What is the best auto for the city (4WD?) (move, car)

[Basekamp]

I love having all wheel drive. The difference is pulpable. Especially in extremely slippery situations. It means I can accelerate and turn to avoid things whereas before my only hope was breaking and sliding to hit stuff.

[long101]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

There was another study that showed that people with AWD vehicles tend to be over-confident about their car's abilities in the snow, and therefore drive more recklessly. I wish I could find that article. The quote I remember is "All-wheel-drive does not equal all-wheel-stop".

Very true. The only thing that AWD does is help you get going, your going to stop just as fast as a FWD or RWD.

I have an AWD car and though its not needed in the winter its nice to have. I havent had to dig out in the past 2 winters

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Drover

AWD may be "overkill" if you're fine with FWD. But frankly I hate FWD, and RWD isn't practical as a year-round vehicle here -- traction control can only accomplish so much if you have to park on snow-covered side streets. So a car with AWD is a reasonable compromise as long as the torque isn't biased toward the front wheels. Whenever I've had AWD cars, I didn't "need" AWD most of the time, but I was sure glad to have it when I did need it. And I was glad to have it in conditions when FWD would have been adequate but only barely so.

Most modern AWD cars are based on FWD chassis, and as you said have a heavy front wheel bias in terms of how power is delivered to the differentials. So, effectively, they're FWD cars.

I too am not a fan of FWD, unless it's a Honda product I definitely wouldn't complain about driving a WRX, but the average Joe who is just looking to go Point A to Point B isn't going to buy a car like that -- they're going to get a big 4,000 pound Chevy Equinox because they think they need it to avoid being zipped into a body bag by mid-February. That really isn't the case.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Drover

AWD may be "overkill" if you're fine with FWD. But frankly I hate FWD, and RWD isn't practical as a year-round vehicle here -- traction control can only accomplish so much if you have to park on snow-covered side streets. So a car with AWD is a reasonable compromise as long as the torque isn't biased toward the front wheels. Whenever I've had AWD cars, I didn't "need" AWD most of the time, but I was sure glad to have it when I did need it. And I was glad to have it in conditions when FWD would have been adequate but only barely so.

I definitely hear you about FWD not being the most fun to drive. But there's SUV/Crossover-style AWD, and then there's the sporty Audi or BMW AWD. Most crossovers and SUVs have AWD that's biased toward the front wheels. Bimmers and Audis have AWD that's biased toward the rear wheels. The only FWD-biased AWD car I've ever driven that I thought was actually a good drive was a VW 4-motion Passat. But I think the snow-friendly cars that people are talking about here are almost always FWD-biased, and probably handle like crap with the extra weight of the AWD system (typically about 500 pounds). And AWD cars almost always have worse gas mileage (largely due to the extra weight).

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Basekamp

It means I can accelerate and turn to avoid things whereas before my only hope was breaking and sliding to hit stuff.

AWD doesnt help you turn. It might help you get traction if thats what you mean.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I definitely hear you about FWD not being the most fun to drive.

While there may be boring FWD cars, there are plenty of them that are incredibly fun to drive. There are also many RWD cars that are awful to drive, and an endless list of AWD cars that are as much fun to drive as puking up bile.

[prairiestate]

Originally Posted by doublenickels

Any four wheel drive Chevrolet truck will do, because of the horrendous condition of the streets, with all those potholes. You need a four wheel drive vehicle for Chicago winters.

I guess my Toyota Yaris has an identity complex, because it gets me through the snow just fine.

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by long101

Very true. The only thing that AWD does is help you get going, your going to stop just as fast as a FWD or RWD.

I have an AWD car and though its not needed in the winter its nice to have. I havent had to dig out in the past 2 winters

In general I think this is true, but I was really happy to have AWD tonight, beyond just starting to move. Driving on back streets, and through a couple alleys and unplowed parking lots my car was making it very easy to drive and stop (in addition to AWD, having dynamic braking is a very nice thing). Driving on packed snow I started slipping a bit, and while I can deal with that with any car, it was nice to have the traction control just take care of it for me. The Lane Tech parking lot wasn't plowed earlier and pulled in and messed around in there for a bit .

I agree with some others observations that you always need to be aware of the road conditions and not get over confident. If all 4 of your wheels are on ice there's not a lot you can do. On packed snow tho', AWD really shines and helps you a lot.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

AWD doesnt help you turn. It might help you get traction if thats what you mean.

AWD certainly does help you turn by reducing traction loss and resultant under/oversteer.

[mel2000]

Chicago doesn't have enough hills or snow to warrant buying an AWD. Besides, the main arteries and parking lots are cleared and salted too quickly to make snow an issue for most cars.