[Tetto]

Originally Posted by JViello

OMG people...does anybody read anymore?

Those FWD cars "stuck" at the bottom of the hill would not be if they had SNOW TIRES.

Will AWD with all seasons outperform FWD? Of course! Will AWD outperform FWD if they both have snow tires? Of course! But do you realize just how much overkill an AWD car with snows is? Your car will bottom out and snowplow LONG before you run out of traction. I put some IceBears on our old Evolution 8 and I could accelerat almost as hard in snow as tarmac! THAT is overkill.

Let me tell you my brand new Ford Superduty Truck came from NC - the tires are "summer" tires. I can't get out of my driveway with 4WD sometimes and I even have front lockers, and a rear limited slip differential! Yes it's a steep grade, but not that bad. My wifes FWD car with snowtires makes it just fine ALL the time.

It's all in the tire...say it with me, it's all in the tires. This isn't "opinion" it's well known fact among "car guys".

Heck, I threw on some Nokian snow tires on my custom turbocharged MR2 Spyder one year and you couldn't STOP the thing. (Mid engine sports car)

Here I'll make it easy: Watch this FWD car go up a steep driveway in about 12" of snow. Notice he even slows down to go into the garage. No wheelspin at all.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9H55...eature=related

/rant

Hahaha I love it! Who needs tires? Clearly, Subaru has the best winter vehicles!

[Leigh_and_Anthony]

Thank you everyone for your replies. We Are looking at the 2010 Ford Edge. They are having a hard time locating an AWD Edge for us. Because of our time constraint I think we are going to have to get the FWD and get good snow tires. If after our first winter it seems like it is going to be an issue we can always trade in our other vehicle for an AWD or 4x4 when we get up there.

[fxtrader]

Another thing you may want to consider is the resale value. I am not sure if it holds true here in CT as we just moved here from Maine a year ago. A 4wd or AWD will hold its value much better over time.

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by Leigh_and_Anthony

Thank you everyone for your replies. We Are looking at the 2010 Ford Edge. They are having a hard time locating an AWD Edge for us. Because of our time constraint I think we are going to have to get the FWD and get good snow tires. If after our first winter it seems like it is going to be an issue we can always trade in our other vehicle for an AWD or 4x4 when we get up there.

Here is my take on it. A good FWD with decent all-weather tires will get you through 90% or better of the weather with no problem. Add Traction Control and you will get to 95% or more. A driver with good winter skills can make either one work better than an unskilled driver.

The 4x4 or AWD will get you through anything that you will experience in CT where they will let you be on the road - virtually 100%. The advantage of AWD is that you'll feel confident in fairly rough conditions. (This is also its drawback because some people get over-confident and take chances they shouldn't.)

But a 4x4 costs more originally and can cost more to maintain. It's a question of how necessary it is for you get through no matter what the weather. I like having a 4x4 because it means I don't have to worry much about the weather.

One kind of car that doesn't work well is a very light car. I owned a Honda Fit for a while, and it was pretty bad in snowy conditions, despite having FWD and good tires.