AWD or FWD for driving in Pittsburgh? (how much, gated)

[Drover]

Originally Posted by scottrpriester

Why do people think you need an SUV in the first place? Audi, BMW, and Mercedes offer some beautiful wagons, often with sport and pefirmance packages, that rival driving some oversized gas guzzling American SUV.

It's called "preferences." It's also called "different price points."

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by Drover

It's called "preferences." It's also called "different price points."

I was hoping someone would say that.........for the price that most people would pay for a ghettofied, gas guzzling Cadillac Escalade, you can own anything I mentioned.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by scottrpriester

I was hoping someone would say that.........for the price that most people would pay for a ghettofied, gas guzzling Cadillac Escalade, you can own anything I mentioned.

Right, as if your average SUV buyer is looking for an Escalade, which represents probably less than 3% of all SUV sales. So instead of using a small-volume model as our baseline, and ignoring for the moment that the OP isn't looking at anything resembling an Escalade, let's take a look at what SUV buyers are actually buying, and compare them to your preferred vehicles...


As of MY2009, the top 5 selling SUVs are:

• Toyota CR-V. Combined EPA fuel economy rating: 22mpg.
  
• Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute. Combined EPA fuel economy rating: 20mpg.
  
• Toyota RAV-4. Combined EPA fuel economy rating: 21mpg.
  
• Toyota Highlander. Combined EPA fuel economy rating: 19mpg.
  
• Honda Pilot. Combined EPA fuel economy rating: 18mpg.

Now, let's take a look at wagons of comparable size and utility from Audi, BMW and Mercedes:

• Audi A4 Avant. Combined EPA fuel economy rating: 23mpg.
  
• Audi A6 Avant. Combined EPA fuel economy rating: 21mpg.
  
• BMW 328i Sportwagon.Combined EPA fuel economy rating: 22mpg.
  
• Mercedes R350 Diesel (if you could even call this a wagon; Mercedes doesn't currently offer anything else resembling a wagon in the US). Combined EPA fuel economy rating: 20mpg. From a diesel. But at least it is a big ol' vehicle though...

Hardly seems like a huge difference to me. Plus, a couple things worth noting:

1) in the case of the SUVs, I used the EPA rating of the least fuel-efficient engine option, even though customers tend to opt for the smaller engine by a wide margin;

2) For the BMW 328i wagon, I arrived at the combined rating by splitting the difference between the city rating and the highway rating because for some reason the EPA does not provide a combined figure for this model. "Splitting the difference" tends to yield a slightly higher number than the actual rating.

So, what exactly is your point again?

[Drover]

^^ Oh, and nice classist/racial overtones in the choice and description of the SUV used to compare against upscale Eurowagons. Really classy.

[kgavala]

Originally Posted by Drover

^^ Oh, and nice classist/racial overtones in the choice and description of the SUV used to compare against upscale Eurowagons. Really classy.

Subarus are another good choice. Less expensive, and reliable. Not to mention fun to drive. Wagons, sedans, SUVs. All AWD.

[BrianTH]

By the way, the Cadillac equivalent to those German sports wagons are really the CTS Sport Wagon and SRX.

[Honest Bob]

I would stay away from the all wheel drive and move towards the four wheel drive with very good snow tires on it.

Most of the idiots that we saw on television that abandoned their vehicles were either too lazy to shovel or had all season tires on them or were just front wheel drive pieces of crap.

I would say that a Chevy Traverse would be a good vehicle for you and a even better vehicle would be a Chevy Trailblazer. Not to say that Ford doesn't make a good vehicle, just that I have no experience with Fords.

The Honda line of four wheel drive / SUV's are also good reliable vehicles.

[Honest Bob]

Originally Posted by scottrpriester

I was hoping someone would say that.........for the price that most people would pay for a ghettofied, gas guzzling Cadillac Escalade, you can own anything I mentioned.

I drive a 2009 Avalanche - does that count?

I get 16 MPG around town and almost 20 on a trip.

I ran it over the truck scales one day and it said 7,200 lbs.

In a wreck, I would rather have 7200 lbs of steel and plastic around me then 4,000 lbs of Honda or 3400 lbs of Toyota or Escape. I don't know if I would want to buy or drive a vehicle that says run and get out - right on the bumper " Escape".
To avoid a serious or unwanted outcome
To issue from confinement or an enclosure; leak or seep out
To break loose from confinement; get free

[BrianTH]

The problem with bigger and heavier vehicles is they also get into more accidents, basically because they are worse at avoidance.

The upshot is that the drivers of heavier vehicles tend to be OK statistically (because the de facto armoring of their vehicle compensates for their lack of avoidance), but other people on the road are made worse off. Or, in other words, you are more likely to kill another person if you drive a bigger and heavier vehicle, even if you aren't more likely to kill yourself.

And having known someone who did that (kill another person while driving), I think it is fair to say even the person that does the killing doesn't escape the experience unharmed.

[Bong477]

I've always had all weather tires. I got by okay with my FWD Honda accord for the first winter I lived there and had a 4x4 Pathfinder for the remainder of the winters which was unnecessary almost all the time but did make a big difference for the rare really bad weather day. As a physician, there are some days that I have to be at work or can't leave work when the weather turns so knowing I can get around if I have to is very nice.

Anyway, my question is in Pittsburgh if you go the snow tires route (which honestly I didn't know people still even did) when do you put them on and take them off? It can snow from October through March which is almost half the year...