So this post is a complete contradiction of your other post. You first state that AWD doesn’t help with snow and then admit to driving slower during icy snowy conditions because you realize that your RWD car will not do as well as an AWD car. You also call it snow-hampshire but have 20 days of snow? Lastly you have 20 days of snow and ice and you’re trying to compare that to the 6-8 MONTHS of snow and ice we can get here? Exactly.

Is Honda AWD even AWD? All these part time slip and grip systems are complete garbage. You literally lug around extra weight for when the system activates for those 10 seconds and then off otherwise. The only exception is those slip and grip systems with a “lock mode”. We own a AWD Veracruz that has a slip and grip system but it has that “AWD-Lock” button. I drove to a very snowy unplowed road and drove without the AWD lock on and the car just slipped a whole bunch with traction control going crazy for 10 seconds before finally getting a move on. I then did the same “test” with AWD lock engaged and the experience was night and day. Zero wheel slip and just took off. Though that AWD lock mode only works until about 25mph or 40km/h. It works for what I expect from it. I’m not corner carving with the veracruz that’s for sure lol.

Maybe I misunderstood what he was saying. I thought he was saying that they only have snow/ice for 20 days a year I didn’t think he meant the roads are covered for 20 days of the year. So if I misunderstood that then I appologize and take back my comment.

As for limited experience this is incorrect. We own a 06 chevy Silverado 4X4 that you can obviously keep in RWD mode, I drove it for 4 months and I seen what that is like even on roads that have been plowed (because even plowed roads tend to have a little bit of ice/snow on them making it very slippery. Furthermore we purchased a 2010 RWD dodge charger that we owned for 5 months last winter that I drove many many many times (it was my brothers’ car who ultimately sold it because he said it was unpredictable in the snow). So I do have a lot of experience with RWD drivetrains.


Here’s the thing. I think I sound like I’m saying that you must have AWD in winter or to have a good handling car and that nothing else will work. That’s not what I am trying to say, rather that all things equal (same tires) AWD has some clear advantages in some conditions and situations. But it’s not about what is right and wrong, it’s simply about stating my opinion. I tend to get overly passionate when it comed to AWD (I fully admit to being an AWD junkie) and for that reason I sound like I’m shitting on any other drivetrain.