Need to rent a car tomorrow, icy roads - AWD, or FWD?

[cw42]

I'm going to rent a car from Avis and have to do a few hours of driving tomorrow. Since it's icy up in the north east tomorrow, I was wondering if it would make sense to rent something with AWD rather than a regular FWD.

Will it make much of a difference?

 

[Saint Nick]

Get a RWD and wreck it for T3H LULZ. You dumb fuck.

 

[AmdEmAll]

Awd ftw

 

[God Mode]

Get any car and bring a shovel. The kind where it can stand up to digging hard dirt and not the crap made for a little snow.

 

[Blackjack200]

I imagine that awd with traction control and a stick shift would be the best of all possible worlds. I have a Saab with fwd, traction control and a stick and I've never had any problems in the snow.

 

[ViviTheMage]

doi, AWD/4x4

 

[Capt Caveman]

AWD, just remember you can't stop any better with it.

 

[eldorado99]

Make sure it has winter tires.

 

[Minjin]

AWD of course. It makes a noticeable difference when driving. However, an AWD with crappy tires will be worse than a FWD with awesome tires. I'm sure rentals all have about equal tires, though.

 

[soulcougher73]

AWD > 4WD > FWD > RWD. Plus winter tires help a lot, but if its a rental i doubt they have that option. And as another poster said none of drive options make you stop better. Only help with getting going.

 

[RGUN]

I imagine that awd with traction control and a stick shift would be the best of all possible worlds. I have a Saab with fwd, traction control and a stick and I've never had any problems in the snow.

Agree with everything except for stick shift. Automatic would be the choice to go for in low traction conditions.

 

[QuantumPion]

Get the heaviest car with the highest clearance regardless of drive. If picking between two large SUV's, then AWD is preferred. But a 2WD Explorer >> 4WD WRX.

As previously mentioned, AWD won't help you stop faster or prevent you from losing control on ice. It will only help if you get stuck in snow.

 

[AMDZen]

Get the heaviest car with the highest clearance regardless of drive. If picking between two large SUV's, then AWD is preferred. But a 2WD Explorer >> 4WD WRX.

As previously mentioned, AWD won't help you stop faster or prevent you from losing control on ice. It will only help if you get stuck in snow.

Bullshit. He said icey, not 4 feet of snow.

Subura's are, by far, the best cars I've ever driven on snow and ice as long as its not more then a foot of snow. WRX is no exception

 

[alfa147x]

Agree with everything except for stick shift. Automatic would be the choice to go for in low traction conditions.

Explanation please?

 

[eldorado99]

Explanation please?

seconded.

 

[Lifted]

Had a ~10 year old subaru gl wagon, 2WD/4WD, manual. Eventually tuned into the biggest overheating POS ever, but it wouldn't get stuck or spin out like all the new merc's and bmw's the little rich snots at my university were driving.

 

[AMDZen]

Explanation please?

He's full of shit and has no idea WTF he is talking about, thats the explanation.

Manual > auto in low slip conditions as you can start in a higher gear

The amount of misinformation in this thread is hilarious.

 

[TwiceOver]

How much snow/ice driving have you done? Since you have to ask what is best, I'm guessing very little. In that situation, I don't think any vehicle choice is going to matter.

I've only ever had FWD vehicles so I know how to drive them in snow. I've driven AWD vehicles in the snow and got in trouble quick because I'm not used to one.

Good luck. If need be find a parking lot and do a few donuts to get used to driving on ice with whatever vehicle you choose.

 

[mb]

Go with AWD but realize no matter what you get they are all going to have shitty all season tires so you'll still have to be extra careful.

Another thing is that if you get something like a luxury SUV, it is probably going to have big wheels. Big wheels are usually wider, and wide wheels actually do worse on snow and ice.

 

[mmntech]

Make sure it has winter tires.

Rental cars usually don't have winter tires unless mandated by law. Ask for an AWD SUV. All seasons are fine if you remember to drive sensibly.

 

[jlee]

Get the heaviest car with the highest clearance regardless of drive. If picking between two large SUV's, then AWD is preferred. But a 2WD Explorer >> 4WD WRX.

As previously mentioned, AWD won't help you stop faster or prevent you from losing control on ice. It will only help if you get stuck in snow.

Uh, no.

He's full of shit and has no idea WTF he is talking about, thats the explanation.

Manual > auto in low slip conditions as you can start in a higher gear

The amount of misinformation in this thread is hilarious.

Typically (in my experience) shifting into '2' in an auto will start in 2nd gear instead of first.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Typically (in my experience) shifting into '2' in an auto will start in 2nd gear instead of first.

a manual can employ engine braking as well. i find automatics to be much smoother shifting than i am at very low speeds, and much quicker to shift fwd-rev to rock a vehicle free.

 

[Nintendesert]

Tracked vehicles are better than anything listed above. So when given the option, get a tracked vehicle.

 

[qliveur]

 

[ShawnD1]

Get any car and bring a shovel. The kind where it can stand up to digging hard dirt and not the crap made for a little snow.

This. My dad gave me an aluminum shovel for christmas one year

Only risk of the AWD vehicle is that you might overestimate how much traction you have. In a car with 2 wheel drive and an open differential, the wheels spin right away when there's a traction problem, and you know you're on slippery ground. The AWD vehicle might not slip so you'll naturally assume there's good traction.... until you try to stop and you can't and you crash into someone and they sue you and you kill yourself because they took away your computer and you can no longer post on anandtech!