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Is all wheel drive worth the money?


ibba

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Is all wheel drive worth the money in Sri Lanka? These systems really make a difference in the snow but we don't have any of that in our little island paradise. ;)

However, we do have lots of rain and dirt/gravel roads. Will AWD provide any advantage in Sri Lankan conditions?

 

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'Worth the money' is the typical school of thought in our country, U see a car or a Van coming with 4wd / Awd is heavy and high on fuel consumption and 'no market'

Whereas a Pickup truck or Suv with 4wd has a higher demand rather than 2wd, only exception i've seen are Vezels and a few kias

IN my opinion having on-demand or automatic drive to the 4 wheels is really handy starting from a rainy day to a point you get stuck reversing on a hilly route to give way for another car, Its a luxury you would wish you had when you do get stuck. 

Of course there is a bit of added maintenance but nothing out of the ordinary in comparison to a 2wd car, unless you are trying to save even 0.5kmpl on the long run.

The opinion is subjective but the utility must be entirely decided on the vehicle and how you plan to use it.

As for me, whatever it may be, I'd prefer it be AWD or to fancy a 4wd drivetrain.

 

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Its little bit like having a spare wheel.

Ive never had to use it in the suvs for the last 10 years but you keep it although it weighs a little so you are safe in the event of a puncture. 

In the rain you will find the all wheel drive fancy and when you get stuck its great to have it. And when you get mildly stuck you dont need to muscle your way out by only 2 wheels.

And in some suvs its kind of a must. 

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Most of the 4WD/AWD which are available in SL are soft roaders (CRV, Rav4) are not much of use as they do not have sufficient ground clearance to manage off roading.

If you get a land rover, land cruiser, montero sport you will be able to make use of the systems to do the National Parks without much trouble.

 

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8 hours ago, ibba said:

The vehicle I'm thinking about has an "on demand" system. Not full time awd

Then you have the best of both worlds, a AWD system when needed and the ability to disconnect it to satisfy the "Sri Lankan Context". Especially on vehicle with a higher center of gravity, it makes even more sense.

Having said that, please keep in mind that any AWD is as good as the Tires it's attached to. So come the hour of need, bald tires will anyway trump all the bells and whistles the AWD has to offer.

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AWD is not just to get you out when you are stuck in mud or help you when the road is full of snow. AWD systems are setup so that it activates on a stand-still start, loose grip on cornering, etc....so yes AWD can be useful even when there is no snow.

Been having AWD cars for the better part of the last 2 decades....for me..yes it was "worth" it even in SL. My family travels quite a lot out of Colombo (and I have worked in areas that are quite sh****y) and the AWD has been quite useful. Apart from that...the AWD vehicles have stronger suspension components than sedans, etc...so whilst our Corollas and Fits and Civics went through several suspension component swaps the AWDs lasted a bit more.

Sri Lankans automatically think heavier cars are a lot worst on fuel consumption than lighter cars. Its really not too far off. Have plenty of friends who have the 2WD variants of the AWD vehicles I have had and there fuel consumption over long periods of time is highly negligible (and yes...they have all had times where they wished their 2WD variants were AWD).

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5 hours ago, iRage said:

AWD is not just to get you out when you are stuck in mud or help you when the road is full of snow. AWD systems are setup so that it activates on a stand-still start, loose grip on cornering, etc....so yes AWD can be useful even when there is no snow.

Been having AWD cars for the better part of the last 2 decades....for me..yes it was "worth" it even in SL. My family travels quite a lot out of Colombo (and I have worked in areas that are quite sh****y) and the AWD has been quite useful. Apart from that...the AWD vehicles have stronger suspension components than sedans, etc...so whilst our Corollas and Fits and Civics went through several suspension component swaps the AWDs lasted a bit more.

Sri Lankans automatically think heavier cars are a lot worst on fuel consumption than lighter cars. Its really not too far off. Have plenty of friends who have the 2WD variants of the AWD vehicles I have had and there fuel consumption over long periods of time is highly negligible (and yes...they havwhere they wished their 2WD variants were AWD).

Most of the SUV 2WD counterparts have similar suspension and ground clearance. Eg: CRV, Sorento, Sportage, Rav 4..

 

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50 minutes ago, kush said:

Most of the SUV 2WD counterparts have similar suspension and ground clearance. Eg: CRV, Sorento, Sportage, Rav 4..

 

I did say it has stronger components that sedans, etc....

In regards to your reference to CR-V, RAV-4 (and X-Trail); not all models of the 2WD and AWD variants have the same components. There have been instances where the tire/wheel sizes, spring rates, size of the struts, strut bars and their actual gauge, support braces, front differential, etc....have been different. In some cases the difference was between having EPS vs. having conventional hydraulic PS. So one needs to put a bit more research in to it when deciding to buy between a a 2WD and AWD variant of a certain model without automatically presuming that the only difference is the lack of AWD components.

Edited by iRage
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Recently switched to a Grand Vitara and Boy why wouldn't i love the All wheel Drive of this thing. at fraction of cost of Fuel, it gives a far reachability than my previous Car. Yes you have to take care of Differential and Transfer case oil etc, but i must say, it's well worth the extra cost. Even between 2WD Vitara and AWD variant, there's difference with Suspension, Lower Arms etc. 2WD version is little bit lower in Ground Clearance as well.

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Well, I'm looking at the Mazda CX5 and given this particular vehicle, I won't be taking it off road. So my main concern is whether on demand AWD will help handling and driving in rainy weather.

Also, I'm sure there's not much different between AWD and 2WD variants of this vehicle, except for weight and fuel consumption

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8 hours ago, Twin Turbo said:

Not unless you're a heavy 4x4 enthusiast.That way you'll ignore the slightly thirstier engine, and lower re-sale value.

Plus,all tyres need replacing at once.

I have to disagree. AWD and 4WD (4X4) are different things. A lot of people think they're the same thing. I use an AWD car and I am not a 4X4 enthusiast, but I really enjoy the stability of my car on twisty roads, bad weather and snow (and even on a daily basis on feeways etc.). 

Let me clarify: All wheel drive is when a car uses limited slip differentials or electronic clutches to split torque to each wheel as required. This means the car will remain remarkably stable as the wheels with the most grip receive the highest torque. 4WD is just a temporary setting that is switched on to lock front and rear differentials to create an equal torque split between the front and rear wheels. Having said that, there are AWD vehicles on which you can lock the diff., but not all AWD cars are 4X4.

54 minutes ago, ibba said:

Well, I'm looking at the Mazda CX5 and given this particular vehicle, I won't be taking it off road. So my main concern is whether on demand AWD will help handling and driving in rainy weather.

Also, I'm sure there's not much different between AWD and 2WD variants of this vehicle, except for weight and fuel consumption

I assume you're referring to Mazda's iActiv AWD system. There is a difference between the 2WD Cx-5 and the iActiv AWD version. You're just not going to notice it in city traffic. But if you're driven on a slippery road or if any of the wheels lose traction, the AWD system will definitely show it's colours. In your case (and I suppose the local context where we don't drive on snow or in the desert) , it's more of a safety feature where the car will be more stable than it's 2WD counterpart. 

As for maintenance, I doubt it will be that significant as members have stated above. The differential oil does require changing, but the interval is like 50,000km or so (please don't quote me on this), so it's not going to be frequent. I don't think fuel consumption will be drastically higher either as the iActiv system, like their SkyActiv system is meant to be very efficient. At least that's that they say. :)

 

Edited by Davy
Corrected typo
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4 hours ago, ibba said:

Well, I'm looking at the Mazda CX5 and given this particular vehicle, I won't be taking it off road. So my main concern is whether on demand AWD will help handling and driving in rainy weather.

Also, I'm sure there's not much different between AWD and 2WD variants of this vehicle, except for weight and fuel consumption

Yes it will help you with handling in rainy weather....even wading the flooded roads of Colombo....you won't feel the system come in and out but you will feel it in how it drives.

The weight difference between the 2WD and AWD variants in most cases is about 60kg....but then even with that extra weight the fuel consumption is not that different...

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Well it depends.

My Hiace has AWD, the full time AWD. For me it's well worth it. 

MyHiace goes to places where the 2WD models struggle to. 

Tyres last longer as they don't get wasted due spinning without grip

Handling is superior in comparison to RWD. People who have driven my van say it feels better to drive than the 2WD models

As mentioned by others here the fuel economy isn't far off to the extent that you would be worried

Second market is neither better not worse. I have had offers from around Kandy area for my van mainly cuz it's 4WD as the 2WD models struggle to get around steep hills in and around Kandy. However, at the same time people from flat areas of Sri Lanka wouldn't want to buy the 4WD model I guess.

Edited by Magnum
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On 4/14/2018 at 1:48 AM, Junkfriend said:

only time I regret having all wheel drive is that its hard to spin wheels no matter how you try, not that its important but sometimes I miss that when I feel like making some noise :D

 

Turn the traction control off, if stability won't go off turn that off too, but don't quote me on this if something serious happen :action-smiley-060:

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2 hours ago, john cooper said:

Turn the traction control off, if stability won't go off turn that off too, but don't quote me on this if something serious happen :action-smiley-060:

No...really hard on most crossovers unless its on loose gravel. Even then it will only be for a fraction of a second.

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AWD - function use as a safety feature in my opinion and it's works really well, Safety come last in the list for most of the SL motorist.

Last time when i was at SL few said to me about the seat belt law and they were pissed about that, they only follow that because of the  law not because of the safety. :D

How much your life worth? most of you struggle to think of a number. :lol: So don't worry about the extra liter of fuel that you burn for safety. 

Any money you spending for safety is an investment.

regards

JC 

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Modern day AWD comes in different types.

1. Full time AWD: vehicle stays on AWD mode all the time and vehicle will have a center differential which will alter the power going to the front and rear wheels to allow the vehicle to steer without an issue.

2. On demand AWD: the vehicle stays primarily as 2WD(most FWD) and the vehicle automatically kicks in the AWD system when it detects loss of grip on the primary 2 wheels

3. Part time AWD: This is similar to the on demand system, only difference is that the user has to press a button to turn on the AWD system. This could be called as 4WD as well.

Edited by Magnum
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There you go....to sum everything up....you have all the facts...for the slightly higher price tag and slightly lower fuel efficiency you get quite a few benefits in terms of safety, driveability and utility.

At the end of the day it all depends on you and what you intend to do with the car. If you are only going to be using it to  go to the local super market on weekends, then the practicality of the AWD variant would be questionable.

As for resell-ability....we have never had problems selling off our AWDs. As long as the prices (after depreciation) are reasonable then it will sell. Only time we got hit by a huge and utter loss was when the duty structure changed. So you have a greater risk of losing money because of the duty structure changes than because the car was AWD.

Edited by iRage
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