Why get AWD?

santa said:
Well, I can tell how many times that has happened to me: zero times as in never.
And if it's that big a safety advantage, it makes me wonder AWD hasn't been required by law like ABS and ESP.
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It's a big safety advantage depending on the situation you are facing. Those situations will not be present all the time when you drive, so it doesn't make AWD a requirement for driving. It is certainly nice to have.

I have a scenario for you. This actually happened in real life here in the US. You are stopped at a traffic light. You look behind in your rearview mirror and there is a dump truck coming up quickly with no signs of stopping. Your best chance of escape, is to either run straight through traffic or make a right turn to get out of the way of the truck (which is what one of the drivers did). Would you rather be in a FWD, RWD or AWD vehicle?

Let's make the situation a little more dire. It is raining pretty badly while you're stopped at the traffic light. Would you rather be in a FWD, RWD or AWD vehicle?

Edit: For the scenarios, the tires are the same on all cars, FWD, RWD and AWD.
 
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One of my possible exits from work (depending upon what campus I'm on) is a right hand turn up a hill. If its raining, you have to crawl out into traffic to avoid spinning your wheels with front wheel drive. Then add in traffic bearing down on you, consisting of an ever impatient group of drivers who seem to think everyone and everything is an obstacle ruining their drive. Of course, stupid traction control kicks in when the wheels start spinning, and the gas pedal goes limp. Fun times I tell ya.

I can't ever see going back to front wheel drive... or rear wheel drive for that matter. Its AWD or nothing for me. Even if its only needed or preferred a few times a month.
 
I have AWD here in Sunny south Florida. I don't think the AWD has ever actually engaged. So I have heavier vehicle with slightly less fuel economy that cost over $1k more.
All that said, I believe tire quality reins supreme when it comes to safety and handling.
 
ScottLive5 said:
I have AWD here in Sunny south Florida. I don't think the AWD has ever actually engaged. So I have heavier vehicle with slightly less fuel economy that cost over $1k more.
All that said, I believe tire quality reins supreme when it comes to safety and handling.
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If you've driven in the rain I'm positive it has engaged. In fact, one of the reasons we feel the AWD CX5 gets lower MPGs than competitors is that the AWD system is very predictive in nature, thus engaging far more often than the driver would think, or even perceive.
 
Or for some reason you park your car on a grassy field and go to a concert/party/whatever and it start to rain. You get back on your car and now you have to drive off this wet grassy field. Add some small grassy bumps and dips if you want to make it more interesting.
 
santa said:
Well, I can tell how many times that has happened to me: zero times as in never.
And if it's that big a safety advantage, it makes me wonder AWD hasn't been required by law like ABS and ESP.
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Obviously you don't look in your rear view mirror when at a light and cars approaching you from the rear. You should start doing so. That's like a basic safety skill while driving. My foot hits the brake, my eyes briefly look up in my rear view. Every single time. The amount of distracted drivers in today's driving world is way too high to not do this simple task.
 
banjos-n-beer said:
If you've driven in the rain I'm positive it has engaged. In fact, one of the reasons we feel the AWD CX5 gets lower MPGs than competitors is that the AWD system is very predictive in nature, thus engaging far more often than the driver would think, or even perceive.
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+1 this. I really think the AWD kicks in more than we realize.
 
santa said:
Personally I don't see any really safety advantage with AWD if You drive on normal roads and drive normally.
Good tires are much more important as well as controlling the throttle.
Remember AWD doesn't help the car to stay on the road during braking and ***cornering*** (which many people driving with AWD seems to forget).
Now if You go slightly of road, drive in a lot of snow or drive on very poor roads, AWD can very helpful (or even necessary).
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tumblr_oqg9j0Ty0G1w646c4o1_500.gif
 
I'm with the OP, you don't need it often, most times it's a 'luxury'. But on the odd occasion you need to accelerate (particularly while cornering/and or going uphill in wet/snow/ice/gravel/sand), whether that's your own poor judgement, or someone else's,...it's AWFUL damn nice to have.

The rest of the time, it's simply more fun to drive.

It's also really nice if you're driving in the snow. Not only for the 'normal' snow driving traction but when you come across those times where there's only a narrow worn path in the snow and an coming vehicle, it's easy to drive in to the snow bank and back out when they pass.
 
banjos-n-beer said:
If you've driven in the rain I'm positive it has engaged. In fact, one of the reasons we feel the AWD CX5 gets lower MPGs than competitors is that the AWD system is very predictive in nature, thus engaging far more often than the driver would think, or even perceive.
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I have one neighbor with a Honda CRV and another with a Hyundai Tucson. When both go up the hill or their driveway when it's icy or a snowing there is a lot of front wheel spin (several seconds) before it engages the rear. So I think this is probably true of a lot. The ones that from my experience/research that definitely work well in addition to Mazda are Ford and Subaru.


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If we want a 100% safety advantage, might as well just leave ones vehicle parked and locked up then just sit on a very sturdy chair somewhere where the roof won't fall in or the walls cave in and not move at all. Then one is all but guaranteed a 100% safety advantage!

AWD is beneficial in certain circumstances and it should be remembered that in pretty much most cases, the CX-5 will be in FWD mode anyway.
 
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Unobtanium said:
Yep. I used to argue about how AWD was a non-issue, and had all the same arguments I see time and time again. Then I ended up with an AWD Grand Jeep Cherokee w/HEMI, and my entire perspective changed. Like you said, you don't know what you're missing in EVERY situation until you try it. I love the "you shouldn't drive aggressively...but I bought a CX5 because it feels good to drive it aggressively" arguments, lol! I am honestly having trouble figuring out what sports car I eventually want to buy, because I don't want to spend 991/911 4S money, I don't like the GT-R, the WRX STi doesn't do it for me, and the EVO X got the axe. We need a $35-65K AWD performance vehicle in this market!
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+1 for Golf r: practical + go fast but to me spend a little more on a reliable used awd cx5 plus a reliable rwd twin or rf for fun on nice days. Good video though, agree with your point and until i willingly bought into the driveway from hell i got through *plenty* of snow with my rwd drive toyotas on winter rubber. Since awd became a requirement i didn't really want but is also a year round value added safety feature as you say..at a cost though both upfront and at the pump. If winter wasn't as much of a concern I'd probably go fwd gt vs awd touring at least in gen1 car, gen2 touring is more appealing now imo and it would be more of a tossup.
 
So has there been anybody here yet who had an AWD and went back to FWD only?
(dark)

There is virtually no wheelspin from the front on the Mazda before the rear kicks in. I have observed it from the outside dozens of times. It also kicks in much more than you have an idea of. Depends on ambient temp, wiper switch operation, steering wheel angle, and many more, as they activate the AWD system as well.

Here is more info on the AWD system from MAZDA.
http://www.mazda.com/en/innovation/technology/safety/active_safety/i-activawd/
 
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mazdadude said:
So has there been anybody here yet who had an AWD and went back to FWD only?
(dark)
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My wife and I have gone back and forth between FWD and AWD vehicles. We live in snow country and I definitely prefer AWD for climbing grades in the snow. We decided that one of our cars needs to have AWD + ground clearance for those occasions where we have to go somewhere in the middle of a snow storm on unplowed/partially plowed roads.

Aside from traveling in snow, I think the performance advantage of having AWD in a car like the CX-5 with its modest power output and minimal torque steer isn't that great. The tires you put on the car will dictate how fast you can corner far more than AWD vs. FWD.
 
Exactly, this isn't a question that'll have the same answer for everyone. It really depends where you live and in what conditions you drive. That's why Mazda offers it both ways.


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jhu8 said:
just get a Jeep GC SRT. that thing literally does everything.
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If you've seen my previous posts, that's where I've been leaning for quite some time (years, to be honest). Will see if I end up buying this house or not. I personally was not ready to buy, but you know, when you see something that REALLY tugs at your heart-strings...well...so I am working on getting pre-qualified for an RDA loan ($0 down, pretty sweet deal if you look into them, honestly).

Time will tell, but the financing agent, given my info, seemed quite up-beat.
 
I could probably rock a Macan. Mazda really should put the 2.5T in the CX-5. For someone who doesn't care about the premium badge and just wants a refined, fast, and well sorted CUV this would be perfect. As it is it checks all boxes but fast. But we digress.


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