Consumer reports talks AWD
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Chris_Top_Her
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- San Antonio, Texas
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- '15 CX-5 Miata AWD
AWD is more fun when you are using it for road performance. Instead of going all slow on a snow covered hill.
So when it snows only 2" here and I can't get out of my driveway because of its incline and having fwd, I guess I shouldn't be driving at all. Yet main roads are just fine. You're making way too much of a generalization.
But it doesn't matter. You have your experience and I have mine. I know awd without a doubt makes my overall driving easier, and safer in inclement weather.
After reading this thread I have become interested in "all weather" tires. I am currently doing a google search to see if they even make such a tire for the CX-5. If so they may very well be the ones I use to replace the original manufacturer tires that came on it when the time comes. Good thread.
They're very expensive and don't rate all that well in Consumer Reports testing. And you'd have to go with a wider tire or a smaller set of wheels than the 19" standard on the GT models. Owner reports on the WR G3 are variable, some saying they're great, and some saying they don't perform as well as winter tires. "All Weather Tires" is a marketing label.
You may be right. I don't believe they make all weather tires for the CX-5 but unless the advertising is completely false the idea sounds good.
I dunno about "all weather" tires. There's a trade off to be made between grip in slippery conditions and tread life. It's not just the tread pattern that's different on winter tires. Winters use a softer rubber compound that stays more pliable in cold temps, and allows the ribs and channels of the tire to flex and grip on ice and packed snow.
I don't know how they'd make a tire that does snow and ice well, yet would still get good tread life and good ride. Maybe something like those Toyo's with the crushed walnut shells embedded in the compound? (dunno)
The point of the video wasnt AWD with all seasons vs FWD with all seasons. It was AWD with all seasons vs FWD with snow tires. Consumer reports was trying to point out that AWD isn't as important as snow tires.
Here are a few other videos that highlight this point
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pklJitPm6Q0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfuE00qdhLA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l2cMlNRX_A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYEMH10Z4s
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
Yeah, I have no clue why it's so inefficient either.
If you look at the total cost over the long term, you really aren't just spending $600 on winter tires; you are actually purchasing additional tire mileage that can also helpful in the winter months. If you purchase the Michelin Ice with the 40K mileage warranty and you run them for several years, you subtract the mileage that would have applied to your summer/all season tires, thereby significantly delaying the need to purchase new summer/all season tires. If you are concerned about the cost of mounting twice per year, the solution there is a one-time expense for dedicated winter rims with snow tires mounted to them.
One could argue that this is the best all-around value. Eight tires will last longer than four, and you have the added bonus of great winter traction. Combine that with AWD, and you'll have confidence, peace of mind for not that much more money in the long run.
That would depend on where you live. I will go two years at a time without more than an inch or two of snow for the entire winter. I can imagine changing all four tires because it snows for two inches and melts the next day. Common sense has gone out the door when it comes to taking any risk. Why not spend money on an armoured car since you would be much more likely to survive a bad crash?
Of course, it areas with little snow, the risk/reward proposition may not make sense. Since I live on a steep north facing mountainside above 3,500, we have lots of snowy and icy mornings that make winter tires very desirable. Although last year was mild, we've had winters with 60 inches of snow. I was addressing the concerns of those who have more of a significant chance for regular winter driving conditions.
Zack has a habit of informing but often doesn't take a position.
I didn't mean to say you were one of the paranoid ones but I believe there are too many that are.
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- 2014.5 CX-5 GS FWD 2.5L
When we were shopping, we did not jump on the AWD wagon. We purchased a FWD. Install winter rubber and have yet to find a situation to be unsafe or the road unpassable.
I figured the couple times a year the AWD "may" help was not worth the cost. AWD doesn't do anything extra in the other 95% of the time when the roads are clean? The intial extra cost, more wear & tear items, less mpg, etc. just doesn't make it worth while. The wife had a FWD car and never had issues in winter. Only problem was our street cleaning is sub-par, and there would be huge ruts to make her car drag and bottom out. With the extra ground clearance of the CX5, the issue has gone away, and she gets around just fine in the CX5. Actually I even asked if she wanted AWD, and her comment was, "why?".
IMO there so much media myth and advertisements on AWD, that people are now believing that it will solve all their driving problems. Maybe that's what the video is trying educate people.
FWIW, up here our winters range from mild to wild, so we know all about snow and bad roads.
I figured the couple times a year the AWD "may" help was not worth the cost. AWD doesn't do anything extra in the other 95% of the time when the roads are clean? The intial extra cost, more wear & tear items, less mpg, etc. just doesn't make it worth while. The wife had a FWD car and never had issues in winter. Only problem was our street cleaning is sub-par, and there would be huge ruts to make her car drag and bottom out. With the extra ground clearance of the CX5, the issue has gone away, and she gets around just fine in the CX5. Actually I even asked if she wanted AWD, and her comment was, "why?".
IMO there so much media myth and advertisements on AWD, that people are now believing that it will solve all their driving problems. Maybe that's what the video is trying educate people.
FWIW, up here our winters range from mild to wild, so we know all about snow and bad roads.
I first learned to drive while I had my first job...a seasonal job in in Anchorage Alaska. It was a 1990 Mazda Protege FWD manual. Now keep in mind I'm a Socal kid who upon high school graduation went up to work in the smokehouses up there. Anyhow I leanred to drive in the snow and never got stuck. That said I used studded tires from Costco and I learned not to panic (knee jerk reactions). Coming back to driving in California's roads was like the scene from the 300 where a teenage'd Leonidas returns with the wolf's head. Dramatic music included!!!
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- '17-6, '21 CX-5
I'm with you, premio53, as I also reside in northern GA where the snowy winter days are rare so for that reason a 2WD was a no brainer for me when I chose my CX-5. Even though my second car is an AWD Impreza, I stay off the road on those few wintry days we do get...... I'd rather not be amongst the road warrior cowboys who don't have a clue about winter driving, and it's easy for me to do so since I'm a retired geezer. And I ain't getting no stinkin' winter tires for 2-3 days a year if that!
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
Is the Michelin Ice even good for 40K miles? Or will it just not run bald in 40K miles? I've heard that "high mile" Ice tires are worthless in ice/snow after about 8-10k miles.
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
I wish I had your luxuries of not having to work, for sure! That truly is the safest/best option in bad conditions. Being 29 and having an essential job, though, it's not optional.
