Carl
AWD/4WD can 'go' very well. BUT you still only have 4 small patches of rubber on the road - don't get in trouble on slippery roads by thinking
you can stop True, all cars have 4 wheel brakes.
or turn better than other cars.
Not totally true. This is actually why I bought a Subaru rather than my other favorite Japanese brand. Four wheel drive has an advantage accelerating (increasing speed) over two wheel drive. The force of acceleration is spread evenly over 4 tires rather than unevenly over two tires. Even worse, most two wheel drive vehicles are Front Wheel Drive. As you accelerate, weight (down force) is shifted to the rear off the driven tires and onto the undriven tires. The front tires that need more traction (because they are providing acceleration force) have less traction and the rear tires that don't need more traction have more traction. 4 wheel drive spreading the acceleration force among 4 tires (especially the rears) is just inherently better. If you wanted to make the argument that 2 wheel FWD has lower transmission losses and better gas mileage, I'd agree. It's also cheaper to produce.
It was very easy to accidentally chirp the tires on my FWD Honda Accord making a U-turn from a stop. I have to get on it much harder than average to do this in my Subaru Forester.
Slippery road have a bigger difference in co-efficient of static friction and rolling friction than dry roads. Once you start sliding you have to reduce the cornering and acceleration forces quite a lot before before the tires hook up again. There can be a very awkward jolt when they do, especially if you car is all crossed up with respect to the direction of travel. Most drivers have no clue, so your comment is pretty good advice for the overconfident average driver. I particularly hate those TV commercials that say you can drive through storms without a care in the world.