it? goes wrong ( in Kuga case it was quote dat over £4K to replace as a whole unit versus  landrover where each section  assy can be replaced individually) Yes it Nic not have extra traction when a wheel start slipping and can  assist greatly if towing off road eg glassy  wet fields  or an incline etc  do bear in mind it does Not stop you any faster and I did brake heavily once  on icy road ..(about 4-5mph as a side road and I was being careful!) all four wheels locked and it simply slid for a few meters same as any other car.  so we have to excuse safety as an excuse so its all down to we need it? or just want it?

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FWD with suitable tyres will go everywhere where awd will do and even further if the later hasn’t got a good tyres, so tyres are more important than driving axle (s). Awd but proper ones like Subaru or Audi , Mitsubishi’s or other Toyota models where torque can be split 50/50 between both axles is completely different story but again you only need that if you are about rallying, going off road or live in really harsh conditions, high mountains, deserts, or deep in the country side, for all others fwd with the right tyres is simply enough. 👍

 

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Looks like a Panda 4x4 to me...

I chose to order a 2WD Rav4 as it suits my needs, living in the Fens with little snow fall. Will replace OEM tyres with all season tyres sometime in the future.

 

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2 minutes ago, Vainona70 said:

Looks like a Panda 4x4 to me...

I chose to order a 2WD Rav4 as it suits my needs, living in the Fens with little snow fall. Will replace OEM tyres with all season tyres sometime in the future.

 

Up in them thar hills not that far from me (1000m+) the two most coveted vehicles are the Suzuki Jimny and the panda cross 4x4. I have to admit fiat really did hit it out of the park with the panda, it's about the most practical small car I have ever driven. I wouldn't buy one, except maybe if I lived in those 1000m+ altitudes, because otherwise it is too basic.

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Ha ha, a little Fiat Pand 4x4 doing better then the big Land Rover. Still, the LR is good for Mums taking the kids to school.

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I used to occasionally drive a Isuzu Justy when my Trooper was in for a service that was a super little car.

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I love the little Panda 4x4s! :biggrin:  I kinda wanted one as they are genuinely great all-terrain cars, and a lot of fun. So much ground clearance too! Would have been helpful for my pothole-ridden hellscape, but couldn't really justify one given I never go anywhere even remotely off-road (unless you count the pothole hellscape :laugh: ), and they are both gutless and thirsty so in all the ways that matter a big step back from my previous cars... but they're so cute and scrabbly! :biggrin:

They are the spiritual successor and closest modern equivalent to the old Kei car 4x4s like the original Jimny.

I always have a soft spot for cars like that - and the GR4! - just because they're so puny and underrated, but punch well above their weight to the point they can embarrass 'proper' cars, as demonstrated! :laugh: 

 

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1 hour ago, Catlover said:

Ha ha, a little Fiat Pand 4x4 doing better then the big Land Rover. Still, the LR is good for Mums taking the kids to school.

People do think that way!

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Actually do the french have a slang term for them? Like how we call them Chelsea Tractors, and the germans call them hausfrauenpanzers :laugh: 

 

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I have winter tyres on my Auris and last year’s lockdown we had a lots of snow in Hertfordshire and I had an opportunity to test my car performance on snow and no surprise it was a great fun and super enjoyable experience, found a perfect place for handbrake turns training ., the car did exactly as expected, no problems at all going up or down step hills, and I meant it a step hills with 5” of snow, I was driving and stopping half way uphill on purpose to see if I will get stuck, believe me not even a wheel spin, the hybrid smooth starting from 0mph also helps but I am ok even with manual, but other people with summer tyres even with awd cars where unable to cope with the conditions and had to abandon their cars for two days before the snow melted and they could have take their cars back to their houses. I had been driving in real winter conditions abroad in snow storms with fwd cars again no trouble just a tons of fun as long as your car has a good tyres on. ❄️🚙😍🏁 

for the Chelsea tractors or at least some of them, just buy them a proper tyres and they will be as good or even better than land cruiserS or defenders  . 🚜🔀

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Powdered Snow is not as bad compacted snow and ice.  Some years ago my road to work was a straight, high level fen road with hedges set well back.  The snow was compacted into ice. At one point there was a cross road at the bottom of steepish valley. 

Cars waited at the top until the way was clear before one car would make the descent and ascent up the other side.  Braking was not an option. 

As I started down a white van on the ascent side started to move off the verge area and ascended. I knew he should reach the topic and be clear  before I crested the rise. 

To my consternation a second van started to pull out too.  In dry conditions it would have been no problem.  As it was I knew there was no way I could slow down in time. 

I hit the horn and he stopped😬

 

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2 hours ago, Cyker said:

Actually do the french have a slang term for them? Like how we call them Chelsea Tractors, and the germans call them hausfrauenpanzers :laugh: 

 

Most likely they do, my wife calls them "char d'assaut"; which is not quite as poetic as Hausfraupanzer.

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I have bought a little Suzuki SX4 4X4 whilst my RAV is being built, it's basic but what a great car and to be honest I might even keep it as a little workhorse and some 4x4 fun, makes me smile everytime I drive it. Very underated and most folks will simply gloss over them for something more glitzy, more fool them IMHO

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Back in the day when I started to drive and owned my first car it was very under powered and on very thin skinny tyres and we managed to drive everywhere even though some pretty awful winters. (Standard 10)

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2 hours ago, ernieb said:

Back in the day when I started to drive and owned my first car it was very under powered and on very thin skinny tyres and we managed to drive everywhere even though some pretty awful winters. (Standard 10)

Thin tyres are much better for traction in snow - and low tyre pressures too. Hence in part why the Panda drove past the RR. My VW Beetle and Audi A2 were the best cars I had for snow traction. 

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The aspect which hasn't directly been mentioned is the extra enjoyment you might get from a car which goes around corners. I have always hated front wheel drive because of the inherent understeer which is the only response FWD gives from using more throttle. The RAV AWD system magically chooses when to drive the rear wheels in a way which allows response to driver input to those who like the slow-in fast-out cornering style. In my case it is this rather than the occasional situations where I might get stuck in mud or steep grassy climbs which sells me the AWD version.

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9 minutes ago, roadster-rav said:

I have always hated front wheel drive because of the inherent understeer which is the only response FWD gives from using more throttle.

I find that more throttle tightens the line on the FWD cars I have driven, but I don't try to drive fast anymore.

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5 minutes ago, roadster-rav said:

.....because of the inherent understeer which is the only response FWD gives from using more throttle......

This is quite dependent on the tyres - as an example, my KIA SoulEV (FWD) came to me with some obscure brand of replacement tyres on the front, and the cornering was as you describe, even though they had plenty of tread.  It now has Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen3, and the behaviour is transformed.  More throttle in the corners tightens the turn.

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I think there is some confusion between 4wd for off-road and 4wd to help set a Nurburgring lap record. The grip and handling needs differ. For my personal use I am looking primarily for better traction in general towing duties including on wet grass and for when/if we get snow (that has probably been banned by Greta). 

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18 minutes ago, IanML said:

It now has Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen3, and the behaviour is transformed.  More throttle in the corners tightens the turn.

Same tyres on my Yaris, same result.

6 minutes ago, Flatcoat said:

and for when/if we get snow (that has probably been banned by Greta). 

Is that humour ?

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