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So I am trying to seriously evaluate if I really *need* an SUV or a 4WD/AWD instead of just settling for a car or a RWD/FWD.
I live in Southern California but frequent the mountains during summer - perhaps 4-5 trips during the winter season for snowboarding. Occasionally I may go to mammoth or Tahoe. I also am into hiking so sometimes have to drive to trails that are reachable only by driving on gravel or very rough roads that require high ground clearance but these types of trails are a rare occasion rather than frequent.
Given this info do you think that AWD/4WD is worth the extra expense? What about an SUV? Is a car sufficient for the 10% of the time I would need the extra space or traction?
No. But spend $100 and get some good tire chains. Also learn to install them in nice weather. That way you are not trying to figure it out for the first time in the cold.
BTW some cars have as much useful space as many SUVs. Get one that the back seat folds down to access the trunk, or get a hatchback.
I concur. If your not in a region of the country that regularly gets snow, it's really not needed. If you go snow boarding, chances are the roads you will be travelling on will have been cleared already, it's not quite the same thing when you HAVE to get to work when it snowing outside. Also AWD give traction for deep snow, it does NOTHING to help you control / stop your car in snow and ice, your just as likely to slide as FWD cars. Also it's more expensive to buy and maintain AWD vehicles. I'd say 90% of the people who buy AWD vehicles don't need them and they are giving themselves a false sense of security that there cars will better in snow / ice cover roads than other cars/drivers.
An SUV would be better for back road travelling, with the higher vehicle clearances, but you sould be able to get by with FWD, unless your talking about serious off road driving.
Unless you are frequently in the mud and soft surfaces, you don't need 4wd. Unless you are frequently on messy surfaces or have a lot of horsepower, you don't need awd. Awd is more of a nice to have for its extra capabilities (dry or wet) and its driving dynamics, but if you are talking about driving up a plowed road a couple times a year, you should be fine with all season tires and fwd.
I don't know that I'd take a rwd car into the mountains regularly if the road conditions were going to be slippery, but I wouldn't necessarily rule it out. You might want to consider awd for its driving capabilities as well as its bad weather capability though. Awd is the second best driving feeling after rwd imo.
More important, think about the tires on whatever you end up with - summer tires seem like a no brainer in So. Cali but if you will be in colder temps (sub 40°F) they get very hard and lose much of their grip. All seasons will work better across a range of temps and not wear out as fast, but don't grip as well as summer tires.
Going from the beach to the mountains, a Subaru is about the perfect car for you imo. Sporty, economical, good utility, and awd capability for those times you'd want it. I wouldn't buy an SUV just for a ski trip as it will not be as economical nor as fun to drive.
The thing I don't like about the Subarus is that they are extremely spartan in the interior, at least the ones I have seen have downright awful interiors. I wanted to get something with a bit nicer interior.
How much of a risk is it driving a car on gravel roads? I don't plan to doing anything drastic off road, perhaps just a little gravel duty.
Last edited by ducviloxi; 04-09-2013 at 01:55 PM..
I don't know that I'd take a rwd car into the mountains regularly if the road conditions were going to be slippery, but I wouldn't necessarily rule it out. You might want to consider awd for its driving capabilities as well as its bad weather capability though. Awd is the second best driving feeling after rwd imo.
All you need is tire chains. I have done it with RWD cars at least a hundred times. Be careful though, tire chains cannot be installed on certain cars (My Z28 is one). Also in some circumstances RWD is better than FWD because if you skid in FWD you cannot recover, but with RWD you can make a simple correction. The problem with RWD is you get stuck more often. Tire chains solve that.
In mountains, tire chains are sometimes required unless you have 4x4, so you may as well get some anyway. Without them they will make you turn around (or you can usually buy some at 4x the normal price).
If you do some back country adventuring, like the convenience of being able to toss stuff in the tailgate or sit in the back while changing boots or shoes, carry gear around, carry bikes or other large things, and don't like to watch others continue on in their AWD cars when your low riding FWD or RWD sedan is grinding its air dam on stuff sticking out of the road or having problems climbing a mountain pass in the snow, then yeah, it's well worth the expense of an all wheel drive station wagon *UV type vehicle.
Obviously most people don't *need* AWD all the time, like they don't "need" a pickup truck to commute to work or they don't "need" an SUV to transport a family of four. It's kind of an exercise in the law of diminishing returns. You pay extra to get something that you may not use that often, but at the same time, if you run into the situation where having the additional features would have afforded you an opportunity, you might be wishing that you had it. The more you run into those situations, the less "optional" it starts to look.
The thing I don't like about the Subarus is that they are extremely spartan in the interior, at least the ones I have seen have downright awful interiors. I wanted to get something with a bit nicer interior.
How much of a risk is it driving a car on gravel roads? I don't plan to doing anything drastic off road, perhaps just a little gravel duty.
There is no greater risk to driving a car on gravel roads that it was in the 1920's when nearly all roads were unpaved.
As for driving to snowboard, no, you don't 'need' 4WD, but it helps to have one. However, an AWD car is not going to be as good as a true 4x4 pickup truck or SUV. Conversely, a 4x4 truck is not necessary commuting in Southern California. I believe the best solution would be to buy two vehicles: one economy car for commuting and a 4x4 for adventuring.
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