Originally Posted by Tom2

Biased test, at best. I happen to have both SH-AWD and quattro vehices currently in my garage. I also have a new Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk, which comes with Quadra-Drive II, the most capable 4wd system available on any Grand Cherokee. I can tell you with certainty that the Jeep's 4wd system is superior to both the SH-AWD and the quattro when it comes to snow performance and a test like the one in the video where some wheels have traction and some don't.

As for the quattro vs SH-AWD, I can only say that Audi has several different quattro systems for different vehicles. Most are rear-biased for driving feel and handling. Unfortunately, the newest Audis are starting to move away from the Torsen-based quattro system, which is superior to the newer Haldex quattro systems by a long shot. In all honesty, I don't know from first hand experience how well these new quattro systems perform in low traction situation, but on paper for sure they are inferior to the Torsen quattro systems that Audi has been using for years now. But like all good things, that's coming to an end primarily because of fuel economy concerns. The newer quattro systems are reactive, much like more mainstream AWD systems. They don't engage until slip is measured. The older Torsen quattro systems put power to all wheels all the time and that gave them a slight penalty in fuel economy, so they are slowly disappearing from the newer Audi vehicles.