I guess the definition of "need" depends on your personal views. Heck, I don't "need" anything. I'll agree, I don't need my Subaru, but it makes things a heck of a lot easier. I never have to say "the weather looks bad, maybe I should wait till later" or "that road hasn't been plowed, maybe I should find another route". I like just being able to go no matter the conditions. And when on the highway, I can generally keep 60-70mph year round. Now, this is largely because of the AWD, but a LOT of it has to do with the tires. I put some brand new All seasons on and left them because apparently we're not having more than a couple weeks of winter this year in upstate/western/central/whatever NY. But, the day or two where we did have some slick stuff I can see what a major problem is. It's the lack of smoothness. In other words, with my Blizzaks on the Subaru I can drive pretty much normally year round. Don't get me wrong, I have to slow down more for turns and things, but not NEAR the level that is required with all seasons, and even though AWD doesn't help you in stopping, you can definitely take corners a little faster since if you keep your foot on the gas a bit it will pull you through in most situations.
BUT with the all seasons, I find myself in more of the "woah, that could get me in trouble" situations. Like accelerating up a hill.. "hey these tires stick pretty good!", then I hit a bit more of a center crest in the road and it starts sliding sideways towards the ditch. Not fun. I find it similar to 2WD driving. You no longer have the vehicle as a whole. You have either the front or the rear acting on it's own heading sideways... Of course with the all seasons I can largely just put the accelerator to the floor when taking an empty intersection from a stop and let the rear end hang out about half-way and then it just pulls itself straight. (: I agree completely that FWD and even RWD can get you through MOST of the situations if you are willing to compromise. But there is no comparison in "real" traction. I've driven FWD's and RWD's with studs and snow tires. The FWD's do pretty good, but it's still easy to get them stuck once you get a little bit of snow under one end. RWD, forget it. The second you leave dry pavement, or encounter a little bit of snow or ice they are useless. You either have one wheel spinning like mad and going nowhere, or with a locker you have two wheels spinning and heading for the ditch and you're still not going forwards... Also, don't confuse me with one of the "oh I have 4wd, I'm safe from anything" idiots. I have a pretty good idea what my car does in various conditions. And if nothing else, I can realize when I'm at that fine line of "well, it seems to be doing well, but I could potentially start sliding at any time, so I'm going to try to be prepared for it" Levi Sorry for the rant, but over the years I've grown to feel pretty strongly about it. For that matter so as my wife. (and yes she is the typical mechanically un-inclined) On 3/7/06, Peter Frederick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Most SUV and minivan type vehicles on a truck chassis (and pickup > trucks, particularly the VERY tall ones currently popular), will > overturn if sliding on wet or icy pavement when they hit a crub. They > can also roll over in accidents, even fairly minor ones (lots of pics > in the paper of minivans upside-down). > > Very unsafe, should never have been allowed to be sold to the public. > Minor road disturbances or potholes will cause them to flip under hard > cornering or braking, and dropping a wheel off the pavement will > usually cause a rollover. > > The foolish things people buy... I've got a young friend salivating > over a Land Rover Freelander (he's a grad student, of all things) -- > bad case of extra testosterone, I think. Must have a new girlfriend or > something. > > I won't ever buy one, that's for sure -- for one thing, I've never even > been stuck in snow other than the time I parked in a snowdrift I didn't > see -- no need for four wheel drive even. > > Peter >
