does AWD make a real difference

[curb99]

I've never driven an AWD car and i'm considering the Impreza 2.5i wagon
for the AWD.
Does the AWD really make a considerable difference on snow and ice?
(Note - I won't be using snow tires - just all seasons)

Thanks

 

[Gene]

Does the AWD really make a considerable difference on snow and ice?
(Note - I won't be using snow tires - just all seasons)

Thanks

YES, Gene

 

[Gene]

Does the AWD really make a considerable difference on snow and ice?
(Note - I won't be using snow tires - just all seasons)

Thanks

YES, Gene

 

[Body Roll]

I've never driven an AWD car and i'm considering the Impreza 2.5i wagon
for the AWD.
Does the AWD really make a considerable difference on snow and ice?
(Note - I won't be using snow tires - just all seasons)

Just to get going and control the all wheel drifts.
Basic IMpreza does not have DCCD though to prevent the power split
between
front and rear axles to change though.
Imho hpsummer/winter set of tires is far more important than awd.

If controllability of the drifts is not an issue and you're not getting
a WRX
just about as much traction can be extracted from a car with an LSD
such as Civic Si.
Plus you won't have to worry about towing with all wheels off the
ground
and luddites with 2 wheel dynamometers.

 

[John]

I've never driven an AWD car and i'm considering the Impreza 2.5i wagon
for the AWD.
Does the AWD really make a considerable difference on snow and ice?
(Note - I won't be using snow tires - just all seasons)

As seen in my work parking lot last winter, it is the difference between
getting out of the parking spot or asking for a push. Just remember these
vehicles act like RWD when cornering on slick roads.

 

[JohnO]

I've never driven an AWD car and i'm considering the Impreza 2.5i wagon
for the AWD.
Does the AWD really make a considerable difference on snow and ice?
(Note - I won't be using snow tires - just all seasons)

Thanks

Absolutely. On slick ice nothing is worth a darn, but if one of the
tires can grab you'll move. I live in the snowbelt of Michigan, and my
Outback is the best vehicle I've ever driven in the snow, including a
couple SUVs. By far, it's the best.

Two years ago I had a chance to drive my Outback down an unplowed road,
covereed with eight inches of snow and some drifts. It was just like
the TV commercials...plowing with my front bumper.

-John O

 

[Frank]

I've never driven an AWD car and i'm considering the Impreza 2.5i wagon
for the AWD.
Does the AWD really make a considerable difference on snow and ice?
(Note - I won't be using snow tires - just all seasons)

Forester was my first AWD. Definately better than any front wheel
drive car I've had.
I do mild off road hunting and can go places through mud and snow that
my buddy in his pickup truck cannot go. Once I got stuck in a snow
drift in a field deeper than the wheels but was able to shovel snow
from beneath the car and back out. Standard antilock brakes on all
Subarus are also a plus.

Stopping is no better as brakes are engaged on 4 wheels of any vehicle.
This may seem a simple statement but when it snows around here, ditches
are full of SUV's.

Frank

 

[Cam Penner]

I've never driven an AWD car and i'm considering the Impreza 2.5i wagon
for the AWD.
Does the AWD really make a considerable difference on snow and ice?
(Note - I won't be using snow tires - just all seasons)

In my experience, an AWD Impreza with lousy all seasons is
about as good at starting and turning as a good limited
slip diff FWD car with good snows. In other words, for
getting going and staying going - absolutely. But mind the
extra weight when stopping...

In the rain it makes a big difference too. I never really
knew how much my old car slid on corners in the rain until
my AWD didn't. Just about oversteered into the median the
first few times. And my old car was a NX2000 - not exactly
a slouch at cornering!

 

[kaboom]

As seen in my work parking lot last winter, it is the difference between
getting out of the parking spot or asking for a push. Just remember these
vehicles act like RWD when cornering on slick roads.

**Man, I wish someone told me that when I first bought my 05 Impreza
2.5 RS wagon. Hehe, I was taking a corner a little quicker in the snow
than I should have and instead of the expected front-end plow (my
previous cars were FWD), the arse came around, memories of my first
car, a 78 Chevy Malibu Classic. I just shouted: RALLY! and continued
on my way

I've never had any problems driving in the snow, no matter what type
of driveline, however, the Subie has been the most stress-free while
driving on snow/ice/rain/mud. I highly recommend it. I bought it last
Dec. in CT so I got some very hilly snow driving in and it was
exemplary. In MI, where I live, I live on a barely maintained dirt
road. I'm last on the list for snowplowing and rain will turn my road
to slick, thick mud. The first thing I noticed was the the car tracked
straight as an arrow on this mud. My previous cars shimmied and slide
their way down the road.

kaboomie

 

[curb99]

thanks John
you mean you find them worse cornering on slick roads than front wheel
drive cars?

 

[bj]

northern minnesota...-30..three feet of snow...winter 6 months long..

best four wheeler i have ever driven...i've had explorers,expidition,
blazer 4x4, ford150 4x4truck...

Nothing!..an i mean nothing comes even close to AWD in a my legacy and
forester

i have nokian tires...and with AWD..the forester is incredible..Safest
car i have ever driven.

 

[Victor Roberts]

I've never driven an AWD car and i'm considering the Impreza 2.5i wagon
for the AWD.
Does the AWD really make a considerable difference on snow and ice?
(Note - I won't be using snow tires - just all seasons)

Thanks

YES - but only to go. AWD does not help you stop as all
cars have brakes on all four wheels

 

[Sheldon]

I've never driven an AWD car and i'm considering the Impreza 2.5i wagon
for the AWD.
Does the AWD really make a considerable difference on snow and ice?
(Note - I won't be using snow tires - just all seasons)

Thanks

AWD is fantastic for going. As others have already said, stopping is
another matter. That said, I liked my older 4WD Loyale where all the wheels
locked into 4WD when you pushed a button.

 

[John]

thanks John
you mean you find them worse cornering on slick roads than front wheel
drive cars?

Not worse, different.
Simplest way to think of this would be oversteer (awd) vs. understeer (fwd).
My original comment refers to if you're taking a turn and give it too much
gas, the rear wheels will break free and spin you around if you're not
careful, as soon as you lift off the gas you're golden. This is the same
characteristic my RWD Cutlasses (pl. Cutlai?) had.
On FWD, the front wheels simply slip and you continue in the direction the
car's momentum is taking you, not where your steering, which is just as bad.

Knowing this and having driven RWD and FWD in all kinds of winter weather
with the most idiodic and unsafe drivers in the country (Boston, how'd ya
guess?), I'll take my Outback any day.

 

[Rick Courtright]

AWD is fantastic for going. As others have already said, stopping is
another matter. That said, I liked my older 4WD Loyale where all the > wheels locked into 4WD when you pushed a button.

Hi,

I've intentionally tried to get my 4wd Loyale stuck in the snow (hard to
do in SoCal, but just once in a while we get enough in the local mtns to
have fun!), and I couldn't even feel anything until it was deep enough
to touch the rear diff. It kind of hunts and pecks on icy fire roads
looking for a rock to grab--I don't know if the AWD systems are smoother
or not in a situation like that.

I, too, like the idea of hitting the button when I need it vs driving
everything all the time when I don't. Most of the time, 2wd is plenty,
and I'd guess out of 150k miles, I've had 4wd engaged fewer than 500.
But I don't live in snow, ice and perpetual rain country!

Rick

 

[k. ote]

YES - but only to go. AWD does not help you stop as all
cars have brakes on all four wheels

Sure it does! Slam it into reverse and hit the gas..!

*ducks*