Talking Cars Tuesday Wants an AWD Car

The AWD drive trains on Audi and Subaru, IMO, are a bit more solid than others.

My last four car purchases have been AWD.  A retired Toyota Sienna (when the kids were “children”) - and three Audis - two A6’s and a Q5.  You cannot go wrong with an Audi.

We live in the Chicago area - so, all year handling is important and AWD in the winter makes a difference.

If you could find a slightly older model with low mileage - go for it.

I've been a car salesman for almost 9 years and let me tell you Subaru is an overlooked and underrated brand.  They're reliable as hell and very safe vehicles.  Plus they don't break the bank like a lot of the luxury cars you listed.

If budget is part of your consideration, I'd say a Subaru would be a great option for you.

By the way I'm a Chevy salesman so no bias here.  Subaru is a genuinely good brand.

To answer the questions, I live in Florida so AWD is completely unnecessary for me.  I currently drive a 2023 Camaro Convertible and I'm loving it.  My dream car.

I have an AWD 21 altima. Takes more to service and with low pro tires, still gets stuck in its own tracks. I see no real performance issues either. My wife has an AWD suv but once again, no real benefit in northwest Ohio with the lack of any real snow lately. The added service of the transfer case and rear diff, id opt for just a FWD next time. If I was up north then yes.

With the lotto being what it is, I love to think of what car(s) I'd buy.  Top of my list would be a Porsche Targa 4s. I have always loved porsches (356, the 80's targas with the whale tails).  I justify that it would be fun and practical, as it has AWD for winter driving, and jump seats in the back to hold luggage for a weekend trip with the wife, or kids to some of their sports. 

Other Cars I'd want:

Baja Bug (this car I will have eventually even without the lotto)

2006-08 Austin Martin Vantage (one of the prettiest cars ever to me)

2005 Ford GT (Perfect retro car to the original)

356C Roadster (grandparents had one back in the day)

150 Jaguar Roadster (other grandparents had one back in the day)

(AWD) Corvette Eray (Never been a corvette guy, but this car is just crazy cool)

(AWD) Rivian RS1

As you can see, I'd probably go a little crazy on cars if I had unlimited money, but that's my list... so far.

I have an AWD sports car which I'd consider to be a proxy for some of the cars you mentioned. I have driven it very fast, I have done a laughably slow (because I am a wuss) lap with it on the Nuerburgring. am told all the time that my car sucks, and that it's oversteer is awful. (edit to add that I am told this by people who do not have the car, and have not driven it)

The thing is though, I can't put that car or any other to it's potential. Not legally now, or really ever unless I take it to a track, and even then, see wuss comment above. The average speed over the 4 year life of the car is 22.5 mph. 

If I were to do it all again, I'd buy a better trim, nicer interior, that's probably it.

my 1988 toyota corolla altrac wagon (manual) was the best car i have ever owned. That car would rally in the snow.

have a forester we'll run into the ground then buying a rivian r2.

WRX

one of the last affordable fun stick shift AWDs. 

Finding the shell of the car I wrecked, my beloved 1995 Eagle Talon TSi AWD Turbo.  Paying someone to resurrect it so I can go back to 1999 - bump some 2pac on South U and act like I'm 19 again.

My 9-year-old Outback is ideal for my needs: big enough for both me and the dog to sleep in when we go fast-travel camping, carries a lot of stuff--I just moved my MIL from Alabama to an assisted living facility here in Michigan and I was able to get everything she needed in it, decent mileage--31 highway on the aforementioned trip, and as would be expected the AWD is useful in the winter to get me up and down my dirt road and gravel driveway to my minifarm. Caveats of course apply: I have a 2500 diesel pickup with an 8-ft bed for hauling bigger loads and pulling my 5th wheel, I'm not ego-driven to drive a new or even fashionable car, the price was right when I bought it. I do not anticipate replacing it for at least eight to ten years.

With the exception of summer only toys? For us AWD is "required" because: weather in New England. Be aware that German car parts can be $ and some cars don't even have oil dipsticks, which can be nerve racking Also? Experienced based suggestion? Do *not* go near Range Rover, Jaguar, or Kia.

Audi and BMW make very nice cars. Just make sure you've got a good, local mechanic.

You want practical/durable? Subarus rule - but they have zero cachet. You want cachet with getmehome abilities? BMW, Audi, Toyota Land Rover, Lexus, etc.

I'm looking for a new daily commuter, thinking a Honda Accord or Civic.

Despite living in the lake effect snow belt much of my life I have never owned an AWD vehicle.  Started with a RWD beater, then various FWD models since the late 80s.  It might be nice to have one, but it would be more likely to be a Bronco or a Jeep than a car.  Maybe I'd look at the bigger Subaru models.  Audis are solid vehicles and have a great AWD system, but most of the owners I know bitch about the repair and maintenance costs.

Hoping to get another 80-100k out of my current vehicle, but if I were looking it would probably be another minivan - I'd at least check out the AWD implementation in the Chrysler Pacifica.  I like the Rivians a lot but don't have the ability to charge at home or work.

We have a 2018 Audi SQ5. It's great in every way except gas consumption. We've driven it cross country (with our cats in the back seat, which was.....interesting), in the snow in Chicago, and I've hauled many a pieces of furniture in it. It's very comfortable. The downside is not great mileage and it takes super gas, which gets expensive. We've thought about selling it for that reason (and it's now out of warranty and repairs on Audis are expensive). Maybe thinking about a VW Taos. 

Certainly not used and definitely electric but if they ever end up making it the Rivian R3x looks like a very fun little AWD car. 

My advice is to drive some and see what suits you. I have a 4WD truck and we have or have had 5 AWD cars fairly recently. I would recommend them all. No complaints. No crazy repairs. We have lots of snow and black-ice roads here in the mountains of Washington State. I use studded snow tires November-April. I love BMWs but we have been impressed with the new Subaru Outback Wilderness. It has 9.5" of clearance for our dirt roads and snow. That is the same clearance as my truck with a lift.

Current car and Wife’s current car:

   2024 Subaru Outback Wilderness

   2020 BMW M340i xDrive

Previous AWD cars:

   2016 BMW X4 M40i

   2004 Audi S4

   2008 Audi A4

BMW, I have one best car have ever driven in snow.  Only bad thing about AWD is if on tire goes bad you almost always have to buy 4.   

Just bought a 2023 Tesla Model S to replace my 2013 Model S (which still runs & looks great, by the way). Will echo what other posters have said: I cannot go back to internal combustion now, and this car is the absolute best. Love it. I have a good buddy that has a Rivian SUV that they love. Definitely consider EV, whatever direction you choose to go. Easier/cheaper than you think.

Recently bought a new CX-5 for daughter in college in Boston.  Very pleased with how that thing performs, and the mid-level trims are surprisingly nice for the price point (things like the leather they used and the stitching on that leather aren't going to confuse you with a true luxury brand, but it was somewhere between the Lexus and the Toyota).  Want to get her snow tires, but so far she has had no issue in messy weather.  That's easily a ten year car if responsible firstborn child stays true to form.

Living in the South we don't need AWD ... but usually go that route b/c the locals lose their minds in any sort of winter storm. That being said, looking to get a couple of new (or new-to-us) vehicles:

1) we ran the Escalade into the ground with ~300,000 miles as the mommymobile raising our kids.  I think she should get a 4-series convertible, but she's still stuck on an SUV (for no practical reason)

2) I need to replace my commuter ... and work has be roadtripping around the Carolinas often, so fuel efficiency is somewhere on the list.  2014 Hyundai Genesis sedan has been a workhorse ... some sort of middle aged man "executive" sedan is what I need to settle on.  

I bought my daughter a 2022 challenger GT awd a year ago. it was great in snow this winter. I honestly thought on paved snowy roads it does much better than my son's wrangler. it's not particularly quick with 303hp and heavy, but enough to get out of harm's way and supposedly do 146mph if u have the time and place to get there. best part is now you can fly to Florida and buy 2023 awd GTs for 25k or less new and drive em home. and the functional ram air is a cool touch.

be weary of part time awd vehicles. my personal experience with a 2013 honda pilot awd is it only kicked in the awd when you were already in trouble and sometimes made it worse as you had adjusted for the front wheels slipping and then the rear wheels start slipping too. all or none for me, or just good ole rwd with pt 4wd and lockers.

1. Wife drives a Mazda crossover so it’s more like a hatchback car that sits a little higher off the ground than a car. It’s AWD and she loves it. Wasn’t expensive either.

2. My current 4x4 truck (Ram 1500 Bighorn) has 155k miles on it. They tend to get a bad rap but it’s my third ram truck and they have all given me zero problems aside from standard recommended maintenance (oil change, brake pads, transmission flush/fill, diff flush/fill, radiator flush/fill)

I am thinking I’ll need a new truck here in the next 3-4 years though as I put ~20k miles a year on  my vehicles. I am leaning towards the Toyota Tundra (Platinum or Capstone editions).

My last car that wasn't AWD was a 1989 Ford Taurus SHO.  My driveway has a pretty decent slope to it and an inch of snow would make it almost impossible to get the SHO into my garage without shoveling.  I also had a major adrenaline rush event one winter day in that car.  That car sold me on the value of winter tires, but AWD makes getting a car up my driveway on slippery days much easier.

I've owned many Audis since then..A4s, A6s, and a Q5.  The latest is my 2018 Audi A5.  You put winter tires on that car and its pretty much unstoppable.  I also like how Audi has shifted the drive bias rearward with this car having a 60/40 rear to front drive ratio.  The car behaves much more like a RWD car when going through the twisties.  My previous car was a BMW 335i with Xdrive and it was also great car to drive.  Snow tires made it pretty unstoppable too.

Audi was the pioneer of high performance awd cars, and they still make spectacular winter rides.  And compared to the weak things in my last few Jeep suvs, Audi heated seats are on another level.  They wild melt your clothes or keep the pizza hot.

Also, whatever you end up with, find a set of used rims and get winter tires.  Awd plus tires is unstoppable.  

My priority in a car is practically.   My wife's priority is keeping up with the Jonses.  I'm hoping the new Crown Signia meets that sweetspot for her.  She "needs" all that storage space for the zero kids we have and the AWD for all the snow we get in the metro Detroit area ( I shoveled twice this year).  Personally I like the 36 mpg and a car that will run forever with very little maintenance cost.

My fwd 09 Altima is still serving all my needs and runs fine, but I do have my eyes on a Ridgeline eventually.   Don't need a real truck, but a bed for my Home Depot runs would be nice and don't want to deal with the rough ride that comes with a real truck.  Hoping they get a hybrid before I'm in the market but it isn't looking likely with their focus on EVs.

I would go with a Subaru WRX if I were to ever decide to get rid of my truck and get an AWD car.

It’s not AWD, but I just bought a ‘24 Ford Maverick Hybrid last month to replace my 11 year old Fusion. A truck that’s getting me ~36 mpg so far (and the warm weather hasn’t hit yet)? Yes, please. 

It's funny, because I saw the thread title and was thinking about how the OP might want to consider a truck, but you already, obviously, have such things. I am guessing you'd like an AWD that can make non-trivial commutes without having to take a truck all the time when the weather is dodgy.

In our family we are focused on passenger and cargo capacity and only have two vehicles, so having a pickup with 4x4 is a no-brainer for us, and that's our bad-weather vehicle.

Which we had gotten away with not needing until this week. 

Thing is, I need the 4x4 to get around (city is sorta shut down but I'll be out later to survey things like parking lot needs and so on) but an AWD car woiuld be insufficient for me and could probably still get stuck. 

My mom has a Subaru that she rather likes and those remain very popular up here where a lot of people who dislike trucks for various reasons but like getting around in dodgy conditions live in significant quantities. But "cars" are a vanishing breed and most of the smaller vehicles people drive are now crossovers.