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Does Honda's AWD actually work? I was thinking of getting the HR-V with AWD until I started reading that Honda's really don't work well.
I don't want to waste my money paying for an AWD system if it doesn't give me anything extra. I'd just assume stick with a front wheel drive vehicle. I'm not interested in getting a Subaru.
If you have any doubt about Honda buy a RAV 4 AWD for about 26K.
I still own 1 that I share with my son. My wife is on her second RAV. These are sure footed vehicles that are great in the snow. My new car is a Camry hybrid which stays in the garage on snowy days.
Does Honda's AWD actually work? I was thinking of getting the HR-V with AWD until I started reading that Honda's really don't work well.
Are these video demonstraions any indication that it doesn't work or is this test rigged to make the Subaru look better?
I don't want to waste my money paying for an AWD system if it doesn't give me anything extra. I'd just assume stick with a front wheel drive vehicle. I'm not interested in getting a Subaru.
Honda uses two basic types of AWD systems. It's normal fwd-bias 'automatic' AWD in most of its line up for Hondas, and the SH-AWD for its 'performance-oriented' vehicles and Acuras.
The awd in the CR-V is basically a fwd system that will start sending power to the rear wheels when there is traction loss and thus speed differential between axles, and is most effective when you're already moving down the road. This system will also disengage when you brake so the ABS can work more efficiently, so it doesn't really stay engaged.
SH-AWD is essentially torque-vectoring active awd that pushes power to the outside wheels to improve cornering, so its a performance awd versus being an inclement weather system.
If you're driving down the road, the basic awd system will help keep you going, but if you get mired with no traction, because it doesn't have any active engagement, it won't be much use to you and it will look and behave like a fwd system.
If you buy an awd CR-V, you're basically getting a fwd car with a capability to send power to the rear only when you're already moving, which has some benefit as it can keep you going say, up a hill, when the front wheels get light.
Older RAV4s used to have full-time awd, so it was always actively engaged. New Rav4s however (after 2006) have an automatic system like Hondas I believe.
A lot of this has to do with the tires also. It would have been a much better test if all those vehicles had the same tires and were driven by the same non-partisan professional driver. My wife has an 4WD 2004 CRV. It delivers power to the rear wheels when it senses a loss of traction in the front. Never had a problem with it. I would rather have her drive an AWD vehicle than a front wheel drive one.
The 2010 RAV4 has a lock in that can be used if needed; otherwise, it works similar to the CRV. We had an 03 CRV that did not have any type of lock in. Have never used the lock in in the RAV4. Not sure what the later RAV4's have.
Thanks for the explanation. So if I wanted to stick with an AWD I should look for something with a limited slip. I really wanted the HR-V but maybe I should just get a Fit or hold off on car buying for another year or two.
trishguard,
I would not pay too much attention to videos that show how much better the traction of a vehicle is over another, because every system out there can be setup to fail, even the Subaru one. There is a video on "youtube.com," titled "Subaru versus rollers" that show you exactly that. But it does not mean that the Subaru traction system is bad, just that the people who took the video showed a weakness which does not apply to normal driving conditions.
In the interior of Alaska our roads are often coated with a layer of glare ice (black ice) for weeks at a time. Since yesterday it has been raining (a mix of rain and snow), which has made the roads as sleek as buffalo snot. Since the roads are still very cold or below zero, the rain just freezes in place. But if I go out there and take a photo of the cars on the road, the automobiles you will see in the photo are all kinds AWD trucks, vans and cars, as well as 4x4's, and FWD automobiles. The difference is that probably all wear a set of winter tires such as Blizzack or similar, or steel-studded tires, and even cable chains. What you won't see are RWD trucks and cars, unless they have chains all around. You will see Subaru automobiles, Honda, Toyota, every truck brand out there (trucks are very popular up here), and so on. In other words, you will see the same vehicle brands and models that you see wherever you live.
If your driving requires climbing the roads shown on the video, by all means buy a Subaru. But if your driving is on normal roads, icy or not, any of the AWD Honda, Toyota, Audi, Subaru, and the rest do very well as long as you have the proper tires for road conditions.
The posted test is not a good representation of real world situation. Watch from 6 min 30 sec for more detailed and better explanation than I can give.
One of the biggest factor is tires. Get snow tires for the winter time. You can watch videos on the tire rack website, or on youtube, comparing all season tires to dedicated Winter tires.
If you want something with the better AWD drive, get a Subaru Forester or Outback.
Ok if you watched the videos you saw the trucks going up the slope. Did you see how some trucks spun only one wheel but the opposite wheel was not moving? That's a open diff. Basically sends power to one wheel. Problem is it sends power to the wheel with least amount of traction. See how some cars spin one tire for a fraction of a second and then the other tire starts turning and moving the car? That's a limited slip. It mechanically/electronically senses the difference in the wheel spin and sends the power to the wheel that has traction. It can send the power back and forth between the left and right tires or to both at once.
A locker sends power equally to both tires on the same axle. Great for off road not great for going around corners on a street
There are three types of differentials, and normally there is no electronic aids in them, excluding the Eaton eLocker. Abs, traction control, blah, only acts on the brakes:
Open diff
Limited slip
Locked
An open diff is an open diff.
A limited slip is either a clutch type or a gear type, the gear type is a torque sensins(torsen) diff. It will send the power to the wheel with the most grip, and has a tendency to go open when it's torque limit is overcome.
Locked diffs are often welded or are simply a solid ring gear insert that locks both axles.
Center diffs can be computer controlled, they can also be torsen, which are better for performance awd apps, something Audi uses or has used(so saying hondas is better is not really true), there are also viscous coupling center diffs, that act like a torque convertor in an automatic transmission, and there are ofcourse 4wd transfer case styles that are chain, or gear operated, like 4wd models, sans the manual control.
The AWD system in my 04' CRV has worked great. There have been a few occasions when I'm sure I would have gotten stuck in the snow if I did not have it. Twice camping in Utah I went to bed and it was raining and woke up with several inches of snow on the ground. I let the clutch out and as soon as I felt the front wheels slip I could feel the back wheels turn on and push me out. The CRV is not however, an off road vehicle and I have bottomed mine out several times on roads that were beyond what it was designed for.
If you plan on going off road over rough terrain, buy a Jeep (or a Honda CRF450F, they're a million times more fun). If you need something to get you to work on a snowy day by an AWD CRV.
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