AWD vs. FWD Car Buying Advice Needed

[football1588]

My girlfriend and I live in Buffalo, NY and the winters can be pretty rough here. My girlfriend has always had 4 wheel drive in the winter, but she sold her Jeep over the summer and has been driving her Grandma's old Ford Fusion FWD (it is a 2014 and there is nothing wrong with the car). She is getting nervous about driving the car in the snow that is head our way soon. I told her if we get her some good snow tires to put on the front of her car she should be good, but she is considering buying an AWD that is going to cost her $20k+. She does drive a bunch for work, but it is all highway driving.

I guess her choice is to either
A) Get snow tires and keep the Ford Fusion FWD for the winter
B) Get a car loan and buy an AWD for the winter

What would you advise?

Thanks for all your help guys. Its a tough choice.

[gmtech1]

Originally Posted by football1588

My girlfriend and I live in Buffalo, NY and the winters can be pretty rough here. My girlfriend has always had 4 wheel drive in the winter, but she sold her Jeep over the summer and has been driving her Grandma's old Ford Fusion FWD (it is a 2014 and there is nothing wrong with the car). She is getting nervous about driving the car in the snow that is head our way soon. I told her if we get her some good snow tires to put on the front of her car she should be good, but she is considering buying an AWD that is going to cost her $20k+. She does drive a bunch for work, but it is all highway driving.

I guess her choice is to either
A) Get snow tires and keep the Ford Fusion FWD for the winter
B) Get a car loan and buy an AWD for the winter

What would you advise?

Thanks for all your help guys. Its a tough choice.

My 2cents...I went through the same thing with my wife. It came down to what she felt safer/more confident driving in nasty weather. In the end we went with the AWD. She does a lot of driving for her job and we felt this was best for her.

[Stealthee]

FWD or AWD tires are still the most important thing for getting around in winter weather. I've driven FWD for many winters and only ever had dedicated snow tires once. I even drove a Mustang one winter. It's all in how you handle the situation and conditions at hand.

[MikeCStig]

AWD may be king in the snow, but FWD with decent tires is a close second. I've only had one winter with 4WD ('97 Chevy Blazer... never again, it was a total basket case) and it was really great in the snow, but the following winter after I got rid of it (for the sake of my own sanity) I didn't really miss it as much as I thought I would. Sometimes I used snow tires, sometimes I didn't bother and just ran some good all season tires. I've had several FWD cars go through the strange, unpredictable, and sometimes brutal Maine winters. Apart from the few occasions where I got stuck (which did happen once in the Blazer as well) they all did fine. I've had 2 Honda Preludes- a '91 Si and a '97 type SH. Both of which a lot of people said the same thing about- 'man that must be a nightmare in the snow' (if they were rear wheel drive they probably would have been) but they weren't, the ground clearance wasn't great, but otherwise they did fine. My '89 Honda Accord, '94 Chevy Cavalier, and the '03 VW Golf i drive now (which is about to brave its third maine winter in my possession) saw some pretty nasty winter storms and did fine on the nasty roads. You just have to be careful cornering, stay off the throttle until you're in a straight line as FWD is a layout often prone to understeer and even more so on slippery roads. Most of the advantage comes from the weight of the entire drivetrain sitting on top of the drive wheels. I'd really like to be able to get something fast, fun, and rear wheel drive for a change, but I've come to accept that I will have to wait until I finally can afford to escape this forsaken state.

[sicon99]

All seasons or winters both let you go... proper winters will help you stop faster as they are softer and better grip the slick surface. Personally I prefer to have separate winters and summers or all season tires


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