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Front-Wheel Drive or Four-Wheel Drive?

2WD vs 4WD

211K views 151 replies 87 participants last post by  RTexasF 
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#1 ·
Hey all,

I am close to placing my order for the RAV4 and am having a hard time deciding whether to get a 2WD or 4WD. I currently live in Colorado (snow-belt) and later this year I will move to Georgia.

Are the 2WDs that much of a hazard in snow? What about rain? Are 4WDs considered safe in snow/ice/rain or when you break suddenly?

Arent all Civics, Corollas, Accord, Camrys 2WDs? Then why have this distinction in SUVs such that the 2WDs are not even offered in the snow-belt.

I am confused and am not sure whether its really worth it to spend the extra $1,400 and get the 4WD. Please advice.
 
#2 ·
Hi Junky --

It really is a matter of preference in some ways, and I don't want to over-generalize, but most any 4WD vehicle should be able to overcome snow, sand, mud or similar slippery situations more easily than a 2WD given a knowledgeable driver behind the wheel.

Being able to gain tire traction from any one of four contact points on the road is not just twice the road holding grip. In addition to the traction control, Hill Assist Control and Downhill Assist Control in the latest RAV4, it also employs an electronic part-time 4WD system that is FWD until it detects wheel slippage, in which case it can send power to the rear wheels in a matter of milliseconds. (Staying in FWD keeps the gas mileage numbers higher)

In its best emulation of "low range", if needed, you can lock the transmission in a 55:45 front/rear split at the touch of a button, but it's only good up to about 25mph.
 
#3 ·
AWD or 4WD isn't just about snow. Any time you round a turn and encounter black ice, wet leaves, gravel or any other loose debris on pavement, your vehicle can handle the rapid changes in traction much better when 4 wheels are in the equation.

When you go off-pavement, the reasons to have AWD climb. Gravel forest roads, muddy driveways - all are more easily and more safely handled with AWD.

In high performance driving, AWD makes it easy to go fast in challenging conditions.

And it does sometimes snow in the south.

I wouldn't own a vehicle without it.

John Davies
Spokane WA
 
#4 ·
You have to examine road codes in Colorado, but in California and Nevada the main advantage of a 4x4 is that a 4x4 on snow tires are exempt from chain requirements. Driving around Tahoe involves significant changes in elevation, and so you have to put chains on and off all the time and it gets old quickly.

With 4x4 you have to pay for it upfront, you have to get winter tires in addition to normal tires, and you burn somewhat more gas on highway (this is actually the case even on a normal truck with locking hubs, simply because of greater weight).
 
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#5 ·
That fortunately is not the case in Oregon. If a vehicle has 4WD it is exempt from having to put on chains unless there is a partial road closure, then it is required. I go up to the mountains just fine with the standard OEM tires and haven't had the VSC kick in once :D
 
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#6 ·
First off, AWD/4WD WILL NOT help you stop any better. It is better traction in the rain and snow.

I've lived in Colorado for a few years now (1 hr north of you) and all of our cars are FWD (moved here from FL). There have been only two days (in March 2003 with the 30"+ blizzard) that I have not been able to drive one of my cars. One of those days, no one was going anywhere. The other day, a friend who came to pick me up got stuck with her 4x4 Pathfinder.

Also, out here, they are better at plowing and clearing the roads. If GA gets a little snow (what we wouldn't think twice about), the roads become really nasty and they close the airport. Also, there's a lot more ice back east than we get out here.

I, personally, would go for the AWD, but that's just me. We keep cars forever and I wouldn't want to say "darn, I wish I had gotten the AWD one" a few years from now. Driving out to go snowshoeing or skiing, it's just a little bit extra insurance, a little more security, as long as you don't overdo it. I don't think you'll compromise your safety at all by buying a FWD, especially one with traction control. Do look and see what's available out here, as I think the only way to get a FWD is with a base 4-cylinder, which may or may not be what you're interested in.

On a side note, the chain laws out here only apply to commercial vehicles, I have negotiated the Eisenhower tunnel and Vail pass with my FWD Camry with all-season tires when the chain requirement was in effect.
 
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#7 ·
Just bought my V-6 RAV4 with 2wd only. I've lived in West Virginia for over ten years and never had a problem with winter/wet conditions with front wheel drive vehicles.

The RAV4 4x4 system only works below 25 mph right? Guess it would be good if you got off pavement or into mud or heavy snow to get you moving.
 
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#9 ·
sstarrx3 said:
That fortunately is not the case in Oregon. If a vehicle has 4WD it is exempt from having to put on chains unless there is a partial road closure, then it is required. I go up to the mountains just fine with the standard OEM tires and haven't had the VSC kick in once :D
Not necessarily the case in CA either...depends how bad the storm is, but often if you have 4WD chains are not necessary, snow tires or not. This is from experience in Northern Sierra (I-80, Hwy 50). It is rare that 4WD+snow tires are required on the major highways.
 
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#10 ·
I live in the Low Country of South Carolina (flat).
I just bought a Rav4 V6 2WD.
It rarely snows here, rain is no problem and I don't go off-road.
I don't need a 4WD, so I didn't buy one. It's just more stuff to wear out and repair. I do most of my own repairs.

Today I replaced a timing belt & water pump on my '01 Accord V6.
Last weekend I replaced a water pump on my '99 Dakota V8.
 
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#12 ·
the wife and i both bought 2wd because we don't do any off roading or live where it snows too much so that is why we chose not to get 4wd. same reason why we got 4 cyl. we aren't towing or hauling around anything but our daughter. we thought very economically when we made our purchases. it's all about what you use it for!!
 
#134 ·
I suppose unless you experience the difference, its hard to appreciate the difference.

Have drove AWD Hondas for many years here in north Florida and last year bought a new 2wd Honda. What a noticeable difference.

In my new 2WD I did slip from time to time on inclines when the road were wet which "never" happened with AWD. On dirt roads when raining hard the 2WD did slip and slip noticeably. The difference was so much that I opted to sell my new 2WD to upgrade to AWD.

My new RAV4 AWD and V6 seems to be the best of everything.
 
#15 ·
Being Canadian I only can speek for the 4WD. The V6 in 4WD has little to no torque steer under hard acceleration. Posts here say that 2WD tugs pretty hard on the drive side with 270HP. If you bought the 4 banger and do not live in the snowbelt, then I cannot see any advantage to 4WD. Even a new driver should be able to contend with wet roads/leaves/loose gravel. If you opt for the V6 power then 4WD is a must IMO.

Cheers!
 
#16 ·
willyspuddle said:
Being Canadian I only can speek for the 4WD. The V6 in 4WD has little to no torque steer under hard acceleration. Posts here say that 2WD tugs pretty hard on the drive side with 270HP.
Cheers!
I don't agree on the no torque steer issue at all. IMO my V6 4WD has a really strong torque pull when accelerating hard. Did quite a bit of passing on I 95 going to Florida from NY a couple of weeks ago and it was almost a scare every time. My husband couldn't believe it either and commented on it more than once. We both thought my FWD 2002 Grand Am GT had bad torque pull but the Rav4 more than matched it!
 
#17 ·
suland said:
I really don't know why I need 4WD here in Florida, but over north parts of the world I would definately got 4WD. No snow here, no mud...Nothing really slippery.
I agree. People can say it's a matter of preference, but I think that if you live (or travel) in an area where you can have snow or ice road conditions then it's foolish not to get 4WD. The fact that it adds resale value in those areas is added value. On the other hand, if you live in Florida, for example, I see no need for 4WD, either for safety OR resale value, unless you plan to live in the South an sell in the North. :)
 
#19 ·
If you are moving to Georgia get the 2wd.
It has LSD (Limited-Slip Differential) on the FWD. If one wheel slips the power goes to the tire that has traction instead of spinning the crap out of the loose tire and leaving the tire with traction siting there DEAD and doing nothing.
 
#21 ·
I live in Buffalo, NY and we get a few good (bad) snowstorms every winter. In the past I had FWD cars which are fine if you put good winter tires on them, best case is putting them on all 4 wheels though. I bought land near the PA border a few years ago and had some hairy moments even with 4 winter tires so I went with the 4WD. I haven't had a lot of snow yet this year, but what there has been was no problem.
 
#25 ·
Does it really have a limited slip or just the standard traction control? Cause it con't have both and ALL Ravs have traction control..



e90 said:
If you are moving to Georgia get the 2wd.
It has LSD (Limited-Slip Differential) on the FWD. If one wheel slips the power goes to the tire that has traction instead of spinning the crap out of the loose tire and leaving the tire with traction siting there DEAD and doing nothing.
 
#26 ·
e90 said:
I have all season Michelin Harmony on my FWD dodge caravan and it walks through the snow easy and turns icy snowy corners with ease compared to my Rav4
It still might be a case of the all season Michelin Harmony tire being better in the snow than the Yokohama Geolanders. I took my Geolanders off before we had any snow so I can't say how much difference there would be, but with a good winter tire the RAV will go anywhere without any trouble.
 
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