In areas with little to no snow nor rain, is AWD recommended anyways? (vehicle, fuel)

[ackmondual]

I'm in California where we get virtually no rain nor snow. The only other push for AWD (all wheel drive) would be if you drive up mountains and/or unpaved roads, which I've never done, nor plan to do. As such, I'm told that many in CA can get away with just FWD (front wheel drive) to save some money.

However, I'm also told AWD still helps with general control and handling. I'm willing to take a slight hit to my fuel economy, and there's always a chance I'll move back to a region where I will need to deal with rain and snow again.

Your thoughts?

[Checkered24]

You have no reason to incur the expense of AWD. In normal use driving on dry roads, any benefit is marginal at best.

[jambo101]

Here in Montreal we get plenty of snow every winter and most people get by just fine without AWD.

[ukrkoz]

You need car with VSC, TC and good overall tires. That's about it.

[YourWakeUpCall]

Originally Posted by Checkered24

You have no reason to incur the expense of AWD. In normal use driving on dry roads, any benefit is marginal at best.

True for low performance cars. High performance cars benefit from AWD on dry pavement.

[unit731]

Originally Posted by ackmondual

I'm also told AWD still helps with general control and handling. I'm willing to take a slight hit to my fuel economy, and there's always a chance I'll move back to a region where I will need to deal with rain and snow again.

Hogwash.

Any vehicle would be fine under those conditions. If long term ownership your repairs will be less also.

[earthisle]

If the vehicle is FWD based, then AWD helps handling. If it's RWD then it doesn't unless you have a huge amount of horsepower

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by jambo101

Here in Montreal we get plenty of snow every winter and most people get by just fine without AWD.

Yeah, but Quebec mandates snow tires. I've had snow tires on all my cars for 20+ years. FWD is fine until the car bottoms out. I ski so AWD + snow tires is a convenience. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother.

[BurntCoffey]

I've never felt the need for AWD here in Santa Rosa, but I do pay close attention to my tires. With one FWD and one RWD car equipped with the newest safety systems, that one set of driving wheels is more than sufficient if you're running tires with the proper tread depth and compound. AWD is great when needed, but it is likely superfluous in your climate unless you are exceeding the envelope of normal street/highway driving. Less weight and mechanical complexity yields better gas mileage with lower maintenance costs so there is definitely a price to pay in addition to the initial outlay for driving that extra set of wheels.

[bmd69]

I had a Audi Quattro in San Diego.