Any help on 2wd vs 4wd

[ferg1018]

Is it worth it? I do live in Boston with a fair amount of snow. I certainly won't be plowing thru snow piles so is it necessary or just a gimmick?

[ThisWas]

I've had a variety of cars with RWD, FWD and AWD. 4WD on the CR-V adds expense, weight and complexity. I chose 4WD anyway just for the added security. I figure that one avoided accident over the life of the car will pay for the extra expense. (We're supposed to get more snow here in N.H. than you do but in the past few winters MA seems to get clobbered worse in snow storms.)

If you go with Front-Wheel-Drive, then you should plan on spending an extra $800 on a set of 4 winter wheels with real snow tires on them. I may put snows on my 4WD CR-V (but I keep getting sniped on those eBay wheels, so I may just see how good the all-season Duelers are in snow.) A real snow tire is soft and has blocky treads, and snows transformed my FWD cars into real snowmobiles. Snow tires also improve your winter braking, which 4WD won't do. I figure the extra set of wheels are an expense but the tires themselves don't cost much more than the wear&tear I'm saving on my summer tires, if you know what I mean. Only problem is where to store extra tires and wheels all year round.

[bing]

Personally, I prefer 4wd for the "bang for the buck". It does cost more initially but resale in areas with snow helps a lot. I agree that snow tires are worth the cost but if sometimes, the 4wd comes in handy in wet conditions too.

Let us know which version you decide on?

Bing

['Curly Q Links']

It will cost you more every time you buy a vehicle in the future, since you can never go back unless you move to a different climate.

You will be seriously hooked on AWD the first few times you feel it 'get out and push' you out of potential trouble.

:D

[Visiting_Guest]

the real time awd is the difference of you staying on the highway in snow vs hitting a guard rail. its that simple

best thing about AWD is that it only engages when necessary, which, even tho it may happen only a few times, I live in new england too, and it has saved my ass every single time its engaged, ltierally one time a life saver

I was on my way to NH to go skiing, some IDIOT was going about 65 in a blizzard, i kept my distance and was going about 40 on a decently plowed rt 95. the guy MISSES HIS EXIT, but decides to slam on the breaks and cut from the highspeed lane and try n make the exit.

long story short the awd in the CRV saved me from having a major, serious, accident because it kept me on the road and regained control of my car

that is why you should get it

[sleeksilver]

AWD...

Higher resale value, added safety factor.

[CollegeProf]

What if you live in the South and it never snows? Do you see the real value if you live somewhere where it does indeed snow and/or you want to take it offroad? I had this discussion with someone the other day before I bought mine. I had the AWD on the first CRV (obviously) then never used it on my Pilot. Just curious what you guys think--

[Dragonfly]

What if you live in the South and it never snows?

I made the same point on another thread. I had a Jeep Cherokee for seven years here and used the 4WD exactly twice (once was on black ice where it did no good, anyway). I saved about a grand buying a FWD V, get marginally better gas mileage and less mechanical complications. I think if you check Edmunds you'll see that FWD V's hold their value just as well as AWD's.

Another plus for me was the availability, in 06, of a FWD EX. I got all the extras I wanted in a front wheel drive vehicle. Had I bought in 05, I would have had to buy an AWD to get an EX.

If I lived in the snow belt, you betcha I'd buy an AWD, but this far south of the Mason/Dixon, it really makes less sense.

[CollegeProf]

Thanks Dragonfly. We decided (at the last minute) to save the $1,200 and get the FWD and not the AWD on the new CRV. It NEVER snows here next to the Gulf where we are located and besides going to the beach occasionally, we never go "off road."

[mrtn]

then you made the right decision - you'll save a few bucks in maintenance as well.

[mkaresh]

I've had a variety of cars with RWD, FWD and AWD. 4WD on the CR-V adds expense, weight and complexity. I chose 4WD anyway just for the added security. I figure that one avoided accident over the life of the car will pay for the extra expense. (We're supposed to get more snow here in N.H. than you do but in the past few winters MA seems to get clobbered worse in snow storms.)

If you go with Front-Wheel-Drive, then you should plan on spending an extra $800 on a set of 4 winter wheels with real snow tires on them. I may put snows on my 4WD CR-V (but I keep getting sniped on those eBay wheels, so I may just see how good the all-season Duelers are in snow.) A real snow tire is soft and has blocky treads, and snows transformed my FWD cars into real snowmobiles. Snow tires also improve your winter braking, which 4WD won't do. I figure the extra set of wheels are an expense but the tires themselves don't cost much more than the wear&tear I'm saving on my summer tires, if you know what I mean. Only problem is where to store extra tires and wheels all year round.

If you need winter tires to avoid accidents with FWD, then you should also have them with AWD. I had some for the first time this year (on a FWD car), and they make a HUGE difference vs. all-seasons. They get less of a push in advertising than AWD even though they make a larger difference for safety because they're never a new car option.

As you note, AWD doesn't help with braking. It is also of little to no benefit with cornering. The main benefit of AWD is that it helps you get moving, and makes you much less likely to get stuck in deep snow or on icy hills.

People here who claim AWD has saved their lives and helped avoid accidents, what are the exact scenarios? Did you accelerate out of a bad situation? If your foot wasn't on the gas, I'm having a hard time seeing how AWD made a critical difference.

One thing in favor of AWD on the CR-V: it's only $1,200. This is very low compared to the typical cost of AWD, around $1,700.

[etc]

i completely agree with Dragonfly and mkaresh - awd/4wd is extremely rarely used if all you do is drive on the road
and cr-v's realtime 4wd is highly overrated when it comes to offroading
so it really doesnt matter if it snows or not - get a fwd cr-v
it would save you many maintenance issues too as mrtn said
if you want 4wd get it with a real offroader

[jchoong]

I have owned CRVs that are FWD and AWD, and believe me, there is a significant difference. Without AWD, when one takes off from a stand-still, you can feel a lot of torque steer and loss of control. Also with AWD you can feel so much more traction in going up steep carparks (particularly when wet) and when you have to stop and move. This is because AWD is activated when the CRV is moving from a standstill.

[mkaresh]

I have owned CRVs that are FWD and AWD, and believe me, there is a significant difference. Without AWD, when one takes off from a stand-still, you can feel a lot of torque steer and loss of control. Also with AWD you can feel so much more traction in going up steep carparks (particularly when wet) and when you have to stop and move. This is because AWD is activated when the CRV is moving from a standstill.

Have you bolted a supercharger onto your CR-V's engine? I wasn't aware that torque steer was a major issue with these vehicles.

Additional traction when going uphill on a slick surface or in deep snow is a definite benefit, though. Not much of the latter in Singapore.

[jchoong]

I have owned CRVs that are FWD and AWD, and believe me, there is a significant difference. Without AWD, when one takes off from a stand-still, you can feel a lot of torque steer and loss of control. Also with AWD you can feel so much more traction in going up steep carparks (particularly when wet) and when you have to stop and move. This is because AWD is activated when the CRV is moving from a standstill.

Have you bolted a supercharger onto your CR-V's engine? I wasn't aware that torque steer was a major issue with these vehicles.

Additional traction when going uphill on a slick surface or in deep snow is a definite benefit, though. Not much of the latter in Singapore.

You don't need a supercharger to induce torque steer and wheel spin on a CRV - even when the engine is only 2L (this is what we get in Singapore). Yes, no snow in Singapore, but we have a lot of multi-story carparks! When I had the 2WD CRV my wife would not drive it for fear of these multi-story carparks with fairly steep access. However with the AWD CRV she has no problems because of the excellent traction.

[Skrapiron]

I lived just south of Cleveland for 31 years. I grew up with lake-effect snow, driving in rear-wheel drive cars (and pickups) for about quarter of that time.

I didn't have a front wheel drive car until 1994. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. I didn't have a 4 wheel drive until I bought my 1997 Passport.

You don't NEED 4wd for anything except off-roading. If you have good tires and pay attention to what you're doing, you'll get along just fine.

4wd gives idiot drivers an unnatural confidence that usually gets them in trouble. Instead of slowing down for the conditions, they think "Hey,I got 4 wheel drive.." and usually end up in a ditch or attached to a light pole.

[Racoon]

Have you bolted a supercharger onto your CR-V's engine? I wasn't aware that torque steer was a major issue with these vehicles.
I can fairly easily get my 1999 CR-V to display torque steer, but I do have to accelerate very hard to do it. Under normal acceleration it's not an issue.

:)

[liquidfuel88]

hey Racoon, someone just posted LOTS of spam in various threads :evil:

[Racoon]

hey Racoon, someone just posted LOTS of spam in various threads :evil:
I think I got it all, but thanks for the warning.

:(

[liquidfuel88]

hey Racoon, someone just posted LOTS of spam in various threads :evil:
I think I got it all, but thanks for the warning.

:(

you're welcome

and btw, they are at it again... :evil:

http://www.hondasuv.com/stg/viewtopic.php?t=8487

and

http://www.hondasuv.com/stg/viewtopic.php?t=9524&start=15

[Racoon]

hey Racoon, someone just posted LOTS of spam in various threads :evil:
I think I got it all, but thanks for the warning.
and btw, they are at it again... :evil:
Also gone...

:evil:

[liquidfuel88]

hey Racoon, someone just posted LOTS of spam in various threads :evil:
I think I got it all, but thanks for the warning.
and btw, they are at it again... :evil:
Also gone...

:evil:

still more!!! :evil: :evil: :evil:

now in Pilot forums and club talks :evil:

can't Bing just completely disable guest posting?

[mrtn]

these robots can easily break the forum database once they go haywire. for this reason most of the forums even have distorted text verification codes to preven automatic registration by bots.

[liquidfuel88]

Bing! Please block them!!!!

[bing]

I'm trying. Going to migrate to a new version soon!

Stay tuned.
Bing

[Robert]

This is because AWD is activated when the CRV is moving from a standstill.

Technically this is not true. The RT4WD is a reactionary system. It only activates once it detects the front wheels slipping. It is not designed to activate from a standstill. The closest it comes to doing this is if you get the front tires to spin right at takeoff. Then the rear wheels will kick in very soon afterwards. The RT4WD has only really been useful for me when driving in sand, deep mud or going up a slippery incline. I have had good success with it in sand and mud but have yet to use it in snow. Maybe some day.

[provench]

The more I read this thread ... the more I become sure that I do not need the AWD. I live in NC and will use this to travel to VA for business sometimes and even with snow it will be on major highways and FWD with VSA/TCS would see to be good enough for the occassional snow run. The relatively small $1200 net add makes it real tempting .... but ... :D

[liquidfuel88]

hey!

where in NC are you?

[provench]

hey!

where in NC are you?

Wake Forest, NC area ... drive an '05 TL 6MT now and looking to shave some $$ off my payment and get something a bit more versatile.

At this point ... my thoughts are go fo a 2WD EX-L and maybe wait it out for the Nav version.

[mkaresh]

I grew up in Virginia Beach. There would be very little point for AWD there. But I believe out west there's a bit more snow.

I now live in Michigan, and get plenty of snow. I went without winter tires for years on FWD vehicles, with little issue.

Then I moved to a new area where the county is responsible for plowing, such that deep snow can remain on neighborhood roads for 5-6 days sometimes. The first winter I got stuck 2-3 times just feet from my driveway. And I couldn't get up the inclined driveway with even an inch of snow on it.

I thought about getting an AWD vehicle to deal with these problems. But then I got winter tires instead--Michelin PA2s, which even sacrifice some snow traction for dry road performance--and have had no further problems. All-out winter tires should perform even better in the snow. Once you have them it will be hard to ever go back. The security when cornering and braking cannot be achieved any other way.

['Curly Q Links']

I'm trying. Going to migrate to a new version soon!

Could we get a "Report this Post to a Moderator" button for faster response?

It's time consuming to look up a moderator's / Bing's contact info . . .

[petebucy]

I lived just south of Cleveland for 31 years. I grew up with lake-effect snow, driving in rear-wheel drive cars (and pickups) for about quarter of that time.

I didn't have a front wheel drive car until 1994. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. I didn't have a 4 wheel drive until I bought my 1997 Passport.

You don't NEED 4wd for anything except off-roading. If you have good tires and pay attention to what you're doing, you'll get along just fine.

4wd gives idiot drivers an unnatural confidence that usually gets them in trouble. Instead of slowing down for the conditions, they think "Hey,I got 4 wheel drive.." and usually end up in a ditch or attached to a light pole.

I live in North Carolina and if you don’t have a vehicle with either part time 4WD or AWD you can really have a tough time in the snow, especially in the mountains.

Just try to the ascent to the Beech Mountain Ski Resort in a heavy snow with 2WD; it is very difficult if not impossible, even with tire chains. The local cops will turn you around if all you have is 2WD.

In addition to the 07 CR-V I have a 4x4 pickup truck and a 05 Honda Pilot AWD. The truck does very good in the snow; the Pilot AWD is fantastic in the snow. If I turn off 4-wheel drive on my truck, it just sits there and spins the tires; with 4WD engaged it can go just about anywhere. I have not taken the CR-V in the snow yet, but I suspect that it will perform as well as the Pilot.

Last year I was stuck in a line of cars that were trying to get to the top of Beech in a snow storm. The last thing that you want to do on this sort of steep climb is to have to stop. Some idiot in a BMW sports job lost traction and blocked the road. We sat there for twenty minutes until his car could be pushed off the road.

I was dreading the restart. In my 4WD truck this would have been a tense moment. It has a manual transmission and it can be a bit touchy getting it going again on such a steep slope without spinning the tires. Fortunately we took the Pilot.

As traffic started moving again several were struggling. They were sliding and some were having trouble getting traction. The Pilot with AWD had no problems at all and it still had the factory tires, not the best in snow, on it.

I like to make the climb at around 15 to 25 mph to keep some momentum on the switch-backs. The lead SUV was another Honda Pilot driven by a woman who must have been scared out of her wits. He crept up mountain at around 5 mph, way to slow for several cars to make the steep switch-backs. Most of them pulled over at the two turnoffs and waited for her to get out of the way. Both her Pilot and ours just chugged up the mountain.

My 4x4 pickup would have never been able to maintain the traction that the Pilot did with AWD on that mountain.

If I lived in Florida I would not spend the money on AWD. But in a state that sees snow, it is a worthwhile investment.

Pete

[petebucy]

The more I read this thread ... the more I become sure that I do not need the AWD. I live in NC and will use this to travel to VA for business sometimes and even with snow it will be on major highways and FWD with VSA/TCS would see to be good enough for the occassional snow run. The relatively small $1200 net add makes it real tempting .... but ... :D

I’m in Denver, NC, on Lake Norman. My first winter here I was coming back from Boone and ran into a blizzard that was moving north from South Carolina. What a freaking mess. I managed to keep in the tracks of the cars in front of me and stay on the road.

You could tell where traffic had stopped on the inclines because there were vehicles in the ditches and the median of I77. Finally, after four hours I made it to the off ramp for Harris Blvd. I was nearly home, or so I thought. The ramp was clogged with cars and trucks that could not make the incline and it was not a particularly steep incline.

While I sat there I watched dozens of 4x4 and AWD trucks and cars drive by us in the snow covered grass without losing traction. They were on their way home and it was looking like I was going to spend the night there.

After more than an hour the traffic going up the ramp had dwindled to almost nothing. The cop at the top of the off ramp had left and those of us who were stuck were pretty much on our own. It was then that I decided to try an old Florida get out of the sand trick and I severely lowered the pressure in the drive tires.

It worked. After a lot of spinning and sliding I finally made it to the top of the off ramp and continued the treacherous journey home. I bought a 4x4 pickup the next day. When another blizzard hit south Charlotte two days later I was the guy who was passing the cars that could not get up the off ramp and up the hills or over the overpasses.

During the first blizzard, one of my clients was stuck in his car for around 30 hours in the Asheville area because he could not make it up one of the steep grades on I40. He bought a Subaru the next week.

Even here in Denver, NC we can get enough snow to make driving very hazardous without 4WD or AWD. For the extra $20 or so that AWD costs on the CR-V, it really is worth it.

We own three vehicles; two of them are AWD and one is part-time 4WD. I would not go on snow with 2WD again.

Pete

[craverjd138]

My take on the 2WD vs. 4/AWD dilemma of the original poster:

A.) Cost. How much are you willing to pay? Does saving $1200 if you get the 2WD mean a lot to you?
B.) Lifestyle. Do you have to face nasty weather such as heavy snow (like in the ski mountains) or rain? If so, 4WD should be your choice.
C.) Location. Where you live or at least see yourself living for the next 5 years should influence your buying decision.

Buy the variant that you think you're comfortable with. Don't be deceived by the false security the 4/AWD supposedly could offer. It doesn't matter that much whether you have 2WD or 4/AWD while driving in unfavorable conditions. It's your common driving judgment that spells the difference. If FWD cars are at a disadvantage during a winter storm, how come we can still see a number of them during those times? You'll be alright.

[sleeksilver]

4WD all the way. It is worth more when you go to sell your vehicle and it has many other added benefits.

2WD if you live in Tucson, or any other beautiful place like that with no snow or bad weather :)

[liquidfuel88]

hey petebucy,

i'm in Hickory, NC! :D

['Curly Q Links']

. . . . 2WD if you live in Tucson, or any other beautiful place like that with no snow or bad weather :)

But don't forget about SAND and MUD. You can always find some of that if you're looking for it.

:wink:

[sleeksilver]

. . . . 2WD if you live in Tucson, or any other beautiful place like that with no snow or bad weather :)

But don't forget about SAND and MUD. You can always find some of that if you're looking for it.

:wink:

:lol:

Very true, but not all of us are looking for that.... I am though, no worries!

[canon9]

I live in North Carolina and it snows here once, sometimes a few times but melts normally in a day or so. I bought the 2WD. However, I am familiar with Boston and I would most definitely buy the 4WD if I lived there.