Get what you want so you don't regret it later as stated by someone else above.
I have the FWD, I wish I would have gotten the AWD even if I'm in Texas. Reasons for wanting AWD:
- Performance. The car will use all four tires when it needs to. This means corner exits are much better, standing starts are much better and the car is better balanced when loaded up. Towing is better from a traction standpoint with AWD.
- Wet weather traction. Doing a quick right turn on an intersection on wet roads can be a safety issue on FWD. In my case, I was spinning the inside tires due to the wet roads and the car took some time to regain traction. Another example is doing a protected left turn where the incoming car is not stopping. (This happened to my sister and she flipped over her Corolla as a result.) You better be able to get on the power and quickly finish your left turn, or you get hit.
- Out of state road trips. Just because I live in Texas doesn't mean I'm only going to be driving in Texas. It would be great to have a car that can do a road trip into a snowy state. (You can argue that FWD with winter tires is better, however it doesn't make sense to use winter tires in Texas. All season tires with AWD is a good compromise here.)
- Better modding potential. This really ties into my first point about performance. If you somehow mod it to where it makes more power, or put wider wheels/tires on it, the AWD version will put your mods to good use.
There are certainly some advantages to going with FWD, like cheaper price and better MPGs. In my case, I get MPGs similar to owners driving AWD CX-5s, so really I only got the cheaper price benefit.
Maybe it's just me but I feel like getting FWD in an SUV make the car feel 'incomplete' to me. I always pictured an SUV to have the ability to go off-roading every now and then. I live in LA but picked up an AWD because my thinking was I might need it someday. 1 month later I tried hiking and loved it and now go every weekend. Part of these hikes take me into areas where AWD is needed so I'm glad I purchased AWD.
I would recommend it, just because you don't need it now doesn't mean you won't need it someday.
I wouldn't get the CX5 without AWD. I can understand being reluctant though being that you live in Atlanta but I think finch's post is pretty spot on. You don't have to have snow to have that awd to pay off.
Maybe it's just me but I feel like getting FWD in an SUV make the car feel 'incomplete' to me. I always pictured an SUV to have the ability to go off-roading every now and then. I live in LA but picked up an AWD because my thinking was I might need it someday. 1 month later I tried hiking and loved it and now go every weekend. Part of these hikes take me into areas where AWD is needed so I'm glad I purchased AWD.
I would recommend it, just because you don't need it now doesn't mean you won't need it someday.
My guess based on some quick research a couple of weeks back is the AWD holds about 50% of it's value after 5 years, so that $1,300 is actually $650, depending.
Thinking back on my FWD, I've spun the front wheels, maybe 5 times. Unfortunately, I don't think the AWD would have meaningfully helped in any of those.
I've watched a lot of videos on AWD and it just never comes up as viable, except in pretty specific conditions, and snow tires get you really close to AWD + Snow Tires (AWD and regular tires aren't even close). I wouldn't mind having it, and if the dealer had what I was looking for, in a color I wanted in AWD vs FWD, and was willing to take a few dollars off, then sure, otherwise, nope.
Maybe it's just me but I feel like getting FWD in an SUV make the car feel 'incomplete' to me. I always pictured an SUV to have the ability to go off-roading every now and then. I live in LA but picked up an AWD because my thinking was I might need it someday. 1 month later I tried hiking and loved it and now go every weekend. Part of these hikes take me into areas where AWD is needed so I'm glad I purchased AWD.
I would recommend it, just because you don't need it now doesn't mean you won't need it someday.
The last part of this yes, but the first part... these aren't SUVs, in the offroading sense, really. I have a hard time understanding why anyone would buy a "non-rugged" vehicle and go offroading. And with < 8" ground clearance, LOL.
Off roading doesn't necessarily mean "muddin'" or "hill climbing", but it does include slippery, uneven surfaces where AWD pays off ten fold. Gravel roads and pull offs to go hiking are perfect examples...
Exactly what I meant. The majority of hikes I do usually requires to drive on dirt/gravel roads. Here's the one I did last week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbHVAw9W_GE
Took me about 20 minutes of driving on that road at 5-10 MPH to get to the parking lot. I would hate driving thru that in a FWD car.
I live in Colorado (wait, really?) So AWD was natural.
Atlanta? Think you'll be fine with FWD.
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It won't be "pretty" forever. It will be just like that pickup before too long, "old".And that's in a Jeep which sits much higher. Not sure about y'all but I have no intention of taking my car out on even a flat gravel lot, if I can avoid it. It's too "pretty" of a vehicle for me to consider for non-paved type driving. My old pickups, sure. But not this thing... Even with AWD.
JMO.
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