I am potentially looking at buying a new car in next coming months. I’m looking at the Nissan rogue because my current car is Nissan and I’ve been pleased with it for the past 12 years and I would like the extra room an suv has. The only thing I don’t like is that the majority of suvs are AWD. Nissan does make the rogue in FWD but I was only able to find 1 in my nearby dealerships. So it seems that if I want an suv I’m stuck with AWD or I have to stick with a sedan. For context, my first and current car is a 2012 Nissan versa.
Tldr: do the benefits of AWD and having an suv outweigh the downside of having to replace every tire if you get a flat in one with AWD. Or should I just try and stick with FWD?
EDIT: thank you for all the responses. It is very clear now that I do not need AWD and will stick with FWD. And apparently, I need to look into different cars makers. I have had good luck with my Nissan but according to comments Nissan isn’t a good company anymore.
EDIT 2: I didn’t realize that there are 2 different types of AWD. There’s full and reactive. Technically, the car I have now is AWD because it does divert power to the back wheels if it detects them slipping. My apologies for not fully understanding the terminology before making the post. My original post was directed towards full AWD, when there is power to all wheels all the time. Thanks for the help !
Test drive that and similar sizes from Toyota , Mazda, and Honda before you make the purchase. There is a reason the Rogue engine is called a sewing machine motor. Listen to it as you do your best to get to the speed limit from a stand still. Try this with all the other vehicles and make your own conclusions. This is a long term investment so do it right, including trade in value. Almost everything is AWD now and it can come in handy.
Possibly not relevant to your use case, but one point that I haven’t seen mentioned yet is that for many SUVs that are available in both FWD and AWD, the tow rating will be significantly higher for the AWD version (like 5000lbs vs 3500lbs for FWD in the case of the Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot)
Most people don’t need AWD. Most people who think they need it are wrong, and they could easily live without it. I say this having lived in several snowy places, including rural mountains, owning cars with and without AWD.
Regardless of AWD, if you buy an SUV, don’t think that you can ignore the weather. It’s very common for SUV drivers to believe that their car is suitable for the snowstorm, drive at high speeds, and get stuck in the ditch. Please don’t be that guy.
I had all kinds of cars in my life, probably the best car i ever owned to drive in the snow was a Peugeot 106 gti. Skinny winter tires and the weight or lack of it was absolutely king in the snow. I went on ski trips where all kinds of cars were stuck and i never had any problem at all. The “best” car on paper i ever had for the snow was a jeep grand Cherokee. That thing was more scary than good in the snow. I see a lot of people crash their AWD cars, because they don’t know the difference between AWD and 4x4.
I agree with most of the responses here, but one thing that I think is worth noting is that not all AWD systems are built the same. The really, really good ones come from Subaru, Audi, and some Volvo’s. With good tires and a competent driver, these are usually really good in slick conditions. A lot of AWD systems though are more of a “mild AWD” where the car primarily FWD but can get some assistance from the rear. Those systems might give you efficiency gains compared to some other AWD systems, but performance wise they might not be dramatically better than FWD. So that’s worth considering I think.
Frankly if you have to ask if you need AWD, then you don’t NEED it. But it’s nice to have and pretty fun if you’re a psycho like me who actually likes winter driving
Depends on where you live.
I live in Atlanta GA and rarely leave the city so I don’t need AWD.
My buddy lives in bumblefuck Alabama. He can’t live without it.
