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Actually the word '4WD' is misleading...in '4x4 trucks and suvs', its only 1 wheel per axle that is powered, when you engage the 4wd, all you are doing is turning on ONE drive wheel on the other axle, so its actually 2WD technically, but its common sense why they call it '4wd'.
Tractors and some trucks are the exception though, that do have power to all 4 wheels.
Actually the word '4WD' is misleading...in '4x4 trucks and suvs', its only 1 wheel per axle that is powered, when you engage the 4wd, all you are doing is turning on ONE drive wheel on the other axle, so its actually 2WD technically, but its common sense why they call it '4wd'.
Tractors and some trucks are the exception though, that do have power to all 4 wheels.
"misleading" … really?
what about "4WD" vehicles with locking differentials or Posi-trac units which deliver power to both sides of an axle at the same time so that BOTH wheels are powered up?
PS: my JD 4020 and JD 4520 have a foot pedal to "lock up" the rear differential as needed in the field. Manually selected on demand for slick situations, normal running is not locked up.
I've seen some older Subarus get stuck with one front and one rear wheel spinning.
I personally drive a 2WD car in the mountains of Vermont and have never had an issue.
The new Subarus get "stuck" because the drivers have no clue that there is a button to disable traction control. That's pretty common in pretty much any crossover.
I used to have a body-on-frame SUV and a VW GTI with Nokians at my Vermont ski place. For normal winter driving, the GTI was a much better car than the SUV. It's lighter so it has better downhill braking and cornering. AWD/4WD is a convenience so I don't have to shovel and I don't have to pay any attention to where I choose to park the car. With the VW, I'd have to shovel out and there were places where I could get the car stuck if I parked there.
I went to college in Burlington and drove a 3-on-the-tree RWD Maverick with summer tires. I had no problem getting around but you had to plan everything. I had a Mustang after that. Same thing. I can afford AWD and good snow tires so why not? It's better and the car has a much better control envelope.
I learned to drive in a 1957 Jeep utility wagon. 3-speed stick. 2wd, 4wd-high, 4wd-low. No synchromesh. No power steering. No power brakes. 40 mph climbing a hill was max speed and 60 mph going downhill felt really fast. Aftermarket Warn hubs on the front wheels where you had to get out and engage them before using 4wd.
I had a 1987 S-10 Blazer that had auto front hubs but a manual transfer case. The car after that was a Mazda Navajo (2 door Explorer Sport) with an electronic pushbutton to engage 4wd and no low range. Everything I've owned since has been AWD of some sort with no control at all over engaging the system.
Actually the word '4WD' is misleading...in '4x4 trucks and suvs', its only 1 wheel per axle that is powered, when you engage the 4wd, all you are doing is turning on ONE drive wheel on the other axle, so its actually 2WD technically, but its common sense why they call it '4wd'.
Tractors and some trucks are the exception though, that do have power to all 4 wheels.
My Jeep powered all 4 wheels, 100% independently from another, and could vary torque 0-100% per tire. You could lift 3 of the 4 tires, and drive off/over/out with 1 tire that had good traction.
My 2005 Dodge Durango has a selector with 3 choices:
Full-time AWD
4 WD Lock
4 WD Lo
It uses both AWD and 4WD. Thus, AWD and 4WD are not mutually exclusive in a vehicle. It's never been stuck in the snow. (This past winter we had over 400 inches of snow measured in our driveway in Deer Valley over the course of the winter.)
My 2016 Acura MDX has full time AWD (they call it Super Handling-All Wheel Drive) has been stuck when my Durango can go right on through.
At the end of the day, make sure you get snow tires for cold winter weather. They help quite a bit with traction when the temperature drops below about 40 degrees F or when the roads are icy/snowy/slippery.
And, remember this: Both AWD and 4WD help you "go." Neither help you "stop."
THIS. I wish this was more widely understood.
You're one model newer than my Durango! I've driven with it in the latter two settings, but I have never gotten stuck in the AWD mode. My model does NOT have traction control (the spot opposite the lighter socket is blank, there is no ESP button, yet continues to outperform some FWD-based AWD vehicles.
Snow, ice, rough terrain..............regular 4wd is best because there is no delay if already engaged.
AWD is as-needed (not full time) according to input from sensors.
not necessarily so …
My Subie OBW manual transmission cars were all full-time 50-50 AWD split. No sensors, no delay.
My late Subie OBW automatic transmission cars run 95-5% AWD split full time on dry pavement. Driving during inclement weather conditions, the sensors/inter-axle differential seamlessly react as needed to deliver power to the wheels with traction as needed.
I've had the automatic transmissions cars now for a couple of years and 30,000 miles of driving in inclement Rocky Mountain road conditions/climate/black ice transitions/hydroplaning conditions. I've found that the auto transmission cars are, in fact, easier to drive than the previous manual transmission cars we drove for over 300,000 miles.
"point 'n shoot" easy to drive on nasty variable driving surfaces is a key benefit of the Subie AWD control system. Especially on the black ice we get around our region and up into the mountains. On a lot of days driving on I-25/80/70/90, I have no difficulty being able to maintain a higher average road speed than most "regular 4x4" equipped vehicles can safely do on the patchy black ice surfaces. So when reasonable opportunities present to pass those slower moving vehicles, I may do so … and that's typically when the lane the 4x4 is driving in is the clearest lane on the highway; ie, I have to move over the top of the berm of the undriven area of the road to a lane where the road isn't as clear as the lane of traffic I'm passing.
That the Subie can do so simply by steering it into that adjacent lane, accelerate to a faster speed than the passed traffic, and then smoothly transition to the clearer lane is to the Subie AWD seamless power delivery. All, of course, done at reasonably prudent speeds in the inclement driving conditions present. Typically, the slower traffic is moving 30-50 mph and I'll pass it about 5-10 mph faster and keep on going. Of course, when blizzard/visibility conditions present where prudent travel is around 15-20 mph, I'm staying in the conga line until conditions improve … no need to be attempting to drive 10-20+ mph faster than the prevailing traffic with the risk of rapidly coming up the tailpipe of somebody going slowly due to the extreme conditions.
PS: my Audi 4000CS quattro of years ago had similar excellent adverse road surface capabilities. I drove this for several years before wearing it out and trading it in for my first '95 Subie. So my experience with AWD cars capabilities in inclement driving conditions isn't limited to Subie's. I've no doubt that there are other AWD cars that can demonstrate similar inclement driving capability compared to 4x4's in our regional driving conditions. YMMV.
Four wheel drive is on all of the time. I've read that it uses more gas than AWD.
All Wheel Drive in a Toyota RAV 4 is front wheel drive until the computer senses that the front wheels are spinning. Once the "spinning" is sensed four wheel drive kicks in.
My last car was a RAV 4 with AWD. I was able to drive carefully in eight inches of snow.
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