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The OP is probably quite confused by now, so I will try to help: if your mind is set on a Honda CRV, go of it. It has an outstanding traction control system, and you will be happy with it. Some of the supposedly experts in this forum trying to persuade you not to buy a CRV because one thing or another should come over for a visit to Fairbanks in January and give our roads a try with there superior and miraculous vehicles
I have driven on the ice or snow-covered roads of the interior of Alaska for over 32 years. I can take a photo of any crowded parking lot, it it will show CRVs, Rav 4s, Subarus, pickup trucks of all kinds and sizes, FWD cars, RWD cars, and so forth. Folks, listen-up: the new AWD systems used today send power to the real wheels as needed, in a fraction of a second. Also, most systems work in unison with the stability control. Some AWD systems can also be locked into 4WD with the push of a button. Modern AWD systems are designed specifically for driving on icy or wet roads, but no system can stop your car from plowing ahead once you are moving too fast for road conditions. On slippery roads your worst enemy is too much power sent the the wheel (s). On ice, traction can only be provided by the tires, so if your car does not have the proper tires, it does not matter if if has 4WD or 10WD.
I have never heard so many weird explanations about FWD versus RWD systems, or AWD versus 4WD systems in my life. On slippery roads FWD systems are superior to RWD systems, but if you have tires on a RWD vehicle that provide more traction than the ones on a FWD vehicle, then the RWD vehicle will do better on ice than the FWD one. It's as simple as that.
The OP is probably quite confused by now, so I will try to help: if your mind is set on a Honda CRV, go of it. It has an outstanding traction control system, and you will be happy with it. Some of the supposedly experts in this forum trying to persuade you not to buy a CRV because one thing or another should come over for a visit to Fairbanks in January and give our roads a try with there superior and miraculous vehicles
I have driven on the ice or snow-covered roads of the interior of Alaska for over 32 years. I can take a photo of any crowded parking lot, it it will show CRVs, Rav 4s, Subarus, pickup trucks of all kinds and sizes, FWD cars, RWD cars, and so forth. Folks, listen-up: the new AWD systems used today send power to the real wheels as needed, in a fraction of a second. Also, most systems work in unison with the stability control. Some AWD systems can also be locked into 4WD with the push of a button. Modern AWD systems are designed specifically for driving on icy or wet roads, but no system can stop your car from plowing ahead once you are moving too fast for road conditions. On slippery roads your worst enemy is too much power sent the the wheel (s). On ice, traction can only be provided by the tires, so if your car does not have the proper tires, it does not matter if if has 4WD or 10WD.
I have never heard so many weird explanations about FWD versus RWD systems, or AWD versus 4WD systems in my life. On slippery roads FWD systems are superior to RWD systems, but if you have tires on a RWD vehicle that provide more traction than the ones on a FWD vehicle, then the RWD vehicle will do better on ice than the FWD one. It's as simple as that.
I think what most of us tried to say, though we might've gotten a bit too technical, is that there's no need for an AWD vehicle and certainly not a 4WD vehicle for a mere 10 days a year.
We were also trying to say that the car will slide and stop just as much with AWD, since it really only help you "get off the line".
Now, if the OP wants the CRV for other reasons as well, then by all means, get, I drive a symmetrical AWD vehicle (meaning power goes 50% front axle and 50% real, always) in Dallas, TX of all places, but getting one just because of those few snow/ice days is completely pointless.
OK, that's the second time I've seen the "AWD only helps with off-the-line traction bit." No it doesn't; it can also aid in lateral traction by preventing a break in traction in the first place. When torque is applied in a turn in a limited-traction environment, a FWD car is going to break the front tires loose sooner than an AWD system that's distributing at least some torque to the rear wheels. The front wheels will maintain grip better when they're not trying to steer and apply 100% of the engine's power at the same time.
OK, that's the second time I've seen the "AWD only helps with off-the-line traction bit." No it doesn't; it can also aid in lateral traction by preventing a break in traction in the first place. When torque is applied in a turn in a limited-traction environment, a FWD car is going to break the front tires loose sooner than an AWD system that's distributing at least some torque to the rear wheels. The front wheels will maintain grip better when they're not trying to steer and apply 100% of the engine's power at the same time.
Well, most modern AWD systems only send power to the rear wheels (or front, on certain cars), once any of the wheels actually break traction, meaning you're sliding (albeit very little) already.
But yeah, theoretically, you'll have a minor advantage in lateral grip as well, that said with modern vehicles that have traction control etc. it can go either way.
I've driven some AWD's that might as well have been called no or one wheel drive and I've driven some FWD that could make their way pretty much anywhere as long as there was a road surface.
And in any case, it really makes no difference if you're driving around on summer tires, and if you have dedicated winter tires, a FWD or RWD will be more than good enough 95% of the time, for most people.
And in the case of the op, an AWD is absolutely not necessary.
un-necessary takes in alot of ranges. it takes in some of the white knuckle trips we had in our camray through the years to the relaxed and fun 2-3 ft of snow drives home from the poconos in our jeep and xterra through the years.
4x4 or awd necessary ,nope.. would i want it ? you bet.
after driving an awd in the rain im hooked. the difference is night and day when puddles are hit.
compared to our front wheel drive cars the lack of fish tailing and sloppiness on slushy highways is also night and day.
many so called awd vehicles are really only front wheel drive with some assist. i have found those to be very ineffective most of the time when needed.
we ended up pushing my sons murano out of our pocono driveway. my awd bmw and a pathfinder had no problem at all going up the snowy slope.
usually i find the rav 4 ,crv class vehicles merely throw in a slight assist on another wheel but are not true awd systems.
i tend to think anyone who says they dont see a difference in sloppy weather between awd and not ,has either driven one with a bad design or had crappy tires because i cant say they are even close in performance.
front wheel drive is totaly un-controllable to an un-trained driver once it gets away from you. it requires both brake and gas at the same time to regain control. easing up on an awd pulls it right back in line as a rwd does.
usually its the non owners making that claim that its not something they want or need or them lying and saying they own both but really dont as i see no way they can make that claim otherwise.
our stock of cars are a 2011 camray,2009 bmw 328xi and 2012 jeep sahara. for over 20 years now we always owned a mix of 4x4 and front wheel drive cars at any given time.
our driving range is from nyc where we live to the pocono mountains of PA where we have a 2nd home and some horrible winters.
while any of the vehicles has gotten us through the question is at what stress level and stability. the camray is no contestant for the others. the jeep is only 4x4 so its rain performance isnt as good as the awd bimmer but for snowy roads the jeep is 2nd to none.
our bmw x3 was about the best of the lot as a bad weather vehicle before we had the 328xi .it had more ground clearence and a great awd system coupled with a set of blizzaks i put on.. blizzaks on the camray were better but no match for the awd on the x3. as you can see im a believer in winter tires too.
Last edited by mathjak107; 10-12-2011 at 04:05 AM..
OK, I've spent four decades of regularly coping with nasty winter driving conditions in the Rocky Mountain West. I've driven just about every configuration of vehicle there is: RWD, FWD, AWD, and 4WD. My take: First, and foremost, NO configuration of vehicle will compensate for lack of winter driving knowledge or experience. Without that experience, sooner or later, an inexperienced winter driver will get into serious trouble if they encounter severe enough conditions. Period. For about 90% of winter driving conditions, a FWD vehicle with adequate winter tires, preferably with traction control on the vehicle (which now is standard on almost every new car sold in the US), will be adequate. The 10% where a FWD may not be enough are conditions with deep snow on the road, extreme ice conditions (which are dangerous in even the best-equipped AWD or 4WD vehicle, as well), steep snow-covered roads, or some combination of those conditions. An AWD vehicle is a good choice for those who regularly encounter severe winter driving conditions that may involve the more extreme hazards just mentioned. A 4WD makes sense for those who encounter those conditions AND regularly need 4WD for other purposes, such as backcountry or off-road use. The very important factor to consider is that, as one goes up the scale from a FWD to AWD to 4WD vehicle--as a general statement--mechanical complexity increases, fuel economy declines, and acquisition cost increases.
For the record, I keep a 4WD for backcountry and off-road use (and that is available for severe winter driving conditions, but I very seldom need it for that), but my daily winter driver is generally an economical 4-cylinder FWD sedan that I equip with Blizzak snow tires in winter. I've driven FWD vehicles in winter in the Rockies for years--and have never been stuck on the highway in one.
I live on the outer edge of the snow belt in northeast Ohio. Typically we get around 50 inches of snow per season, lately we've had in the 90-100 inch range and last season we had 120 inches. Most people I know only have FWD or RWD and they get by just fine. Like someone else said all you need is a good set of all season tires.
I had a RWD Chevy Trailblazer for 8 years and I only used my 4WD once or twice a season when we were getting over an inch of snow per hour and the plows couldn't clear the highways fast enough. Last year when it came time to buy a new vehicle I bought a FWD Chevy Equinox, i figured why pay the extra cost for AWD when FWD is effective. I mean, if i can't drive a FWD CUV through the snow here in Ohio then i shouldn't be driving at all.
If it's snowy or icy for only 10 days a year I'm assuming everything shuts down when those weather conditions are present because cities in areas like that don't have the equiptment to deal w/those conditions. Most likely you won't need to drive anywhere when the weather is like that. If you do end up going w/a 4WD or AWD vehicle just remember that those options don't help you stop any faster, so slow down and pay attention. Slow and steady wins the race, that a-hole in the Tahoe flying by you will end up in the ditch up ahead. hehe...
OK, that's the second time I've seen the "AWD only helps with off-the-line traction bit." No it doesn't; it can also aid in lateral traction by preventing a break in traction in the first place. When torque is applied in a turn in a limited-traction environment, a FWD car is going to break the front tires loose sooner than an AWD system that's distributing at least some torque to the rear wheels. The front wheels will maintain grip better when they're not trying to steer and apply 100% of the engine's power at the same time.
No, it can't. At least not in the CR-V. It's physically incapable of transferring any power to rear wheel until after the front wheels are slipping. It's for all intents and purposes a front wheel drive car. There's a short list of cars which can actually prevent a break in traction by diverting power before wheel slip occurs. The Acura RL was the very first one. You can now get it in the STi/EVO, Audi quattros, the Nissan GT-R, etc, but it's still not all that common.
In a cars such as Subarus which have a fulltime AWD (varies from 80/20 to 40/60 split), that's partially true. They distribute whatever the torque bias is to the front/rear. Like the CR-V, they can't vary until wheel slip has already occurred.
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