Is AWD a meme?

I'm on my second Subaru and I love AWD, so I'm biased. As much as I love it, the maintenance and fuel costs are really high. Do we really need AWD though? For my next car I wanted to get a used Corolla because they're cheap as shit and amazing on gas, but I live in New England so we get some bad snow every now and then. I know tires are extremely important, more so than drivetrain, however I can't help but notice that I've never been stuck in snow, but people with FWD seem to always never get out of snow.

tl;dr Is it worth the extra fuel and maintenance costs to have AWD for winter or are we fine using just snow tires on FWD?

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AWD helps get you moving in snow. It doesn't help you stop or turn, which are generally much more important especially when hardpack snow or ice is involved. The former lets you get out of your driveway, the latter stops you from being a statistic when Ashley Lesley Jones-Washington in her Exploder with bald all-seasons goes full Dagumi through an intersection right in front of you.

> tl;dr Is it worth the extra fuel and maintenance costs to have AWD for winter
No. Even good snow tires on a light-assed, old school RWD pickup or sedan will be better than AWD on crappy tires.

I'm curious, what have you had problems with that involve AWD? I have an Audi Quattro and the only thing I've had problems with is the front CV axles.

What is your mpg? I get 24mpg on highway and 18 in stop and go.

In my Impreza it's great, 23 city, around 30 highway My forester doesn't do as well, in city it sucks to be honest, it has about a 400 mile range with a full tank on the highway (keeping it at 60mph), but calculated its around 25mpg. As for maintenance, my impreza actually hasn't had too many problems, but the axles, yes. The axles on my Forester too.

Man I'd love an Audi Quattro. Quattro is actually amazing, if I could afford it I would get an A4 manual quattro. How's it do in the snow?

I know AWD just helps put the power down, but that power is useful when stuck in snow.
Just out of curiosity what do you drive?

AWD helps in dry conditions too, if it's a modern system. Even my RAV4 varied power for simple stuff like passing cars, to keep the vehicle stable and maximize acceleration. As someone who has owned a 2WD/FWD, an AWD crossover, and now a BOF 4WD SUV, I wouldn't buy another vehicle without it (as my only vehicle).

AWD/4WD is automatically more maintenance, but mainly just your diff and transfer case fluids. There are more moving parts though, so more to *theoretically* break. CV and drive/prop shaft are most common on AWD. Had to re-weld the flange on my RAV4's drive shaft at about 160,000km, but that was due to rust.

OP here, yeah the rear diff on my impreza is fucked haha. I don't think the previous owners ever bothered to change the fluid.

Part of it might be due to design. The stock Toyota prop shaft had an e-locker for the rear diff, but no grease nipples. You couldn't stuff it with lube at oil changes. The most you could do is baste it with surface lube like moly or get it rust sprayed...but in Canadian weather after 10 years, shit is gonna rust. Rewelding was still way cheaper than replacing the entire shaft though, would've been another $500 for a new shaft.

It does well in the snow. I have the 1.8t so it's not very torquey. But yeah it's fun to drive and handles pretty well. That is, when I don't have anything wrong with it

That's what keeps me from buying luxury brands. Audis, Mercedes, BMWs all work fantastically when they work, if that makes sense. If you have the money to keep them well maintained, they're amazing. But once stuff starts to go wrong it's a nightmare. That's why I really want a used loaded Corolla. Cheap Japanese car that gets great gas mileage, low insurance costs, easy maintenance and runs forever.

One day when I have more money though, I would love to get my hands on an RS6 haha

It's a meme until you actually need it.

>It doesn't help you turn
Have you ever been on the accelerator in a sharp corner?

beat me to it

I want the normies like op to leave.

In sunny canada it is. In europe a good driver with AWD car will pay less insurance because the car works better in slippery winter. Truth is AWD costs more because it costs more to repair, doesn't matter if it's winter or not.

>stomping the gas in a sharp corner in the snow in anything
okay, colin

THIS Thread is remarkably civil. I love it guys.

Veeky Forums is remarkably civil for the most part because we're all a bunch of autists talking about cars anyway. The outliers are the people who spam the same bench-racing horseshit threads and bait wars every day, and the idiots who reply in those threads instead of just hiding and moving on.

This. Flooring it with AWD/4WD in snow is the best feeling ever.

OP here, yeah even in my 137hp impreza, gunning it in the snow and drifting around is fun as hell

I don't believe you live in a snowy area matey. Awd is the shit here in Colorado. Drove through that death corridor passed aspen and Vail during a blizzard a blizzard. Awd Durango plus being a heavy ass vehicle definitely made it way easier.

AWD is far better than anything else for daily driving in snowy conditions.

I've had 2wd and AWD and I prefer AWD.

It's good for deep snow to get moving, It's also great for going up steep hills when It's snowing or the roads haven't been salted.


I get 35mpg in 2wd and 27-28 in AWD.

What do you drive? I wish Subaru made something like that for their vehicles. Because 3/4 of the year I don't need AWD, but then 1/4 I need it like crazy. Do you drive a truck?

Which car do you have where you can switch it?

2012 Lancer SE 2.4L AWD

They aren't that expensive, I bought this one practically new with only 33k miles on it for 4800 USD 2 years ago.


There is a rocker switch near the shifter


Sorry only pic I have of the rocker switch

oops, forgot to quote you m8

pic of the rocker switch

A proper awd or 4x4 system will let you engine brake with all 2-4 wheels depending on your locking diff situation. When you hit black ice just breathing on the brake pedal can lock the tires while slight engine braking is more gentle.

Are you sure you don't have 4wd? Awd can't be changed to 2wd and 4wd can not only do 2wd, but chose between rear and front wheel drive afaik

Neat, can you switch it on the go or full stop? I used to own a Jeep TJ Sport with manual trans box.

It says AWD on the Mitsubishi window sticker that was still on the car when I bought it. I'm pretty sure

motortrend.com/cars/mitsubishi/lancer/2012/

I've never tried switching it on the go, As a habit I always did it in N at a stop.

Not sure...

Oh and when in 2WD, is it front of back?

Wow i didn't know that awd could be "turned off" to the front wheels. Interesting

It's front.

I didn't know that either until I bought it, I was also under the impression AWD was full-time only. But my 2000 Explorer is advertised as AWD but I can switch from "auto" (which only engages AWD when the rear wheels slip) to high and low range.

>It's front.

N-nani?

Somewhat. AWD is great but it isn't necessary. You can drive a Miata in the ice if you change your tires. It really depends on how much you like all weather tires.

Nope. I drive an Audi now with old-school full mechanical full-time AWD. I don't really notice a difference between driving this or my old civics on studs/snows.

I bought AWD for performance traction in the dry. Does it help in the winter? Sure. Is it necessary? No.

Technically speaking AWD does also help with turning and stability since an AWD car can actively use all 4 wheels to maintain and/or regain stability.

With that being said, it is also true that AWD is not going to help you slow down.

Fuck yeah it's worth it, do you want to fear hills, have to baby the throttle off the line, constantly worry about understeering off the road under light acceleration, driving slow as shit spinning wheels everywhere? Or do you want to keep driving full chad WRC mode flooring that shit everywhere, doing 90 on the highway in a blizzard, laughing at all the 2wd no-season tire cucks?

I'm not talking about snow. Corners, general. AWD absolutely murders traction-wise as long as you're on the gas.

Go run an autocross event in an AWD and you'll understand.

>live in new england (connecticut)
>fwd tiny hatch
>always stuck with all seasons
>have a garage
>No rust
>never any winter driving problems


ahhhhh, sure feels satisfying to not live in rural bumfuck where I'd ever need snow tires.
My streets are so high priority, they are well plowed and salted before I even get out of bed to work.

>Never having snowdays as a kid

Grew up in Vermont.
I now live a perfect distance to spend weekends driving on the excellent Vermont twisties.

Oh well i guess everything has worked out good for you

>tl;dr Is it worth the extra fuel and maintenance costs to have AWD for winter or are we fine using just snow tires on FWD?
Is a truck worth the extra fuel costs every single fillup (which you have more of) for the one or two times you decide to buy furniture and have to rent a truck for like $25?

Had a torque steer fiasco in my old FWD shitbox. No traction control, but it had winter tires and ABS, but the road was just too slippery. I was going about 30 MPH, and the whole car was just swaying 40 degrees left and right.

The same conditions in my AWD cuckbox on all season tires is much better. Torque vectoring ensures that traction control doesn’t even kick in unless I’m trying to.