tlxsteve

Wow! Someone showed me this video of Acura's SH-AWD. What a difference from the competitors.

I live in South Florida so FWD is fine with me, but this really shows that SH-AWD handles the winter really well. It was fun to watch.

9SpeedTran

Yup. We have a 2014 MDX and the only danger is how quickly you forget you are driving on snow and that you might still have to stop. ;-)

neuronbob

SH-AWD is also useful in dry conditions as a handling/performance enhancer. Unfortunately, Acura has completely failed at marketing that advantage to people in warm states for ten years now, since the 2005 RL was released. It's a brilliant system that gets little love other than in the RL and 4G TL forums. Sigh.

Step it up, Acura!

F23A4

Honestly, the AWD system in my old 05 Murano felt more sure-footed in rain/snow than the SH-AWD system in my 12 MDX. My MDX has felt a bit skittish on a number of wet surface occasions.

Tonyware

steve... as impressive as this looks, reality in winter driving conditions is somewhat different. There is no blowing snow or cross winds in that video. There is no 18-wheeler in front of these cars splashing snow all over the road. Most of all, there is no ditch left or right to avoid! Plus, at 60 miles/h behavior and dynamics are a bit different than 10 miles/h. Yep, the SH-AWD does it job well on snowy roads at reasonable speeds. But, its not perfect. There are moments I think my old FWD Accord was more stable on snowy highways and there are moments I see how the SH-AWD manages to keep it together on tight turns. Unfortunately the TL doesn't do all that well in blowing snow conditions and cross winds. Hope the TLX does better.

PS. Anyone who sees the patch of ice and goes for it, even tho the option exists not to, well, what can I say...

Nexx

sir that has a bit more to do with your tires not your AWD system.

tlxsteve

I forgot. I haven't driven in snow for a long time. I remember a Veteran's Day Blizzard in DC when we got 14 inches and I still had to get to work over I-95. I think I was the only one on the road, besides the abandoned cars and my 1984 Accord did me well, except for the all season tires that didn't stop that well. Wow! That was a forgotten memory. Thanks!

JT4

^^ You beat me to it.. I was going to say the same thing..

4WDrift

Not discounting anything towards SH-AWD or AWD in general (they contribute greatly towards power delivery and handling in their own respects), but winter traction is all about grip, not power.

I had Blizzaks on the RWD '88 E30 325is. Stopped at the I-95N offramp to MD-175W/N in packed snow, this F150 4x4 plow decided to try to make mincemeat of me and get by on the merging uphill left. Both took off, he couldn't out accelerate on a curve to 60 mph all the way around. I think he was left wondering what just happened.

Nice pliable cold friendly winter tire rubber is like having cleats on, still can slip but the grabbyness is like sandpaper, you won't slide off into the ditch as with all seasons. As long as you don't high side underneath, you pretty much won't get stuck and have braking / cornering assurance. I'd bet a RWD on winters over an AWD on all seasons.

TLer trash

^^^ I agree 100%. But more importantly, there is no advantage to 4wd, awd, torque vectoring, etc. when you need to stop on an icy or snowy surface. Sure, it's fun to accelerate away from a 4wd (especially lifted ones on huge off-road tires), but it's even better to stop without plowing into anyone when everyone else is sliding off the road.

mapleloaf

FWD with snow tires much superior to RWD with same.

vhtran

Agree and disagree, both! It will get you going and probably climb a steep hill better than RWD. However, once the car moves, it is easier to steer with RWD and if anything wrong, you can just apply more power to the rear and the car just spun out where as the FWD will do the opposite. At least that's what happen for an average Joe.

Like I replied to the other thread, AWD + snow tires + common sense = Win!

Ken1997TL

Agreed. Grip, followed by what it does with that grip.

CanTex

I've always said that AWD or 4WD only gets you a little further off the road into that snow bank than with FWD. Methinks driver skill plus better tires are both major factors in surviving nasty conditions. Other than staying home, of course.

Being a northerner who has spent half my life in Texas, ice storms are definitely negotiable - if one could only keep the local yahoos off the roads. I just love it when someone comes to a near-stop just before an icy bridge, then tries to accelerate on the bridge. Grrr. Just let me through at 30, semi-coasting, straight line, hands loose on the wheel.

CanTex

The cold, hard facts about seven winter driving myths - The Globe and Mail

Check out the link above. Hope this opens up for you. It's a paywall site after so many clicks.

LaCostaRacer

With the snow on the east coast, has anybody ventured out to test out this version of AWD? This latest storm would be an excellent test of SH-AWD's capabilities. My guess is things will be good once there is some packing of the snow. Safe travels for those of you in the snow.