Back in 2001, I bought a Toyota Highlander V6 Limited. A big reason being that it had AWD (all wheel drive) and I had just moved to the lake effect snow ridden area of northern Indiana/southwest Michigan. The Highlander has VSC (vehicle stability control) and ABS (anti-lock braking system) as well as the AWD.
I am thinking of trading it in next year for a Toyota Matrix or other vehicle (that I can fit into - I'm 6'3" and head/leg room are issues). I have found that the VSC seems to be the BIG thing I like on the Highlander - that VSC system saved my bacon twice last winter when I started getting into a skid and the VSC almost magically got the car going straight down the road in only a second or two.
So I am starting to get the impression that the AWD feature is important only for getting the vehicle MOVING, and that the ABS and VSC are what keeps the vehicle on the road and stopping when you want it to stop which is WAY more important.
Since I live in a fairly flat area, I therefore have come to the conclusion that I didn't really need AWD after all. And that ABS and VSC are the must have options.
So when looking for a new vehicle in the near future, does it make sense that AWD isn't nearly as important as the ABS and VSC? (It's not that I can't monetarily afford to add the AWD, it's because gas mileage, horsepower, and even gasoline tank size suffer on many AWD models.)
Bud H