Volvo AWD and Subaru AWD

They say a picture is worth 1000 words...

Volvo vehicles are slightly bigger. Subaru cheaper and more reliable

One is made by Volvo and the other is made by Subaru...

Seriously, the Subaru has a locking centre diff. I don't believe the Volvo does

The Volvo in the video ist not awd, the rear wheels don´t move when he tries to free himself when stuck uphill.

Cu Jan

Didn't you listen to what the presenter was saying? What - don't you speak Swedish? ;-)

It was a Volvo XC70 - it is AWD (part time: normally it is 95% to front wheels and 5 to the back, but it "senses" when to change distribution, up to 50/50 I think). Obviously it doesn't do it very well, or at least

Hmmm, I live in Alberta in the Foothills(Calgary). Driving to mountains ski hills is usual week end activity. AWD, 4X4, whatever, without proper winter tires, you're doing a half job. Most ones in the ditch is Jeep with idiotic drivers who think 4X4 is invincible. AWD with all season tire is just as good as 2 wheel drive with GOOD winter tire. Me and wife do not switch tires but for my kids(daughter and son), they both drive Subaru and in winter they switch to Michelin X Ice. We buy tires at Costco.

Winter tires are a waste of money. I never had a problem in snow ice with GOOD all seasons.

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It seems to me that you gnerally have no idea wat you are talking about most of the time. An all-season tire loses traction at about -4C where a good snow tire is good at -25C. A good ice radial will give you grip on ice you can barely stand up on.

An all-season is useless in more than 10cm of snow, below about -5C or on ice. Incidently, it is a pretty useless summer tire too.

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Hmmm, Pardon my language, that is pure BS!

What's pure BS about that?

Yeah, your statement. Do you live in COLD SNOW country? I don't need to argue with you. You already showed your ignorance.

As for snow country, I've spent all of my driving years in CT, then MI and then back to CT. I spent 11 years in the tropical state of southeastern Michigan (yearly snowfall avg. 41 inches) and have now returned back home to the Berkshire mountains of Connecticut with a yearly snowfall avg. of 75 inches.

I guess it mostly depends on what you're up against in the winter. Me, Live on the coast (Vancouver Island), and while we get a dump or two of snow each winter the biggest driving challenge is the wet roads. The Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice tires I used to run are the worst rain tire I've ever had. While the Goodyear Triple Treads I run now are the best wet tire I've driven and perform very well in the snow, especially the wet slop we get out here.

It's not a one size fits all scenario.

Grolsch

Hi, Typical winter temp. out here is -30F. Roads are usually black ice. Poorly charged battery has slush inside. That shows how cold it is. Further up North from here, they never shut of engine in winter time.

You're right. You don't. There is TONS of information around all-seasons and how poor a compromise they are in any weather; tons. If you think otherwise, you are the ignorant one.

I do think DRLs are good. They make you visible and are proven to reduce accidents because of it.

The driver is more crucial than the vehicle or the tire, but an all-season is a compromise. Would I bother with a winter tire somewhere where it never really gets that cold and snows a couple of times per year? No. But to state a winter tire is a waste of money is right up there with your statement that engine knocking is normal.

but looses the action on what? I went once to the north Michigan state. It was -6F (-21C), roads were black but covered with a slippery thin layer of a salt. To my surprise, I was able to carve quite aggressive corners at high speeds on all-season Continentals.

and I am still look for raw data showing exact speeds/surface type (tarmac/deep snow/shallow snow/ice/slush)/tire combinations where the car is loosing control/traction for braking/acceleration/cornering.

are such available?