AWD vs FWD for "enthusiast" driving

Unobtanium said:
I consider traction part of handling when it involves accelerating out of a corner. The AWD kicks in and does amazing things for corner exit with the CX-5, in my experience. Also, amount of brake/throttle will shuffle weight bias effectively if done properly. See: Porsche 911, GT-R, and Viper.
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I don't agree. You could feel the extra weight of the AWD when you whip it around a hard S-turn compared to the FWD. How many FWD CX5s have you driven? I don't see how a CX5 can be compared to handling of a Porcshe, GT-R, or Viper.
 
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Unobtanium said:
I have driven my CX-5 in AWD, and in FWD, and it FWD, it wasn't NEARLY as sure-footed accelerating on less than perfect and warm pavement.. Unless you have de-activated AWD on your CX-5, and driven the SAME EXACT VEHICLE with and without the AWD...you don't have a valid comparison of the differences it makes in traction :p
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Your comparison is not exactly fair. You drove an AWD with AWD capability disabled. Not a FWD. You were still dragging around the extra weight of the AWD hardware so you basically had the worst of both worlds.
 
vroom said:
Your comparison is not exactly fair. You drove an AWD with AWD capability disabled. Not a FWD. You were still dragging around the extra weight of the AWD hardware so you basically had the worst of both worlds.
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Well, I need to go drive the FWD then, I guess, but the traction loss going to FWD was astounding. I've owned 1 FWD vehicle before, and swore never again. Now that I've gone AWD...I'm finding RWD difficult to like, lol

I just count not give up the traction of AWD for a bit more "tossability" of the AWD.
 
Unobtanium said:
Well, I need to go drive the FWD then, I guess, but the traction loss going to FWD was astounding. I've owned 1 FWD vehicle before, and swore never again. Now that I've gone AWD...I'm finding RWD difficult to like, lol

I just count not give up the traction of AWD for a bit more "tossability" of the AWD.
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Yep, it really isn't hard to spin the front wheels from a dead stop with this FWD...that's why I said easy on the gas pedal in the rain.
 
Lemme tell ya a little story about Buttonwillow, me, my FD, and some guy in an EVO9 that kept reeling me in on corner exits. I could keep him at bay in the straights, and even pull on him through the sweepers, but as soon as we hit a tight corner, he'd just SMOKE me on the way out of it. I finally spun trying to fend him off.

AWD is almost cheating.
 
Natey said:
Lemme tell ya a little story about Buttonwillow, me, my FD, and some guy in an EVO9 that kept reeling me in on corner exits. I could keep him at bay in the straights, and even pull on him through the sweepers, but as soon as we hit a tight corner, he'd just SMOKE me on the way out of it. I finally spun trying to fend him off.

AWD is almost cheating.
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Yep yep! My Evo turned me into AWD or nothing. Under steer and wheel spin in fwd isn't any fun. If I want to spin the wheels, I'll go RWD and drift.
 
TimelessMazda said:
Having driven our CX-5 many times, I can tell you it is not bad at spirited city driving...however I would never call it an enthusiast vehicle.

Just not designed for that.
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Which is why I have a highly modified MX-5. But that doesn't mean I, as an "enthusiast", can't have a little fun in a "practical" daily driver. Perhaps I should have asked, "AWD vs FWD for "spirited" driving." Not to get into semantics, but in mind mind they are both kinda the same thing. Not just putting the car in "D" and leaving it there. Rather, hearing some tire squeal every now and then and if it's RWD, losing and regaining the back end. No matter what I drive, no matter where or how fast... I always aim for the apex!
 
NelsonLewis said:
Yep yep! My Evo turned me into AWD or nothing. Under steer and wheel spin in fwd isn't any fun. If I want to spin the wheels, I'll go RWD and drift.
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Evo? Sweet. One reason I am leaning towards AWD is to have an interesting alternative to RWD. I do aggressively drive the MX-5 and you get the heart pumpin' at the point of breaking out the rear end. Not drifting per se but seriously taking a turn to the limit. I have a few days before I can get behind the wheel of an AWD. If it has the dynamics I am expecting both entering and exiting turns it should be a nice change from the RWD stuff. I KNOW this is a crossover and not an EVO or 911 (which I have also tracked). It's nowhere near my "track car" (MX-5). But, I gotta say the FWD test on Tuesday did get me smiling a few times. Kinda got into the sport mode manual shift thing. Wound her up nice.
 
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madar said:
Then go easier on the gas pedal.
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There have been times where I had no choice but to stomp on it. To avoid other cars. I love knowing when I step on it, no matter the conditions, the car will go. And you bet when the car senses a slip before I can feel it, the awd kicks in and keeps the car stabilized. I love it. I don't care about the extra weight. I'd rather have the extra safety.
 
jhu8 said:
There have been times where I had no choice but to stomp on it. To avoid other cars. I love knowing when I step on it, no matter the conditions, the car will go. And you bet when the car senses a slip before I can feel it, the awd kicks in and keeps the car stabilized. I love it. I don't care about the extra weight. I'd rather have the extra safety.
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EXACTLY. BTDT, as well. AWD is a safety measure as far as I'm concerned.
 
jhu8 said:
There have been times where I had no choice but to stomp on it. To avoid other cars. I love knowing when I step on it, no matter the conditions, the car will go. And you bet when the car senses a slip before I can feel it, the awd kicks in and keeps the car stabilized. I love it. I don't care about the extra weight. I'd rather have the extra safety.
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+1... lots of rain with slick roads...limited options to merge or pull out from a turn on a hill. Traction control doesn't exactly give you that much advantage here. I like my AWD and will not have another car without it. 3 of my 4 current vehicles have AWD... the last one being a Wrangler with PT 4WD.
 
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jhu8 said:
There have been times where I had no choice but to stomp on it. To avoid other cars. I love knowing when I step on it, no matter the conditions, the car will go. And you bet when the car senses a slip before I can feel it, the awd kicks in and keeps the car stabilized. I love it. I don't care about the extra weight. I'd rather have the extra safety.
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Happened to me last week during an April snowstorm (welcome to New England LOL). I saw a guy coming down a downhill side street on my right waaaaay too fast to stop given the road conditions. Sure enough I saw his wheels lock up and start to slide. There was no chance that I was going to avoid him by braking, not even with Blizzaks on, so my only option was to floor it and hope to get around him before he slid into my path. The surefooted way in which the CX-5 dealt with a simultaneous swerve and acceleration on snow was unreal. Not a hint of lost traction, and I was around his trajectory just in time to see him come to a stop on the opposite side of the road. Whew.
 
MikeM has been preaching that content (as in the article) for ages now. However, ignorance is rampant. Just today my boss asked me about a car he plans to buy. He settled for AWD primarily because he wrecked his car in snow, a FWD. I know his budget's tight and he's really stretching it with AWD. I offered him to instead go with FWD and it'll cost him 1/3rd. the price delta to instead buy smaller wheels + snow tires. He'll save on gas too, etc., etc.
Nah - EVERYONE, i.e. ALMOST EVERYONE shut me down. AWD is the way to go and with good all-seasons - everything's just PEACHY. I gave up!
 
bmninada said:
MikeM has been preaching that content (as in the article) for ages now. However, ignorance is rampant. Just today my boss asked me about a car he plans to buy. He settled for AWD primarily because he wrecked his car in snow, a FWD. I know his budget's tight and he's really stretching it with AWD. I offered him to instead go with FWD and it'll cost him 1/3rd. the price delta to instead buy smaller wheels + snow tires. He'll save on gas too, etc., etc.
Nah - EVERYONE, i.e. ALMOST EVERYONE shut me down. AWD is the way to go and with good all-seasons - everything's just PEACHY. I gave up!
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Because AWD offers a lot. Some people think it's only for snow. THis is a mistake. just this week-end, I used it on loose larger rocks. The AWD is the only thing that got me out. I sat and slowly spun until I felt it kick in and I was moving. I also often felt it kick in while driving up the rock road on the side of the mountain. It definitely added sureness and capability on that surface, and NO TIRE KNOWN TO MAN would have equaled it. Nor were brakes or turning a factor. Same story for take-offs on sandy/gravel edged roads in the rain. They don't make a tire that negates that. AWD does. I think your co-worker made a great choice, albeit maybe not for the same reasons they think they did. Nor do I think AWD vs. FWD matter as far as weight goes. That's just bad suspension because the car manufacturer didn't bother to do it right. The GT-R weighs 4,000# nearly, as does the Jag also reviewed on this page. They don't feel ponderous. So don't go blaming a few pounds for the AWD system that sits below the CG anyway. Blame Mazda for not fine-tuning the suspension correctly to mitigate it.
 
Mike Romayo said:
Yeah I saw that. Interesting. Always starts from AWD and eventually converts to FWD when underway. I've experienced launch control in a 911. Is it like that? LOL
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I have never driven a 911, but here are 2 videos I made in my CX-5. One with AWD disabled, one with AWD in-tact. I let up with the non-AWD run (hence it did not get to redline) because it is bad to shift hard with the tires spinning for an automatic, or so I hear.


Both videos were taken on asphalt roads that were dry. There was a HUGE difference when I drove on roads with sand/gravel on them, as after a snow/sleet.
 
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