Canadian Drivers, AWD? Gimmick, Good to have, Must have?

So do you have a second set of rims/tires to swap out with? It seems like it would be problematic to remount a set tires twice per year.
Yes we have winter tires on rims and swap out. My car and sons are in the garage and my husband’s truck ones are storage at the dealership.
 
Where do you live? Dry snow or wet snow? How long is your winter and how much snow do you get?

I live in Nova Scotia. Most of our winter temps are in the -15C to +5C range. We get a lot of snow mixed with rain, freezing rain, black ice and other wet and icy types of snow. I drive a FWD Civic with winter tires and find they serve me well in our typical conditions. My previous vehicle was a Ford Explorer with optional 4WD - it was the only vehicle I've ever had with that option and I really only used it very rarely. I have a second set of rims and I switch sets of tires in early November and April/May. Don't forget that if you go with winters, although the upfront cost is higher, you won't be buying replacement tires with the same frequency because each set only gets a half a year's wear every year.

I would go with FWD/winters unless you live in a climate where winter temp are typically significantly above freezing or you only have cold/snowy weather for 1-2 months out of the winter. Winter tires wear faster in non-winter conditions, so it might not be worth it for you.
 
So do you have a second set of rims/tires to swap out with? It seems like it would be problematic to remount a set tires twice per year.
We've done it both ways over the years, it's really pretty common here. There are some tire shops that will even store your other tires, for a fee, so you don't have to haul them back and forth. Right now I'm in a new vehicle I got a few months ago and I didn't get winter tires at the onset of the season. I thought I could just "deal" for a single winter but I regret it almost every day. :scared:
 
Where do you live? Dry snow or wet snow? How long is your winter and how much snow do you get?
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I live in the Washington DC area. I've always been fine with FWD, good All Season Tires, and some common sense but the times they are a changing and for a car I expect to last until 2029 I want to be sure I'm ready for harsher winters than we are used to. If I go FWD then down the line a few years I can add a second set of rims/winter tires when I feel the need. AWD I can't add later which is why I'm doing this research now.
 


We've done it both ways over the years, it's really pretty common here. There are some tire shops that will even store your other tires, for a fee, so you don't have to haul them back and forth. Right now I'm in a new vehicle I got a few months ago and I didn't get winter tires at the onset of the season. I thought I could just "deal" for a single winter but I regret it almost every day. :scared:

I'm right there with you. I bought my car last march (during a HUGE snowstorm) and was waiting until the fall to get Winters for a better deal... then my husband suddenly needed a new car and winters got pushed out of the budget for the winter... my Civic Coupe is not loving the snow and freezing temps and my husband has had to put his new vehicle to use driving me in to work a couple of times so far.
 
AWD is available on vehicles offered by many manufacturers. I find it works great in any place where you might have to drive in snow and gives you far more traction than RWD (or even FWD) when necessary. It also provides extra traction on wet roads even when not snowing. On many SUV's, there is a feature where you can turn off the AWD when not needed, which increases fuel economy. Even if you live someplace that seldom/never gets snow, you also need to consider if places you will be traveling in the winter do have snow and plan accordingly. Since having AWD drive vehicles, I have never found the need for any type of snow tires that are only used part of the year.
 
I'm right there with you. I bought my car last march (during a HUGE snowstorm) and was waiting until the fall to get Winters for a better deal... then my husband suddenly needed a new car and winters got pushed out of the budget for the winter... my Civic Coupe is not loving the snow and freezing temps and my husband has had to put his new vehicle to use driving me in to work a couple of times so far.
:car: It was all fun-and-games this winter until this current spell hit. DH and I agreed I'd just white-knuckle it for the rest of this winter but I will NOT go through this again next year. As for your Civic, I bet it would handle pretty well with some snow tires. I'd go FWD and snow tires any day over AWD without (which is what I have now - a Nissan Qashqai).
 


:car: It was all fun-and-games this winter until this current spell hit. DH and I agreed I'd just white-knuckle it for the rest of this winter but I will NOT go through this again next year. As for your Civic, I bet it would handle pretty well with some snow tires. I'd go FWD and snow tires any day over AWD without (which is what I have now - a Nissan Qashqai).

I'm really looking forward to trying it with winters next year - overall I LOVE this car it's just no fun on ice and snow.
 
I live in the Washington DC area. I've always been fine with FWD, good All Season Tires, and some common sense but the times they are a changing and for a car I expect to last until 2029 I want to be sure I'm ready for harsher winters than we are used to. If I go FWD then down the line a few years I can add a second set of rims/winter tires when I feel the need. AWD I can't add later which is why I'm doing this research now.

You're in DC? Then IMO, AWD is a complete waste of money. You probably don't even "need" snow tires unless you're going to be trying to drive literally in the middle of a blizzard. FWD and all season tires geared toward bad weather (as opposed to sport) will be more than enough. Plus, as you said...common sense. That's what gets so many people in trouble in snow/ice. I'd get FWD and as you said, see if you really need snow tires and rims. You probably won't. Many AWD systems do have the capability to act like FWD cars when additional traction isn't needed, but you still get extra tire wear, poor fuel economy, and mechanical complexity.

I'd go FWD and snow tires any day over AWD without (which is what I have now - a Nissan Qashqai).

Forgot you're in Canada. That's a name I wasn't familiar with. They call it a Rogue here in the US.
 
I've been living in Buffalo for 13 years... not Canada but quite close... I have only ever driven FWD with all season radials, never really had a problem. Husband has lived here his entire 39 years and only just now has a 4WD vehicle. Would an AWD vehicle be nice? Sure, but has not been a necessity.

I grew up/am from Baltimore -- the whole place shuts down over 2 inches of snow so I don't really see the importance of AWD in the B more DC metro area to be honest... ice is more likely down there than it is here in the Buff, and AWD isn't going to help on pure ice too much anyway.... overall I think it's a non issue and wouldn't let it away your choice too much.
 
:eek: CAUTION!! You need to understand that AWD/4WD is about going; winter tires are about stopping. No matter what type of drive train you end up with, in icy, snowy, wet and slushy conditions you will find stopping precarious with all-season tires. Most of us that do most of our winter driving in the city find stopping on icy roads while in heavy traffic, to be the biggest problem we have. Personally, I haven't been without winter tires for almost 20 years until this year. I honestly can't believe how inferior all-seasons are.
The biggest difference with stopping is the transmission. Manual transmission I don't even use the brakes to stop. I downshift as I see a stop up ahead and coast to the stop. Obviously this doesn't work with panic stops, but with a manual, you have a positive clamped connection between the engine and transmission. With slushboxes, it is fluid and you don't get hardly any of the benefit of compression braking.

My priority list for winter driving is manual trans first, then snow tires, then true 4WD, then AWD, then the sensing automatic AWD.

I also greatly prefer no stability control. It has prevented me from doing what I need to do to weight transfer to get the car oriented how I want or get out of a slippery situation. Traction control I'm on the fence about. Sometimes I can't get out of my place because the traction control cuts power down to nothing and I stall the car. Anti-lock brakes have come a very long way. Use to hate them because they activated at every little thing. Now you don't notice them at all and I can actually threshold brake my car without the ABS activating getting the most from the brakes rather than my car just letting the brakes go because it thinks it's too slippery out.

Actually, before all that, the number 1 factor that determines how the car drives in the snow/ice is the driver's skill level. If all you are is a pedal masher and wheel spinner, you shouldn't be driving in snow, IMO rather than flooding the cars with bandaids to overcome the lack of skills.
 
You're in DC? Then IMO, AWD is a complete waste of money. You probably don't even "need" snow tires unless you're going to be trying to drive literally in the middle of a blizzard. FWD and all season tires geared toward bad weather (as opposed to sport) will be more than enough. Plus, as you said...common sense. That's what gets so many people in trouble in snow/ice. I'd get FWD and as you said, see if you really need snow tires and rims. You probably won't. Many AWD systems do have the capability to act like FWD cars when additional traction isn't needed, but you still get extra tire wear, poor fuel economy, and mechanical complexity.



Forgot you're in Canada. That's a name I wasn't familiar with. They call it a Rogue here in the US.
The Qashqai is a new model replacing the discontinued Juke. The line up marketed here still includes the Rogue as well as a smaller (and very sharp!) model called the Kicks.
 
You're in DC? Then IMO, AWD is a complete waste of money.
For today I agree, but I expect harsher weather here in the years to come which is why I wanted the opinion of folks that are already living my worst case weather scenario.
 
The biggest difference with stopping is the transmission. Manual transmission I don't even use the brakes to stop. I downshift as I see a stop up ahead and coast to the stop. Obviously this doesn't work with panic stops, but with a manual, you have a positive clamped connection between the engine and transmission. With slushboxes, it is fluid and you don't get hardly any of the benefit of compression braking.
.

I have to wonder if on slippery roads whether it matters how you slow down, ice and snow don't care, you can still lose traction.

And of course, clutches are MUCH MUCH more expensive to replace than brakes when they wear out.
 
My priority list for winter driving is manual trans first, then snow tires, then true 4WD, then AWD, then the sensing automatic AWD.
Excellent list. Thanks. I do miss my manual, but it's hard to find a manual hybrid.

I also greatly prefer no stability control. It has prevented me from doing what I need to do to weight transfer to get the car oriented how I want or get out of a slippery situation. Traction control I'm on the fence about.
To me the benefit to Traction and Stability control is when you were not expecting to need it. Black ice, oil on the road, etc... If I know I'm in the **word I can't use here** then I agree stability control can do more harm than good.
 
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We're in central NH. DH has a 4-wheel drive Jeep and I have a FWD car with good all season tires. Since DH is retired, if the weather's bad I take his Jeep. We live in the mountains and my car is ok in the snow, but no where near as good as the Jeep. When I need to replace my car I'm going to go with either an AWD or 4-wheel drive. We get way too much ice/snow starting in November and lasting through April.
 

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