AWD vs FWD
- Thread starter renee
- Start date
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dietz4ibanez
Admin
Good to hear from you renee!
This is just my opinion but I know a lot of people go for the AWD with the 4 cylinder engines and offset the cost of the v6...
IMO the way to go if you felt you had to get AWD would be to make sure that you get v6 and not sacrifice one or the other and get both..
But I don't think that its worth the sacrifice of gas mileage to get the AWD period.
Don't get me wrong I think that the V6 is powerful but I don't think its adequate enough to give you the extra traction you would think you would get with a AWD system.
If you are a good enough driver in the snow and ice you will be fine in the FWD.
Unfortunately the best advice would be to drive them both in these conditions to see which vehicle makes you comfortable...
This is just my opinion but I know a lot of people go for the AWD with the 4 cylinder engines and offset the cost of the v6...
IMO the way to go if you felt you had to get AWD would be to make sure that you get v6 and not sacrifice one or the other and get both..
But I don't think that its worth the sacrifice of gas mileage to get the AWD period.
Don't get me wrong I think that the V6 is powerful but I don't think its adequate enough to give you the extra traction you would think you would get with a AWD system.
If you are a good enough driver in the snow and ice you will be fine in the FWD.
Unfortunately the best advice would be to drive them both in these conditions to see which vehicle makes you comfortable...
2010BlkGraniteNox
New member
My .02 
The cost does not justify what you get. If we had a true 50/50 or 40/60 split as some other AWD setups, most definitely I would have one as well. The AWD setups we have are truely false advertising imo, its over media hype to make it sound better than the system truely is. True AWD is great, but what we have just doesnt cut mustard.
Here is my reasoning...
Talking in our realm of cars (not performance). AWD is designed to give you starting traction, nothing more.
The system cannot transfer enough power to get you moving if the front tires are stuck. If your front wheels are not gripping, your going to be in the same boat as just a plain FWD setup. Our setup is designed to work with the front wheels having grip, a 50/50 or 40/60 setup would have the power to move the car if either front or rear was having issues.
They are comparing different tires, but didnt do testing "proper" imo. But watch @ 40secs into the video. Its an Arcadia, and watch how the fronts are spinning, but barely and rarely are the rear tires spinning. This is the same AWD setup we have. The fronts controlled all the power.
Another display of 90/10 systems @ wrok on rollers. Our system is a Halidex AWD setup, which is the same as the RAV4 in this video.
And lastly...A C&D review of AWD vs FWD same model but using snow tires
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/archive/winter-traction_test_what_price_traction_-feature
The cost does not justify what you get. If we had a true 50/50 or 40/60 split as some other AWD setups, most definitely I would have one as well. The AWD setups we have are truely false advertising imo, its over media hype to make it sound better than the system truely is. True AWD is great, but what we have just doesnt cut mustard.
Here is my reasoning...
Talking in our realm of cars (not performance). AWD is designed to give you starting traction, nothing more.
The system cannot transfer enough power to get you moving if the front tires are stuck. If your front wheels are not gripping, your going to be in the same boat as just a plain FWD setup. Our setup is designed to work with the front wheels having grip, a 50/50 or 40/60 setup would have the power to move the car if either front or rear was having issues.
They are comparing different tires, but didnt do testing "proper" imo. But watch @ 40secs into the video. Its an Arcadia, and watch how the fronts are spinning, but barely and rarely are the rear tires spinning. This is the same AWD setup we have. The fronts controlled all the power.
Another display of 90/10 systems @ wrok on rollers. Our system is a Halidex AWD setup, which is the same as the RAV4 in this video.
And lastly...A C&D review of AWD vs FWD same model but using snow tires
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/archive/winter-traction_test_what_price_traction_-feature
dietz4ibanez
Admin
There is some good stuff in those videos! Being that the Equinox is much lighter than the Equinox it might have favored in between the Acadia and Land Rover.
2010BlkGraniteNox
New member
Well the video was showing how much of a difference the correct tires make, but I was talking about if you notice how at times the rears gripped but had no ability to push the arcadia up the hill because of its AWD system. If the fronts have no traction in a haldex setup. it will not move forward because it cannot transfer enough power to the rear. Even though I believe GM states it can transfer power to 1 wheel, if its a rear wheel it just cannot push the heavy arcadia up the hill.
Thats why these cars getting off road ratings of 1 star. Anything the AWD can do, the FWD will be able to do as well is my personal opinion,
dietz4ibanez
Admin
I bought a 2011 GMC Terrian with the 4cyl and the AWD.. in the hot Oklahoma sun with the AC full blast the GMC was an absolute DOG!!!.. It was scary how poorly this cross over performed.. well I owned that GMC for all of 3 months and traded it in on a 2012 Equinox V6 FWD.. much happier.. I have lived most of my life in the north east and made it through some rough winters with just a FWD.. But over all for me the FWD v6 is the best option.. IMHO
dietz4ibanez
Admin
Why not a GMC Terrain v6 AWD?
Congrats on the sick new ride!
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
The deal.. I owned the GMC for 3 months and getting out of it without losing a bundle. It is just a matter of finding the hungriest dealer.. So the deal I found was a chevy dealer who had the vehicle I was looking for and willing to give me what I wanted.. I lost about a grand which I am not crying about but it was better than I expected.. Also I was liking the drag coefficient on the equinox which may help with highway mileage.. However having a 2 year old and putting my little girl in the back was way easier in the terrian because of the rear door opening being much more square rather then the big slant of the Equinox.. Final note for me about the terrain.... I HATE RED DASH BOARD LIGHTS!!!!!! I drove pontiacs for years and I cant say why but red dash board lights irritate the mess out of me.. I was my wifes car so I thought I could live with it.. but I was never more thankful to see something go.. Thanks
dietz4ibanez
Admin
:lol:
I feel the same way about the Terrain! I hate the red display!
You did good with only losing about$1000!
Congrats man!
prheaume
New member
Where I work we have to park behind the shop, there is a small hill in the parking. One morning it was icy on the road, all FWD and RWD vehicules park at the bottom of the hill, me and the 2 others guys with AWD trucks were parked at the regular place.
So I don't agree with people saying that a FWD can do the same job because of this episode.
So I don't agree with people saying that a FWD can do the same job because of this episode.
try a FWD with michelin snow tires, I drove right pass other AWD stuck in snow every year because they got the all seasons. But if you have proper snow tires on an AWD, then you are right, there's no FWD that can ever be better
prheaume
New member
here in Quebec its a law to have winter tires, I have Pirelli Wintercarving on my truck !
carfan
New member
It depends on what kind of weather you have to drive in, we drive in both the snow in Canada and the heat in AZ. and everything else in between.Have a 2010 which came with 235/55-18" Michelin Latitude Tour all season on it. Were pretty good in both situations but became pretty noisy around 50,000 miles. Switched to the Cooper CS4 all seasons due to cost difference and have around 25,000 miles on them, and they have been great so far. The engine is just a 4cyl. and wish we had gotten the 6cyl. as everybody likes to drive around 80-85 miles an hour in Phoenix. The 4cly. is Ok though as the Equinox is AWD so unless you have wheels slipping it is in front wheel drive most of the time.
northcreek2624
New member
I agree with you on this. We traded in our Malibu FWD because it struggled up the incline of our snow covered driveway. Our 4 cyl. AWD Nox went up it like a tank all winter and both vehicles had Michelin all season tires.
The snow falls here are epic and my wife never felt more confident driving in the winter but, she never encountered any ramps with rollers either :signs8: