FWD or AWD?

S

Surfsup

Member
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Cx5
I have a real 4WD truck now. I love having 4WD with TOD. Gas mileage blows though. But, I'm an active guy and live in the Chicago area (snow) so I like 4WD to get to work in crappy weather, also to go up/down steep grades around remote lakes that I need access to, etc. I am not sure how FWD would work in these situations.

Gas mileage between FWD vs AWD at $3.75/gal and 15000 m/yr figuring a 35%/65% split is a whopping $150 difference per year in gas cost figuring 2mpg penalty for AWD. Obviously initial cost of entry to AWD is a couple thousand more as well.

Any comments from FWD or AWD owners as to the justification for their choice? I'd love to hear if anyone thinks they should have gotten AWD and why, or if they think AWD is overkill, etc.
 
As far as I'm concerned, AWD is essential in the snow, and I wouldn't even consider the 2WD CX-5.

It has been a heavy snow year here, and I see 2WD (both FWD and RWD) cars sliding around all over the place, no grip off the line, struggling on hills - and I have none of it unless I push WAY too hard. I'm sure the fact that I have snows tires is a big part of avoiding those problems, but I can still absolutely feel the back wheels kicking in when things are really bad.
 
We both live in the snow belt. The only reason I went for the (heavier and more expensive) AWD option is because I often have to plow through large mounds of snow just to park, get into my driveway, and vice versa . People shoveling and plow trucks simply don't care when they block cars out or in; the joys of living in urban NYC. Granted a FWD with winter tires could easily outperform an AWD with all seasons on a somewhat plowed surface, it won't be superior to an AWD when it comes to climbing mounds of snow. NY got wrecked with snow this winter and I am glad I got AWD to pull me in and out of a few situations.

In your case, AWD seems very fitting to your location and life style. Granted the CX-5 is not full time AWD (FWD until slippage is detected), it will do you well when it is needed.
 
I like the AWD, it kicks in when you need it. Fact is you might not need AWD but when you don't have it and your stuck or need better control you wish you had it :) It depends on your budget as well.
 
SayNoToPistons said:
In your case, AWD seems very fitting to your location and life style. Granted the CX-5 is not full time AWD (FWD until slippage is detected), it will do you well when it is needed.
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That's something I didn't realize until now. That's good to know! Monday this week I was leaving the Lexus dealer looking at a CT200h (too small and too much $). There was a big ford truck in front of me and our cross drive was angled upwards to the street. He couldn't get up the rise onto the main street. Was probably a $50k truck (big F350?). My Isuzu zoomed up no issue at all like it was dry ground. I think I will miss TOD if I don't get it. Thanks for explaining the AWD is like my current TOD feature which I love.
 
Fan of FWD here. I have a set of snow tires on my CX5 and it works fine for the majority of my use. Now I also have a Suburban but I only drive it when I need to carry the whole family or when I need the gear capacity. I prefer the efficiency of the CX5 and I haven't it gotten stuck yet. Plenty of ski trips and snow/ice driving.
I like the FWD (and manual) because I can tell when it slips and adjust my driving. On my old Volvo V70 AWD that car would just go and you couldn't tell how slick the roads were until you had to turn or stop quick.
 
There is no reason to buy a CX-5 2WD over a car (like Mazda 3) IMO unless you need a little more room (in which case a minivan works). A 2WD SUV is a station wagon or minivan with bigger tires and maybe another inch or two of ground clearance and worse fuel mileage. Basically, if a car could get you anywhere you want to go safely....you might as well buy a car and enjoy better fuel economy. If it won't get you where you want to go, then buy and SUV with AWD/4WD. 2WD SUVs are mainly for people that don't want the image of driving a station wagon or minivan.
 
pjensen641 said:
There is no reason to buy a CX-5 2WD over a car (like Mazda 3) IMO unless you need a little more room (in which case a minivan works).
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If you can find a minivan that handles as well as the CX-5 that is...
 
pjensen641 said:
There is no reason to buy a CX-5 2WD over a car (like Mazda 3) IMO unless you need a little more room (in which case a minivan works).
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I tend to agree. If I thought I would have been happy with a 2WD as my primary vehicle, I probably would have just bought a '3'.
 
A lot more room in the CX5 compared to the 3. Plus you get the better view of the road/traffic ahead.
 
vroom said:
If you can find a minivan that handles as well as the CX-5 that is...
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The Mazda 5 handles better than the CX5; I know because I have both and I can get more stuff into the Mazda 5 than my CX5.
 
Living in the snow belt as well, I traded a 4wd blazer for a FWD CX-5. I opted for overall gas mileage. With the winter we've had this year, I haven't had any issues getting where I need to go. I commute 20 miles one way on county and state roads through mostly a country setting.
 
Well that's kinda what I'm wondering. I can see it being inconvenient a few times a year, maybe 10 times, not having AWD - or will it me more than that? I've never really had a two wheel drive. As for fuel economy, the cx5 is 10mpg mixed average better than my current suv, so it is way better. Versus the FWD, i believe it is a 2mpg difference, or as originally stated, less than $200 per year doing 15k miles per. Maybe i'm obsessing and should just get the AWD already...I have to admit there is a sense of pride having 4WD and 2WD vehicles are an annoyanve when the weather IS bad out there. LOL...
 
I'm a fan of the FWD CX5 too. I got the CX5 over the Mazda 6 because of the added cargo capacity and the CX5 fits my tall figure way better with more head room. I also like the ground clearance because I often also travel through some deep snow or off road because of the type of work I do. There are big advantages to the FWD over the AWD. They are:

  1. Huge weight difference. The FWD Touring is 157 lbs lighter than the AWD Touring all being automatics. The manual Sport is 338 lbs lighter than the AWD Grand Touring!
  2. Lesser cost (-$2650) can allow you to purchase more luxury features, upgrade to higher trim, or keep more of your hard earned money in your pocket. I got the Touring model for about the same price as an AWD Sport.
  3. Better real world gas mileage like 1 MPG better on the Sport and 2 mpg better in the Touring trim on the highway.
  4. Better acceleration because of less weight and less drivetrain drag. 0-60 time in 7.5 seconds vs 8.0 seconds.
  5. Better transient response/ better handling in dry warm weather; which makes up the majority of my driving + I wouldn’t push any vehicle to its limits on snow and ice anyway even with AWD.
  6. Lower insurance cost; this depends on your area but you might want to check because this could be significant.
  7. Lower maintenance costs and less wear on the tires although this is slight with today’s modern AWD systems. I do remember my parents Subaru seemed to eat tires though.
  8. More reliable powertrain, less complexity and less that can go wrong.

Now many people I feel put way too much faith in AWD and think it’s going to make their vehicle unstoppable in the snow and this just isn’t true. AWD vehicles only have 4 wheel brakes just like my FWD so if they aren’t driven with care they can get you in some serious trouble if you suddenly have to stop quickly. A FWD vehicle can outperform an AWD vehicle in the snow with really good snow tires on the FWD vs all seasons on the AWD and of course the same is true if the AWD has snow tires too. Where I live FWD with good tires can get me around 99% of the places I need to go without any drama like spinning wheels. I live up a huge steep hill and my FWD climbs that pretty easily every time. I often see FWD vehicle's stuck on this same hill in a snow storm but those vehicles had poor tires, hell I’ve seen a few AWD vehicle's struggle up that hill too with all 4 wheels spinning because they didn’t have the right tires. If you have to choose between AWD with All season tires and FWD with snow tires you'd be better off with the FWD with the snow tires just for the fact that it will stop way better and not slide around as much in turns. Now there are instances where AWD is necessary or better. They are:

  1. If you need to go on a real off road path like if you are hunting or snowmobiling.
  2. If you tow a boat and need to back it into a lake on a slippery ramp.
  3. If you live in the mountains where it snows all the time and you have proper tires or if you travel up them all the time in remote areas.
  4. If you live on a giant hill that the city doesn’t plow very well and you can’t climb it with a 2WD vehicle.
  5. If you live in a place like Alaska.
 
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V8toilet said:
I'm a fan of the FWD CX5 too. I got the CX5 over the Mazda 6 because of the added cargo capacity and the CX5 fits my tall figure way better with more head room. I also like the ground clearance because I often also travel through some deep snow or off road because of the type of work I do. There are big advantages to the FWD over the AWD. They are:

  1. Huge weight difference. The FWD Touring is 157 lbs lighter than the AWD Touring all being automatics. The manual Sport is 338 lbs lighter than the AWD Grand Touring!
  2. Lesser cost (-$2650) can allow you to purchase more luxury features, upgrade to higher trim, or keep more of your hard earned money in your pocket. I got the Touring model for about the same price as an AWD Sport.
  3. Better real world gas mileage like 1 MPG better on the Sport and 2 mpg better in the Touring trim on the highway.
  4. Better acceleration because of less weight and less drivetrain drag. 0-60 time in 7.5 seconds vs 8.0 seconds.
  5. Better transient response/ better handling in dry warm weather; which makes up the majority of my driving + I wouldn’t push any vehicle to its limits on snow and ice anyway even with AWD.
  6. Lower insurance cost; this depends on your area but you might want to check because this could be significant.
  7. Lower maintenance costs and less wear on the tires although this is slight with today’s modern AWD systems. I do remember my parents Subaru seemed to eat tires though.
  8. More reliable powertrain, less complexity and less that can go wrong.

Now many people I feel put way too much faith in AWD and think it’s going to make their vehicle unstoppable in the snow and this just isn’t true. AWD vehicles only have 4 wheel brakes just like my FWD so if they aren’t driven with care they can get you in some serious trouble if you suddenly have to stop quickly. A FWD vehicle can outperform an AWD vehicle in the snow with really good snow tires on the FWD vs all seasons on the AWD and of course the same is true if the AWD has snow tires too. Where I live FWD with good tires can get me around 99% of the places I need to go without any drama like spinning wheels. I live up a huge steep hill and my FWD climbs that pretty easily every time. I often see FWD vehicle's stuck on this same hill in a snow storm but those vehicles had poor tires, hell I’ve seen a few AWD vehicle's struggle up that hill too with all 4 wheels spinning because they didn’t have the right tires. If you have to choose between AWD with All season tires and FWD with snow tires you'd be better off with the FWD with the snow tires just for the fact that it will stop way better and not slide around as much in turns. Now there are instances where AWD is necessary or better. They are:

  1. If you need to go on a real off road path like if you are hunting or snowmobiling.
  2. If you tow a boat and need to back it into a lake on a slippery ramp.
  3. If you live in the mountains where it snows all the time and you have proper tires or if you travel up them all the time in remote areas.
  4. If you live on a giant hill that the city doesn’t plow very well and you can’t climb it with a 2WD vehicle.
  5. If you live in a place like Alaska.
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Yup. In the southern states the dealer lots are almost all FWD with only a handful AWD typically because most people make the same analysis.

I'm on road most of the time in my FWD, but occasionally down ranch roads and into the fields where the ground clearance is welcome. My previous 3 was an agonizing crawl down rutted river rock roads. As I'm not hauling ass, AWD has little use for me there.
 
I too bought this vehicle for its AWD feature (in addition for it being fuel efficient, fun to drive, etc.). If I only needed FWD, I'd get a Mazda 6 or 3.
Pretty much every benefit you listed is significantly better in a vehicle with a lower center of gravity and lower weight. Also I think the difference between a FWD and AWD CX-5 is relatively marginal . The cost difference in Touring trim is $1250. A vehicle with high stance has much more wind resistance causing significantly lower highway MPG.
That said, I do understand that some people need the ground clearance (though approach/departure angles are not great in the CX-5), and because there are no wagon option on the 6, a crossover gets you almost the same utility, which is critical to many owners. Driving the CX-5 for a while now, I see no great advantage to the high riding position, but some people look for it.
 
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ALafya said:
I think the difference between a FWD and AWD CX-5 is relatively marginal .
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I agree. And let my 24th post here announce I am an official member as of this AM. I got a AWD CX-5 GT in red. I have a loaner in white until mine arrives Monday, but I've got one in the driveway!
 
I would disagree with the handling part. Plus the the Mazda 5 GT cannot touch the CX-5 GT when it comes to features and performance. The Mazda 5 is a great vehicle (I had one) but it lacked the "creature comforts". Now if they come out with a Mazda 5 GT w/ Sky Active and all the features of a CX -5 then it would be a close call.
 
Rich 65 said:
I would disagree with the handling part. Plus the the Mazda 5 GT cannot touch the CX-5 GT when it comes to features and performance. The Mazda 5 is a great vehicle (I had one) but it lacked the "creature comforts". Now if they come out with a Mazda 5 GT w/ Sky Active and all the features of a CX -5 then it would be a close call.
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I never drove a 5, so I'm not going to argue with V8toilet on his reply to my comment about handling, but reading reviews I do sense that the "fun to drive" factor comes up a lot more with the CX-5. I expect the CX-5 to be no match to other minivans out there, making the FWD CX-5 a real good option compared to a minivan in most cases.
 
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