4x4 4runner vs. fwd crossover suvs in snow

[zerowkul98]

Native Bostonian here, now living in the Berkshires. Youre gonna wanna do better than a typical fwd, so ill go along w the Soob's, but i still think u should invest in a used 8cyl. 4runner. Life gets tough when theres 24+ inches of fresh snow on 128!

 

[chaz]

ive got an 08 highlander v6 (270 hp)with the awd option, it also has dac, & a snow/wet weather button,has 50/50 split power frt -rear, it does just fine in deep snow, heavy rain, & tho its not made for it, does alright off the beaten path, its not a 4r but it was redesigned in 08 & is much better than previous years. Bigger Highlander may still not be big enough - USATODAY.com

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I sway to the other side,I'd rather have AWD with all seasons than a fwd with snow tires since the AWD still offers better control when the tires do lose their bite. I drove a '93 Eclipse GSX up in the mountains for 5 years and simply had all seasons on it and never had any real issues til I was plowing through more than 12" and then it became a clearance issue.

If you are in the city tho' you can get by with a fwd as alot of people do fine around here but there are those days you just have to stay home but they are pretty far between.

 

[lmtdgov]

It's funny how alike a lot of people are in here. Many of the options are ones i've suggested to my wife, but I had a lot of influence in picking up the 2000 4runner we have (except I would have chosen a 5spd) so I want her to feel like she picked this one out.

She does not care for the subarus, except for the brand new forester (over budget for us I think...still haven't figured out if we are going used for the 3 years in Philadelphia then sell or buy something she can keep for 5+ years). She does like the pilot, old gen highlander and escape (with the painted to match bumpers). I could possibly talk her into an audi, but she is pretty partial to suv's. So sticking to those the question is do we go with the awd or fwd. Sounds like either would be fine for most situations, but with the awd I could probably eliminate the idea of needing winter tires. I've been wanting to avoid the awd since I assume the initial cost would be higher for one of these and possibly insurance and maintenance would be as well.

Maybe I should have started with this: are my assumptions correct that the 4runner we have is not a good vehicle for the person who wants to just drive and not think to much about if or when to switch to 4x4? I want her to be able to just drive and not worry about what the car is doing.

 

[brian2sun]

IMO, deciding when to switch into 4x4 is easy... If the road is snowy or icy, put it in 4Hi, otherwise keep it in 2wd. If it's really snowy put it in 4Lo and drive slower.

I think Honda Elements and CRVs are both nice AWD SUVs.

 

[Gstick]

It's funny how alike a lot of people are in here. Many of the options are ones i've suggested to my wife, but I had a lot of influence in picking up the 2000 4runner we have (except I would have chosen a 5spd) so I want her to feel like she picked this one out.

She does not care for the subarus, except for the brand new forester (over budget for us I think...still haven't figured out if we are going used for the 3 years in Philadelphia then sell or buy something she can keep for 5+ years). She does like the pilot, old gen highlander and escape (with the painted to match bumpers). I could possibly talk her into an audi, but she is pretty partial to suv's. So sticking to those the question is do we go with the awd or fwd. Sounds like either would be fine for most situations, but with the awd I could probably eliminate the idea of needing winter tires. I've been wanting to avoid the awd since I assume the initial cost would be higher for one of these and possibly insurance and maintenance would be as well.

Maybe I should have started with this: are my assumptions correct that the 4runner we have is not a good vehicle for the person who wants to just drive and not think to much about if or when to switch to 4x4? I want her to be able to just drive and not worry about what the car is doing.

If a new Forester ($25,000) is out of your budget, don't even think about an Audi.

 

[philsey]

..... for the person who wants to just drive and not think to much about if or when to switch to 4x4? I want her to be able to just drive and not worry about what the car is doing.

This is why I suggested a PILOT/CRV. My wife doesn't even know she has FWD/4WD, all she knows is that she has no weather-related issues. During snowy weather, I once asked her "how do you like the 4WD in the snow"? She had no idea.

As I earlier stated, when I tried to get her CRV stuck, I could not even tell whether it was in FWD or 4WD. It just went.

I have no experience, but I should think a RAV would be just as functional.

As to the part-time 4WD, like my SR5 has, my wifey would have issues with it - when to put it in 4WD, when to take it out of 4WD (like parking when you get to work and the lot is plowed). I'd get a phone call... "this thing acts funny on dry pavement"..... ;~) ..... no thanks.

 

[Will_4R]

I have not noticed any difference in snow/ice traction between 4wd vehicles like pickups and the 4Runner and Awd vehicles like the Escape and Equinox. This is especially true in city driving (even in the deep stuff). For on road winter driving, front wheel drive with snow tires is overall a safer and better choice than Awd/4wd with snow tires. The reason is that the 4wd/Awd allows to to go faster than is safe and lose control. Winter traction is about steering and braking, not accelerating. The Awd and 4wd will help with steep hills and getting out of really snowy parking spots. Awd and 4wd vehicles crash and get ditched WAY more than fwd cars in snow climates.

 

[brian2sun]

I have not noticed any difference in snow/ice traction between 4wd vehicles like pickups and the 4Runner and Awd vehicles like the Escape and Equinox. This is especially true in city driving (even in the deep stuff). For on road winter driving, front wheel drive with snow tires is overall a safer and better choice than Awd/4wd with snow tires. The reason is that the 4wd/Awd allows to to go faster than is safe and lose control. Winter traction is about steering and braking, not accelerating. The Awd and 4wd will help with steep hills and getting out of really snowy parking spots. Awd and 4wd vehicles crash and get ditched WAY more than fwd cars in snow climates.

I totally disagree, but to each their own. My neighbor has AWD and he has to park 4 streets down because he can't make it up to our street in most storms. We get to point and laugh at him 10 times a year usually.

FWD is not "safer" than AWD or 4WD in the snow. You said it's because 4WD/AWD allows you to go faster which is unsafe. I say, use common sense and don't drive too fast for the conditions. When you go slow, you have way more control with AWD/4WD. And front wheel drive (even with snow tires) is more dangerous because you don't have as much traction as 4x4 or AWD so you have more of a chance of winding up in that ditch.

 

[steezemcqueen]

I have not noticed any difference in snow/ice traction between 4wd vehicles like pickups and the 4Runner and Awd vehicles like the Escape and Equinox. This is especially true in city driving (even in the deep stuff). For on road winter driving, front wheel drive with snow tires is overall a safer and better choice than Awd/4wd with snow tires. The reason is that the 4wd/Awd allows to to go faster than is safe and lose control. Winter traction is about steering and braking, not accelerating. The Awd and 4wd will help with steep hills and getting out of really snowy parking spots. Awd and 4wd vehicles crash and get ditched WAY more than fwd cars in snow climates.

shifting the 4runner into 4wd helps

 

[Will_4R]

I totally disagree, but to each their own. My neighbor has AWD and he has to park 4 streets down because he can't make it up to our street in most storms. We get to point and laugh at him 10 times a year usually.

FWD is not "safer" than AWD or 4WD in the snow. You said it's because 4WD/AWD allows you to go faster which is unsafe. I say, use common sense and don't drive too fast for the conditions. When you go slow, you have way more control with AWD/4WD. And front wheel drive (even with snow tires) is more dangerous because you don't have as much traction as 4x4 or AWD so you have more of a chance of winding up in that ditch.

I agree with you. the 4wd vs awd is just based on my experience. We all know that a real 4wd usually provides better traction than Awd, it is just that I have not experienced it first hand in normal city snow conditions. (off road is another story.)

Driving a safe speed is key, but I think the issue is that most of the time we base this speed on how much control we have while driving, and not on stopping distance. The 4wd lets you have more control while driving/turning (I certainly don't deny this), but it is hard to argue that more speed means longer braking distance.

At a low enough speed that you have full traction while accelerating/steering, I don't think there is going to be a different in control between 2 and 4wd. The difference is going to be that you can mainting that traction at a higher speed in 4wd.

I suppose having a selective 4wd is a good comprimize. Keep it in 2wd for the most part, to help prevent you from in advertantly going to fast, and use the 4wd for climbing hills or whenever you can't moce forward.

In theory, having a 4wd but driving at a speed appropriate for 2wd is ideal. That way, although you are not benfiting from the full time 4wd, it is there and engaged if you need it for sudden manouvers.

My comment on safety come from the drastically higher accident rate for 4wd vehicles in slippery conditions.

 

[brian2sun]

At a low enough speed that you have full traction while accelerating/steering, I don't think there is going to be a different in control between 2 and 4wd. The difference is going to be that you can mainting that traction at a higher speed in 4wd.

For the record, I'm not trying to prove anything to you, I just think this is a good discussion. You can definitely go faster in 4WD and maintain traction better which can lead to a dangerous situation if the driver isn't experienced. But I guess the difference that I see is that you can loose traction at any speed, including when you're stopped. Even if the 2wd hasenough traction, a 4wd will always have more, 100% of the time. I just don't think you can ever have too much traction.

My comment on safety come from the drastically higher accident rate for 4wd vehicles in slippery conditions.

An idiot driver is an idiot driver. I totally agree that some invincible 16 year old may end up crashing their 4WD because they expected it to get them through anything at any speed, but overall I can't see that statistic being right. If it were, then why would there be 4x4 requirements to travel through snowy mountain passes? I've never seen a chain check officer let a 2WD (FWD or RWD) go on through but turn the 4x4s around and send them back down the mountain.

 

[driffter33]

Just want to say I had a 99 out back and would recommend it to anyone.

As for the traction thing, It doesn't matter how much forward traction you have when it comes time to stop. At that point its more about the tire and driver than anything else IMO.

I agree that 4x4 will get you there faster but once you are there you got to be able to stop.

IMO most snowy road accidents have very little to do with how well truck can go forward rather it comes down to how well it can stop, know your truck/suv/car and don't drive beyond it's/ your abilities.:nicethread:

 

[Quentin]

GMC acadia's you can get in all wheel drive, same with the ford edge's. and they average around 26mpg.

The Acadia, particularly, never seems to see the mpg numbers that the EPA got. My friend, who has a Traverse, has been very disappointed in the mpg versus the rating.

My vote would be a Rav4 w/ the I4. You can lock the power to a 55/45 split up to 25mph via push button lock on the center diff. Most of your "cute utes" don't have this setup and rely completely on the computer. My mom has the V6 version and I personally think it is way overkill as far as power goes. It has a surprising amount of space on the inside as well. It is damn close to my 2010 4Runner as far as interior space.