FWD vs AWD??

7eregrine said:
My driveway isn't even that steep. I talk about it frequently here and I imagine anyone that has read those posts must think I live up a mammoth hill. It's NOT that steep, but steep enough to the point that NO FWD car can easily get into it when there's any appreciable amount of snow on it. So, yea, I basically paid $1,200 extra just to not have to play the "Getting in my driveway" game. Back into the neighbor's drive and get a running start. Ono! Almost made it. Try again. With the CX-5 I can BACK IN when there is ANY amount of snow.
Not to mention 2 winters ago I had to rush my wife to the hospital and my car got stuck at the end of my driveway in a big drift because I was kind of in a panic as you can imagine and turned a bit early to back out. I promise my CX-5 wouldn't have had that issue. Car was so stuck my neighbor ran her to the hospital.
Yea, never again.
But, believe it or not I was still on the fence. Major downside: AWD kind of sucks because you cannot just replace one tire. No no no. If the tires are anything less then like new and you destroy one you need to replace ALL 4! Seriously. And AWD demands you rotate tires religiously to prevent uneven wear. I've never been a big "rotater" but I am now.
Finally there is resale as was mentioned. You're AWD vehicle is easily going to fetch a few dollars more at resale AND be more attractive to most buyers.
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You should always rotate tires religiously.
You can have a tire "shaved" to match the other 3, although that feels like throwing money away, it's better than throwing 300% the money and then some away I guess. I've honestly never had a flat so bad I had to trash the tire though, so I consider it a rarity.
 
brillo54 said:
No, I'd advocate for winter tires in that situation. I know winter tires aren't an option for everyone but it could be a consideration.
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Yes, but how much more does this cost than AWD and all-weather or all-season tires, having an extra set of rims etc? I am using WRG3 SUV's, and so far I have only had them in a LITTLE bit of snow. They did pretty well, although not enough snow to really judge by, yet. I will see how they do next winter and do a proper write-up on them over 1 year of use. I hate these "I had 'em for like, 1500 miles, so..." type tire reviews.
 
Unobtanium said:
Yes, but how much more does this cost than AWD and all-weather or all-season tires, having an extra set of rims etc? I am using WRG3 SUV's, and so far I have only had them in a LITTLE bit of snow. They did pretty well, although not enough snow to really judge by, yet. I will see how they do next winter and do a proper write-up on them over 1 year of use. I hate these "I had 'em for like, 1500 miles, so..." type tire reviews.
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It cost me less for my winter set up ($400 for wheels, $500 for tires) than AWD (list was $1200 I think back when I bought my '16). But consider this, every mile I put on my winter tires is a mile I don't put on my OE tires. I have 29.5K miles on the odometer now, 9K on the winters and 20.5K on the Toyos. Long term the cost of rubber is about a wash, it's just spread over 2 sets of tires over a longer period. So my true cost is just for the wheels since I do the swap myself.
 
brillo54 said:
It cost me less for my winter set up ($400 for wheels, $500 for tires) than AWD (list was $1200 I think back when I bought my '16). But consider this, every mile I put on my winter tires is a mile I don't put on my OE tires. I have 29.5K miles on the odometer now, 9K on the winters and 20.5K on the Toyos. Long term the cost of rubber is about a wash, it's just spread over 2 sets of tires over a longer period. So my true cost is just for the wheels since I do the swap myself.
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How often do you buy a new awd option? Lol...

I get what you're saying on the rubber being a wash. Sure is a pain to swap it all the time though, or deal with poor handling etc. On sunny 70 degree days just to prepare for the ice that night.
 
Unobtanium said:
How often do you buy a new awd option? Lol...

I get what you're saying on the rubber being a wash. Sure is a pain to swap it all the time though, or deal with poor handling etc. On sunny 70 degree days just to prepare for the ice that night.
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I think I get what you're saying about buying a new awd option, but unless I crunch a wheel I don't have to rebuy them either. And wheels don't require fluid changes. lol

Honestly, swapping wheels/tires twice a year isn't that bad (usually mid November and late March for me). I've been able to do the November switch instead of a needed tire rotation so that helps. There aren't any 70 degree days here during the winter so that's not a problem for me. I can understand why a true winter tire isn't a great choice for your area and climate.
 
brillo54 said:
I think I get what you're saying about buying a new awd option, but unless I crunch a wheel I don't have to rebuy them either. And wheels don't require fluid changes. lol

Honestly, swapping wheels/tires twice a year isn't that bad (usually mid November and late March for me). I've been able to do the November switch instead of a needed tire rotation so that helps. There aren't any 70 degree days here during the winter so that's not a problem for me. I can understand why a true winter tire isn't a great choice for your area and climate.
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Yeah, if I had a "solid" winter season, I'd do what you do, but about 6mo out of the year here, it can snow. Or be 70.

I'd never give up awd though
 
brillo54 said:
No, I'd advocate for winter tires in that situation. I know winter tires aren't an option for everyone but it could be a consideration.
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Want to know one of the factors for why I traded in my M4? Seasonal Tire changes and tire trees in my garage. It gets old and unless I'm driving in the Rubicon, I don't see why I need anytrhing beyond all-seasons & AWD.
 
I'm on my second CX5, first one was FWD, current one is AWD. AWD is far superior for any kind of bad weather, gas mileage difference is insignificant from my point of view.
 
madar said:
I'm on my second CX5, first one was FWD, current one is AWD. AWD is far superior for any kind of bad weather, gas mileage difference is insignificant from my point of view.
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Agree 100%. Same scenario here, I have had them both also, and I would not get a FWD again.

The greatest benefit for the FWD is the cost. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to maintain, cheaper to refuel, cheaper to insure, cheaper to keep tires on.
 
FWD:
- Better gas mileage (though I seem to get pretty bad mpg with our FWD CX-5 LOL. When I say bad, I mean I can't hit the EPA estimated combined MPG for a FWD CX-5). I'm not so sure that the mpg difference is insignificant between the FWD and AWD. I would be curious to see what kind of mpg I get with an AWD CX-5. Definitely curious to see what kind of MPG Kaps and brillo would get if they were driving an AWD CX-5.
- Cheaper to purchase

AWD
- Better drivability in bad weather conditions, even when it's just raining. (I had some pretty annoying experiences with our FWD CX-5 where I was trying to make a right turn at a intersection, on wet roads, and our CX-5 just couldn't get traction even if I wasn't flooring it.)
- If you love driving spiritedly, I think you'll have more fun with an AWD CX-5.
 
brillo54 said:
No, I'd advocate for winter tires in that situation. I know winter tires aren't an option for everyone but it could be a consideration.
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Me too but if you've got real hills + snow to contend with you kinda want both..steep uphill without momentum, weight is shifting rearward..even with good winter tires- fwd = no bueno. Is it a pita..yes but if it keeps you mobile and generally out of harms way I'm much happier to pay and deal with those vs tech nannies like radar cruise, lane keep assist, etc. I went with a performance winter tire that preserves the handling response while giving me better than AS levels of snow/ice grip. I went with XI2s for next time as I wanted a bit more snow bias and lower noise.
 
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This is why I have an AWD car with Snow Tires. I want him (and my wife) in the safest thing possible. Nuff Said
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No sprinkles? FAIL!! Haha nice man yeah wife's Highlander with Blizzies is a snow tank..we don't dick around!
 
In my mind there is really no point in getting a CUV unless you get the AWD. Only exceptions would be if you legitimately are in an area where you don't need it, but even then, as others have said, it is useful on a variety of surfaces and conditions.

Pros:
The AWD will perform better in a variety of conditions.
The AWD will be welcome if you are a spirited driver like I am.
Having AWD will help the resale value if that matters to you.
For the snow tire folks, while FWD + snow tires are perfectly competent, AWD + Snows will be even more so.

Cons:
As others have said, if your tires are at all worn and you have to replace one, you will have to replace all 4. AWD requires that all tires be of the same wear levels. This also means that you need to be religious with your tire rotations.
Slightly worse gas mileage.
Slightly more expensive upfront cost.
 
ColoradoDriver said:
In my mind there is really no point in getting a CUV unless you get the AWD. Only exceptions would be if you legitimately are in an area where you don't need it, but even then, as others have said, it is useful on a variety of surfaces and conditions.
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Totally agree. I live in Minneapolis. There are only 2 months out of the year where I've never seen snow (yes, even June once). And I live on hill on a street that's not on the top of the plow list so we often have deep snow on our street 2-3 days after a blizzard.

And while I realize that I can get winter tires and swap every 6 months, it's that kind of P.I.T.A. that makes me want an all wheel drive vehicle in the first place.

If I didn't need all wheel drive, I'd be getting a Mazda 6 with the turbo as I don't really need the extra cargo room since my wife has a minivan. Besides, my Mazda dealer told me they don't even have FWD CX-5's since no one around here buys them.
 
Monterra said:
No sprinkles? FAIL!! Haha nice man yeah wife's Highlander with Blizzies is a snow tank..we don't dick around!
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Is he doing a gang sign LOL?

But totally agree. I'm sold on the snow tires. They came in very handy during the snow storms. That said, it stinks in Colorado, because between the snowstorms, it's 70 degrees and wearing out the snow tires faster LOL. I was in the mountains over the weekend and it snowed Friday and Saturday. But then yesterday was 70 again LOL!
 
ColoradoDriver said:
Is he doing a gang sign LOL?

But totally agree. I'm sold on the snow tires. They came in very handy during the snow storms. That said, it stinks in Colorado, because between the snowstorms, it's 70 degrees and wearing out the snow tires faster LOL. I was in the mountains over the weekend and it snowed Friday and Saturday. But then yesterday was 70 again LOL!
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Truth....my son told me it was 80 one day and whiteout conditions the next just a week ago
 
Haha yeah wth 7? You guys do get some wild swings out there..I'd probably stick to something like the Dunlop Wintersports or the like (firmer compound) that don't go all doughy when temps rise but still give you decent grip on snow along with pretty impressive tread life..mine probably went close to 40k which was impressive still enough meat to run them out this summer locally and on rainy days where my Yoko Advans w/about 20k on them in the X1 are dangerous.
 
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