“Oh, the weather outside is frightful…”
As far as many Canadians are concerned, lyricist Sammy Cahn could have stopped penning the words to “Let it Snow” right there.
Winter is on its merry way — officially anyway; climatically, most parts of the country have already had their first taste of cold, snow, ice, freezing rain and all the other fun stuff that makes us “hardy.” This has many casting a critical eye over the beater in the driveway and thinking: Is it going to make it through the next five months without letting me down somehow? More importantly, am I — and my family — going to be safe in it?
Read more: 10 winter-ready AWD cars for under $35,000
With thoughts of something shiny, new, and, perhaps, more appropriate for this vast, occasionally unforgiving country of ours, a good percentage of us are looking at the benefits offered by all-wheel or four-wheel-drive vehicles. And manufacturers are responding in kind.
There are some 90 different makes of sport-utility and crossover vehicles available at dealerships with available AWD, not to mention more than 40 automobiles, plus pickup trucks and a couple of minivans. Why? It’s all about more grip and less slip, whether it’s on-road or off-road.
2014 BMW 328d XDrive close up view of left tailight and X Drive badge.
Rob Rothwell, Driving
“Better wet weather traction, better winter traction. You’re more sure-footed on slippery roads. Access to off-road trails (or) driving on cottage roads.” These are just a few of the reasons rhymed off by Greg Watkins, product marketing manager, SUVs and crossovers, Ford Canada.
And, considering the season, the one thing that strikes fear in the hearts of most motorists: “During winter,” says Watkins, “you’re at a higher risk of getting stuck with a front-drive vehicle. In difficult circumstances, such as (bad) road conditions, all-wheel-drive gets you going faster.”
The sport-utility segment has seen the most growth over the last 10 years, particularly at the compact-size level, which in turn has introduced a lot of Canadian drivers to the benefits of all-wheel-drive. Sales during 2014 alone are up more than 15% from the year previous.
“If you look at the non-luxury segment, I think that all-wheel-drive is helping drive SUV sales,” notes Matt Wilson, product planning manager for BMW Group Canada. “Although it’s increasingly an option on sedans and compact cars, AWD is not as readily available. For a lot of customers (shopping) in the sub-$35,000 price bracket, if they want AWD, their options are much greater if they move into an SUV or a compact crossover vehicle.”
2013 Volvo S60 T5 AWD.
Robert Bostelaar, Postmedia News
SUV growth is not just a North American phenomenon either, says Watkins, with European and Asian markets “starting to figure out what North Americans have known for a long time … that SUVs do offer a lot of utility. They are desirable vehicles (with) capacity, flexibility, all of those things.”
A couple of things have happened since sport-utes started replacing the station wagon as the family vehicle of choice some 30 years ago. The first, says Wilson, is that all-wheel-drive has moved from being seen exclusively as a safety feature into the realm of performance. The second is that it is moving from acceptance in the luxury and premium car segments to a position of dominance.
Dear John: I need an affordable AWD sedan under $35,000
“BMW has historically been a rear-wheel-drive company,” says Wilson, “and we still offer RWD on many of our models. The move to AWD — or xDrive as we call it at BMW — has been very quick … It’s built momentum in the last five to seven years. There are very few vehicles we sell that aren’t AWD.” He adds that the company is nearing 90% all-wheel-drive penetration with its 3, 5 and 7 Series sedans.
While all-wheel-drive certainly helps with traction, it won’t help if your vehicle lacks winter tires and is going too fast for the road conditions.
AP Photo / The Wichita Eagle, Travis Heying,
Of course, all-wheel-drive isn’t a cure-all for winter driving conditions — or bad driving. The technology is primarily designed to provide added traction and stability; it works best in conjunction with winter tires — it’s not a substitute. See the Driving.ca article “Think AWD makes you invincible in the snow? Think again”. And you still have to slow down. Braking distances take longer in the snow no matter the vehicle.
About 25 years ago, it was possible to get all-wheel-drive in such compact and mid-sized cars as the Toyota Corolla and Camry, Nissan Sentra, Mazda 323, Pontiac 6000 and a number of others. Complexity, weight and price put an end to that marketing experiment. Now, however, with greater consumer acceptance, plus more sophisticated and lighter-weight systems being offered, could AWD penetrate farther into the mainstream?
Wilson, for one, says it’s a certainty. “I think 15 to 20 years from now, AWD will be virtually across all segments and all price classes.”
