Being a long time AWD fan both on and off the track, I tend to be a bit opinionated on this subject (could you guys tell?). However while driving my spouses new FWD, vehicle in light rain over the weekend, I was really surprised at the ease that this brand new vehicle would lose traction or spin the wheels in very mild conditions. It seemed that at every other stoplight the traction control, or the stability control would kick in to “save me” from my self or my generally mild actions on the street.
Upon arriving at home I hopped into my AWD beater, a lower tech vestige from before the “save me from myself” electronic age. I drove over the same course to note the differences. The results actually surprised me. While this vehicle did not have modern traction control or stability control it actually took far more and very aggressive actions to achieve the same results. Basically it didn’t appear to need those controls. I had to do silly things in the wet to achieve the same loses in traction I was getting in normal commuting in the FWD.
With my curiosity peaked, I got home, and ran next door, out again in a brand new BMW 3 series. The result were generally in-between the AWD and the FWD. The BMW being a better example of sophisticated technology, was better than the FWD, but still not close to the AWD beater in the amount of grip and stability.
Three very different results from three different solutions to forward propulsion. Even under mild conditions where power was not typically a consideration, the results solidified my opinion yet again, on the benefits of AWD as the best solution for vehicle control in all types of driving.
What is your preference and why?