Performance in snow?

[Letas]

I think the "do i need AWD for snow" question in the car world is possibly one of the most annoying out there.

Model Ts drove in the snow.

The muscle cars of the 60s drove in the snow.

Every car made in the last 100+ years drove in the snow. For the majority of those years, RWD was the norm.

Yes, your modern vehicle with Every bell and whistle and assist known to man will be absolutely fine in the snow

Wish CalTrans shared that sentiment!

 

[KevinRS]

Well, in the days of RWD being the norm, with nothing like traction control etc, people didn't try driving at 70+mph in the snow.
Last time I visited Missoula Montana most vehicles on the road were AWD or FWD. All the rental car companies had were AWD.

 

[AZFox]

I need to dial back my optimistic predictions slightly.

YouTube's algo suggested a way-too-long video that provides some insight into AWD. Not all AWD is created equal!

The take-away for someone reading this thread is that EVs, with their powerful low-RPM torque, apparently don't have Traction Control completely sorted out yet.

YouTube: NEW Best SUVs off-road: Top 16 medium SUVs compared - some fail our tests!

So the other interesting things as well, EVs are still not there. You saw that with the EV5 and the the ID5 as well that it just struggled really with managing traction control.​

​

EVs just flare up so quickly and the end result is that you get uncontrolled wheel spin and they really can't manage stuff like [ascents] in muddy conditions or even [gravelly] conditions as well as cars with internal combustion engines.​

​

So hopefully that's something they can work on. Ultimately, it's all just software and and motor control cuz it is all digital.​

Let's hope Eric Kyper's team is able to develop good Snow Traction Control capability for the Truck.

 

[Letas]

I need to dial back my optimistic predictions slightly.

YouTube's algo suggested a way-too-long video that provides some insight into AWD. Not all AWD is created equal!

The take-away for someone reading this thread is that EVs, with their powerful low-RPM torque, apparently don't have Traction Control completely sorted out yet.

YouTube: NEW Best SUVs off-road: Top 16 medium SUVs compared - some fail our tests!

So the other interesting things as well, EVs are still not there. You saw that with the EV5 and the the ID5 as well that it just struggled really with managing traction control.​

​

EVs just flare up so quickly and the end result is that you get uncontrolled wheel spin and they really can't manage stuff like [ascents] in muddy conditions or even [gravelly] conditions as well as cars with internal combustion engines.​

​

So hopefully that's something they can work on. Ultimately, it's all just software and and motor control cuz it is all digital.​

Let's hope Eric Kyper's team is able to develop good Snow Traction Control capability for the Truck.

Every EV owner I know says they disable 1PD entirely in winter when driving any mountain roads. The software just can't keep up. Unanimous across Tesla, Chevy, Subaru, Rivian, etc.

 

[Luxrage]

I need to dial back my optimistic predictions slightly.

YouTube's algo suggested a way-too-long video that provides some insight into AWD. Not all AWD is created equal!

YouTube: NEW Best SUVs off-road: Top 16 medium SUVs compared - some fail our tests!

Youtube gave me this one as well, I wasn't expecting Mazda's SUV/CUVs to perform so well.