1st choice - full-time 4WD with Torsen central differential. Always there, always reliable.
2nd choice - front-biased AWD with torque vectoring. Best on slippery roads (rain, snow or ice)
3rd choice - any other type of AWD
4th choice - traditional 4WD with manual transfer case
5th choice - FWD
6th choice - RWD - biggest PITA to drive in snow or ice, or even heavy rain. Our BMW 528 wagon was fantastic on dry roads. But at first sight of snow we would always switch to our humble FWD Renault because the BMW was almost impossible to drive at any reasonable speed.

 

To summarize:
FWD cheap and for novice driving in snow.
FWD-based AWD better, but still cheap and for novice.
RWD for enthusiasts, but costs more.
RWD-based AWD best, but costs most.

 

@peteharvey care to apply your summary to re-write the article in the top post?

 

I can agree to this. Great post. #6, I would never want rwd in the snow

 

After seeing many of these comments, I think we can pretty much all agree on one thing (and I've said this for years). FWD and AWD, particularly without winter tires, is definitely better on slick surfaces than RWD....but ONLY to get the vehicle moving or accelerating from a stop and to prevent it from getting stuck. FWD and RWD will NOT necessary help you to steer or stop any better when it is slick.......that is the job of ABS and stability control.

 

OR... you could just switch over to Winter Tires which would be wayyyy MORE than adequate in your state, but then again, doubt anyone there has dedicated snow tires... LOL

 

I frequently travel to snowy places (Colorado, ...). Yes, winter tires make a signifcant difference, but AWD with winter tires is much better than RWD with winter tires.
Even with winter tires our RWD BMW wouldn't reach many Alpine ski places when we lived in Europe.

 

What are we considering dedicated? I have two cars on severe rated tires that perform on par with true winter only shoes since one needs them to be reliable in all weather and the other I just never want to have to care at all about anything.

 

i am a former Celica owner but that was literally EONS ago, don't even remember the drive train, but THINK maybe FWD, and winter driving was pretty sketchy on All Season tires (do remember the latter 2 points... lol).

What FWD did you get (assuming Lexus ES)?

 

My GS RWD easily does so, in & around places like Mont Tremblant in Quebec, Banff where there's Winter Olympics, and Whistler (bizarre heavy snow every year) just outside Vancouver.

 

Maybe "dedicated" wasn't the best word... meant 4 separate winter tires to swap in, OR on their own rims (i.e. separate set of "winter" wheels) which is the case for my GS.

 

Ah well in that case no, I have another car entirely for bad weather. Allows the flagships and sequoia to never see rain if I don't want them to.

My wife has been racking miles on the 430 like and though and she has been using it all year round and it has 35k a year with her.....it's the RWD with tires that are severe rated. Other one is the Jeep but it can operate as an AWD or locked 4x4 as desired

 

Sounds like you're wasting way too much money on gas $$$$, not to mention inefficient & less enjoyable drives, according to climate & weather.

* Performance (key word) All Season tires are fine for MOST states with little to no snow.

* ALL OTHER regions especially prone to heavy rain, freezing cold, snow & ice, two dedicated sets of tires/wheels for: 1) spring - summer - fall, and 2) winter months.

* With a full set of Winter tires it's a blast o FUN driving crazy with RWD in deep snow & black ice, and a refreshing pleasurable change when spring comes around and swapping out for Summer tires. ENJOY your ride, don't just drive from A to B, and back.

 

It's not a blast. I get too much traction

 

I can tell ya'll how to drive in heavy rain and storm weather but Ice & snow I know nothing about.

Honestly it terrifies me thinking about sliding in the ice but I know I'd need something to help me.
Maybe some snow tires and looking like AWD is a must from what many posters are saying.