sailorman

Maybe it's just me...living in a part of the country where you usually have to deal with bumper to bumper, slipping in and out between every type of car, every type of driver...potholes and roads that are under constant disrepair...lots of rain, sleet, snow and weather...and where having a sense that your car has all 4 paws glued to the road no matter what is going on gives you a sense of security...why would anyone want to go back to RWD when they have the ultimate driving/handling advantage. I've driven RWD - FWD and now as winter approaches look forward to SH-AWD. I've seen many a BMW and Jaguar going up RT46 toward the GW during a blizzard...slipping and sliding - I'd say awfully embarassing to have a $50,000 car that you're afraid to take out on a nasty night. I think that everyone would agree that most of us just want a car we can count on to do everything we throw at it. SH-AWD...why would anyone want RWD?

vp911

No. I was always happy with FWD, but wanted AWD. Now I have the best of all worlds.

crazytsxmods

Amen to that sailorman. I'd like an anfibian 42ft searay with all wheel drive but for now I'll settle with the RL.

Nocturnal

This is my third AWD car in a row (Eclipse GSX and S4 preceded it). As long as I can afford it I will never buy anything else. Same for my wife's car. She's a good driver but gets nervous in the rain. Since I bought her an Audi A6 Avant (kid was on the way at the time) she's felt more secure. Still careful (good) but less nervous. When the time comes to upgrade her car it'll be AWD again. Minivan, SUV (bah) or Wagon.

One important reminder though. AWD only helps with accellerating (straight line or in turns). It doesn't help with stopping. Many SUV/truck drivers forget that and promptly end up in the ditch. Let's not follow their 'lead'

crazytsxmods

Your right on that Nocturnal. Don't you hate when you are trying to drive carefully in the snow'(seems to happen to me a couple times every year) and some derilick in a big suv is rideing your ass. Same goes for in bad rain to. The whole time I am thinking I hope I don't have to stop. I play around allot and love driving but when on public roads in foul weather I am very carefull. What if it was my son/or daughter in the backseat of the car whos ass I am rideing. I always try to think like that.

1HOT NSX

Because RWD cars in general are more fun to drive. Living in Northern California I don't have much use for AWD but I love the RL's system and its handling anyway - that's why I bought it. If I were to move to a place with lots of snow, bad roads, and harsh/inclement weather for a big part of the year, I would not drive a car. I would buy a Range Rover and put snow tires on it. My neighbor has two Range Rovers that have never seen a flake of snow in their whole lives!

fugazi

You don't live around Chico, do you? I've seen a yellow NSX around here every once in a while.

Rob L

Yeah I am a fan of this AWD system after coming from a RWD sports sedan...the only thing I see RWD has over the RL's system is that you can swing the ass end out and drift in a rwd car but why the hell would I do that on public roads so that "advantage" is useless to me. I'll take the system that provides more grip and peace of mind knowing I can go closer to its limits without the car going funky on me.

I really dont know why anyone would rather have a rwd car over the SH-AWD system unless they are drift kings.

1HOT NSX

No, I live near the Bay Area.

tl2rl

I love my SH-AWD, but I also live in the north where we have at least 5 months of non-RWD weather. I feel there are some big advantages to RWD for people in areas with better weather.

1 - Much lighter!!!
2 - Less complexity in the system, so less things that can go wrong. I have heard many horror stories about MB systems.
3 - Can be seen as less fun, RWD's are a blast when you want to spin tires... but in aweful weather.... not so fun.

As much as I love the SH-AWD, If I were to permanently move to an area with nice weather, I would definitely consider changing to a much lighter, RWD system.

Nocturnal

The extra weight is a penalty of the AWD system, true. But ABS, airbags, power seats, moonroof, nav and every other bell/whistle adds weight to the car.

To me AWD is an important safety feature to have even when it's not raining or snowing. Having additional traction available could save my bacon one day when I absolutely need every bit of push the car can give me or when there is debris on the road etc. I absolutely see no serious drawback to having AWD. Only advantages. It costs a bit more gas but I'm not worried about that (yet).