Is All-Wheel-Drive REALLY Better Than Front-Wheel-Drive In The Snow? 

Would love to see FWD + snow tires vs AWD + all-season

TIres! With winter tires, I find I can get more traction on a front drive car versus an all wheel drive car with all seasons....I think a test with a front drive with winter tires and a comparable in size and weight all wheel drive car with all seasons would be interesting.

Of course an awd is better in a drag race from stopped in slippery conditions with similar tires, though too many drivers think they're invincible with awd/4wd. A fwd with winter tires can do quite well in the snow; I've used them for decades in Canada.

Did they have Winter tire or 4 season , here in QC it mandatory to get Snow+ Mountain symbol on your rubber. Get it right Kids

Living in the Canadian prairies, I definitely do not miss the days when I had front wheel drive cars in the winter. Since I started driving 4x4s, I've pretty much forgotten that winter driving was supposed to be a problem.

A light fuel pedal foot will help a lot when it comes to 2wd vehicles. But when it comes to putting the power down under full throttle, there's no comparison. Assuming equal power getting to the wheels, the 2wd is trying to put down twice as much power through each tire compared to the AWD. That means a lot of wheelspin for the 2wd, not much movement.

All seasons have come along way, particularly from the European manufacturers. However, so have snow tires. I’m running Blizzaks on our 2015 Sienna AWD, and it’s incredibly stable in the snow. Remember kids, AWD helps you go, but tires allow you to stop.

TC off can do better in the snow with a FWD sedan than having it on. Especially thick stuff, TC will just shut the car down before it gets moving.

You guys should show the difference in AWD vs 4WD in snow with the same tires if possible

Truth is that RWD, FWD, and AWD will perform better with dedicated snow tires. Studded snow tires are really great. I totally enjoy your videos. On the lighter side with lots of laughs. 😃

The snow stopping test should really be done on a flat snow surface without loose show - that variable is difficult to control for otherwise.

The problem was that the Camry had Texas plates. lol

This was more of an IQ test them all wheel drive vs front wheel... perhaps a better starting line for both autos.

Winter tires are more important in snow then AWD

The AWD on my 21 Camry is fantastic. I've been able to get out of my driveway with ease, even after the snow plows put more snow at the end of the driveway. AWD is always highly recommended

I'm not sure what everyone's dogging on these two for. Of course the AWD was always going to come out on top; the point was to illustrate the magnitude of the advantage.

'82 Nissan Stanza (12 years) '94 Camry (27 years). Many trips DC to Central PA and a few DC to Buffalo in snow. Cars were quite capable. '14 RAV4 AWD and '19 Lexus RX 300 AWD - handle snow a bit better.

That Mazda also has a far more advanced AWD system than most others, so even more of an unfair advantage in this case

I was shocked to the core to discover that all wheel drive was better than front wheel drive in the snow. It was totally unexpected that twice the drive potential would mean twice the traction potential. That's crazy!!! 😜

want to see the Mazda vs a subaru wrx or sti. see how well the 2 awd do

I have a new Mazda Cx30 and put some Bridgestone Blizzaks on because I don't love the Turanza tires that came with it on the snow.

I noticed the Mazda side is snow route ready . The Camry side is snow in front of tires .. not shovel yet that’s y Camry was harder to take off too

That was really fun! 😂 I think this was a really good real world comparison. That was my exact experience living in CO. I went from a Nissan versa to a Subaru Impreza and I could pretty much go anywhere in the winter. I still remember getting stuck in the a basin parking lot every weekend. That poor versa. Great car otherwise! Cheers and happy holidays 🎄🕎

Would love to see the awd Camry tested!

Great fun! I just put Nokian all weather tires on my 2013 ES350 Lexus and drove about 800 km (500 mi) in -20 c (-4 f). Grip and stopping were great. Return trip it was around 0c (32 f) and grip and stop were acceptable. The amazing thing was I hit 6.7 l/100km ( 40 plus mpg) out, and 7.4 l/100km (high 30 mpg) on the way back. Some weight needs to be given to driver experience and skill. going out, I passed 2 different Wranglers in the ditch, on their doors!

I wish my 2015 Camry was AWD, for the added assistance in certain situations. Driving in the road with new all season tires, it’s decent though overall.

Amazing how Pontiac had a awd car the 6000 STE and S/E models, from 1988 to 1990. The awd sedan concept didn't catch on, but 30 years later is the norm. GM was ahead of their time on a lot of innovations that are the norm now.

Keep the tire content coming guys

Not all awd cars are as capable as mazdas snd subarus.

Just traded my Camry in for a new Mazda cx-5. First time having AWD and loving it. Good video. Thanks

You would of had a better chance backing up the hill with the camry !

AWD on stock all seasons vs FWD on dedicated winter tires. Yes I have tested that scenario for myself to see if I was putting too much emphasis on winter tires. It wasn’t a perfect apples to apples comparison but I tested the 2008 Sienna fwd with blizzaks WS90 vs Subaru 2019 AwD on stock all season. My Sienna was only slightly slower off the start than Subaru. Braking my Sienna was night/day better. For 99% of the time on paved snowy roads I would and do pick FWD with blizzaks over any awd/4x4 with all season tires. As long as I can get going with FWD then I prefer the at speed benefits of superior winter tires with less chance of spin out and FAR better braking performance. I’m not picking my winter vehicle based solely off off the line acceleration. Stopping and turning take priority. AWD with blizzaks is my best option but still have no issue leaving it at home for the extra people space of my van. It’s what I did yesterday cause I needed the entire space of the van. Had no concerns with taking the fwd van out with great tires.

I left Subaru after a decade and bought a Mazda3 Turbo AWD. Seeing this I feel better about the AWD in the Mazda since we don't usually get a lot of snow in the Mid-Atlantic. I still think I may get a set of Blizzaks and steel rims for it as inexpensive insurance.

There is a Mazda 3 AWD? They don't sell it in my country!

A compact class crossover with same engine but different drive system would be a good comparison. For example, the Kona base engine is available in FWD & AWD

I would be nice to see a comparison between AWD: Altima - Camry - Mazda 3, in different situations, all season tires.

Wish they did front wheel with winter tires vs 4wd . At one point at had a bmw330xi , my moms, my dads explorer , and my civic si with winter tires . From my experience in a metro area . Hands down I’d take the civic or anything g with winter tires . The explore and bmw were better from a stop in thick snow above like 4 or 5 inches that’s fresh . But when it came to stopping , turning , pure speed on the hwy , the civic blew them away . Last night in Detroit and Toledo, Ohio I still went 65 and the car loved it .

The Toyota Camry actually does offer all wheel drive, would like to see the all wheel drive Camry in this deep snow, The Mazda 3 with all wheel drive did great. Would also like to see the new Mitsubishi Outlander in this deep snow. The Outlander has S-AWC and I think Mitsubishi has one of the best All Wheel Drive systems from what I have seen and read.

Having lived in Colorado for the majority of my life (since I was 3 - early 1970's), I have owned RWD and FWD cars until February 2015. In my opinion AWD is a luxury if living in the city including Boulder and Denver Metro area. That said since 2015, my daily driver hasn't been and will never be 2WD ever again - 2 different AWD sedans so far since 2015.

Lou malnatti has the best pizza.

BUT did Andre have the traction control off? And how about the same test with snow tires on the Camry?

Another test would be the awd on all seasons and a front wheel drive on dedicated snow tires.

I think the Camry would've been faster if he drove normally instead of flooring it lol

Should have tried (carefully) driving backwards up the hill with the FWD. It shifts a lot more weight onto the drive wheels and can make hill climbing performance a lot better.

Something I dont see mentioned here is tire width. New vehicles have wider tires than older ones did. Wider tires tend to want to ride on top of the snow then dig in. I've driven a few GM A-bodies in snow and those had narrower tires and those were great in snow. With ordinary all-season tires.

Mazda AWD is very underrated

I got stuck going up the last hill to my local ski hill in my Mazda Protege 5 so I flipped it around and made it up the hill in reverse! Sometimes you just have to improvise!

I want a Mazda like that now so bad. Great video.

I live in north central MIchigan, and I have a Toyota Avalon. Just put Nokian WR-G4 all weather tires on it and it's amazing. Obviously can't handle deep snow, but anything up to 6 inches or so it goes like crazy. And the tires are quiet and smooth on dry pavement.

I live on a 650 foot mountain and plowing it is a luxury we don't always get quickly. When I moved here I owned a FWD 2006 Saab 9-3 and a 2003 FWD Honda Accord. Neither car even with snow tires could get up the mountain - I would get warning failures in both cars and they would get stuck. I learned to wait until an uphill approach was plowed and follow the truck up the mountain. I have since replaced both cars with a 2013 Subaru Legacy and a 2018 Buick Envision (I keep cars for at least 10 years and about 150,000 to 200,000 miles). Even with All Weather Tires as rated by Canada, no problems getting home now even with snow on the ground. The big question now is will a hybrid car make it up the mountain with AWD? We know AWD EVs cannot do it.

Wow that Mazda 3 did so good!

Andree did you have traction control on or off on the drag race? It looked like it was robbing power from the wheel to prevent slip.

A waste of time, not apples to apples.

You should have turned off traction control.....lol

That is crazy. I used to have a 98 Camry and it was a beast in the snow. It would take off like a rocket ship. Miss that car.

Both of those cars have brand new all-season tires. Now imagine the test with tires with 10k to 30k miles on them and being worn.

Looked like the Camry was starting in deep snow where the all wheel was in already snow tracts.

To everyone saying snow fires would have made both capable. Yes. Of course. But unfortunately almost everyone doesn’t switch out their tires except for the car enthusiast who follow this channel. Heck most of my coworkers still use their summer fires all winter long let alone all seasons. So having awd vs fwd at least provides some safety benefit for people who otherwise wouldn’t switch out their tires anyway even if they should

with FWD you want to keep your momentum moving forward and never stop. If you stop with FWD going uphill you are dead in your tracks. Nice experiment, but each vehicle has its advantage and disadvantage. Often it is better to have AWD in snowy climates but it all depends on how you drive. I've been driving for 44 years and never had AWD, it was either RWD and mostly the last 20 years FWD. I live in upstate New York and get an average annual snowfall of 127.3 inches however, over the last decade has appeared to be less and milder winters. You do not need AWD to drive during the winter season. I am a living example since I have never owned or driven a vehicle with AWD nor Four WD in 44 years of driving. My 2023 Camry XSE V6 has Michelin CrossClimate2 tires as the OEM Bridgestone Turanza EL440 A/S are expensive junk and worthless tires basically perform like a dry weather tire where it never rains or see snow. Wife has a 2022 Honda Civic Touring and got 16-inch steel wheels with Michelin X-Ice Snow tires for the winter. The Civic Touring is light weight with a 4-banger turbo and its FWD so with the X-Ice Snow it cuts through the snow much easier. Both the Civic Touring and Camry XSE V6 when more than 4 inches of snow and backing up into a parking spot with Winter tires, takes more time because for whatever reason going in Reverse sucks but going forward is fine. Guess it is poor weight distribution. My old 1995 Ford Taurus was made for winter driving and back in the day my 1975 Dodge Dart (looked like a Chevy Nova) with Slant-V6 would run circle around that Mazda in this video during the winter having snow tires on the Dart. Thanks for the demonstration guys. Liked the humor.

Great video as usual Merry Christmas Happy New Year

This is a apple to orange test. Would have been accurate if you could have gotten the same two vehicles in Fwd and Awd models. Fwd sedan vs Awd suv is not fair, especially in snow!🤣

I have the opportunity to buy a used Mazda CX 5 Fwd for a great deal. I live in the Midwest, on a steep hill and driveway, and always have issues in ice/snow with my compact fwd car. Should I forgo and get a new AWD vehicle instead? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I used to have a 2012 Toyota Camry V6 fwd and she did amazing in the snow in New Hampshire. It’s all on how you drive too and also traction control sucks in the snow it’s better to have it turned off.

That Mazda is good looking.

Love this test for its real world effect. I hate when test are done on a skating rink. Those road conditions were real world for New England and deep snow has different properties to it. It adds drag especially to a non AWD vehicle. I would love to see this done with multiple styles snows on the Camry and all seasons on the Mazda.

It’s crazy how 4WD drastically changed things.

Testing cars in snow with tires we here in the Nordic countries consider summer tires..... only in the US..... Thinking "All Season Tires" actually are ALL season tires.... only in the US.... Driving in snow conditions like in this video is no problem with proper winter tires, even with a 2wd car. Put some (example) Nokian Hakkapeliitta tires on those cars and those stupid "All Season" tires wil be put at shame as they should be (in the winter)

AWD has nothing to do with braking and steering, just with acceleration. Braking and steering are about the tires in these conditions and since you had different A/S tires none of this is really valid.

Interesting test of AWD vs FWD. The big advantage of AWD is the initial dead start in heavy snow. I currently have a 2001 FWD Monte Carlo, but mine does the same thing in heavy snow, just don't like it. My next car will have the AWD feature being in Northern Illinois. Plus my driveway is sloped upward quite a bit to get into the garage. Thanks for the demo test of both cars. Take care.

I don’t think the braking test makes any sense cuz both AWD and FWD cars are use four wheels to brake 😂.

All Season tires are good for Dry Asphalt, Wet Asphalt, Light Sand, Light Mud and Gravel. Theyre pathetic on Snow/Ice. Their arent enough snow sipes to make them a viable option in Snow. Get yourselves a Dedicated Snow Tire and be done. The roads are bad enough dry with people who cant control a car. But adding Ice/Snow to it makes it a very hazardous situation. Their are affordable snow tires out there. Even if u cant afford all 4 in 1 go, buy 1 each paycheck. And make your car into a Controllable Winter Car.

Really depends on the driver, most. Beyond that, next vehicle. No you do NOT NEED a gas hogging 4WD or AWD ffs. FWD & my personal favorite RWD equipped with the right tires makes a world of difference! Learning How to drive where you live, i.e. taking defensive driving courses if not a car enthusiast that has raced(like learned how, not street) - I've passed dweebs in their 🤏d energy lifted gas hogs, Range Rovers, etc with either mudding tires or equally dumb 22" summer performance tires stuck or spinning. Burning gas, as I wiz by smiling, waving Laughing in my RWD & my last RWD Brabus Pearlescent Pink Cabriolet Fortwo 🤣. One I asked IF they needed help.

05:28 - skip through all the bs and get to the race.

All Wheel Drive Is More Attractive Than The Front Wheel Drive Unless You Can Get All-Season Tires All-Season Tires Performed Very Well Especially In The Snow Summer Tires Doesn't.If You Want To Get In The Snow Get All-Season Tires.All-Season Tires Can Do Anything & They Are Popular If You Don't Want To Drive In The Snow Get Front Wheel Drive.

yeah FWD sucks. Especially in minivans. Mom has a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. 4,500 pounds. Trying pushing that beast by yourself. It sucks. All my pleas for her to get an SUV with AWD have been unkindly ignored. But what can you do?

We all get that AWD will take of quicker. The real difference is does it really control better in ice / slush / snow? Answer is no! I am not getting sucked into AWD Dog Shit that requires all tires to be replaced at the same time because AWD is such a pill of dog shit that it will cause expensive issues in no time. FWD works just fine with good snow tires or all weather tires pretty much on stops and in some cases can maneuver better than AWD. Plus, with FWD I don't have to worry about buying a 4 set if I get one flat. AWD is expensive to fix and is far more likely to have issues. F AWD!

If the front wheel drive vehicle has a bit more weight in the front, then it will do the job as good as AWD! However, AWD uses more energy to operate. Therefore, on an endurance run on a snowy mountain road, my Bolt beat out all the AWD EVs costing more than $20,000 more in distance and energy. This includes a Tesla.

Should've turned off the traction control. The nanny junk gets many people stuck. Jist like off road....theres times you need to spin to keep up momentum... the computers often make things worse.. But AWD/ 4X4 always wins on anything other than pavement

i can garantee you the mazda temperature indicator is very precise. i live in northern canada and i have a 2021 turbo mazda 3. it was -35 celcius this morning where i live and my mazda 3 started easily with no aid and not plugged. record low in my city is -49 celcius in 2016. at about 1 hour drive from my town the record is -51 celcius in 2014. i have owned 4 mazdas and they all perform very well in these extreme climates.

The SMALL hatchback fwd's from the not too distant past.....many still on the road......where the best at snow traction.....over these bigger sedans of today with higher horsepower and wider lo pro tires ....Does anybody remember the OLD vw beetle from the 60s/70s? They seemed unstoppable in heavy snow!!

I had my second car ever a 1997 Dodge Intrepid with a 3.5 l non snow tires in 2007 we had a major snow storm I was passing every truck on the highway to get to work when I got to work I couldn't even open my door That thing was a tank everybody was like does that thing have all wheel drive No it doesn't! My neon was a beast too! Love my front wheel drive vehicles❤

Your tires are the only thing that touches the road.. a little bit makes a big difference. That said, you also need to know what you're doing. Seems like Camry guy didn't have great technique either. AND, and I can't stress this enough, the better the traction situation the more potential for a false sense of security. Just because you can accelerate better doesn't mean you'll stop or turn better. Or stop AND turn better, which is often what you have to do in an emergency. Xmas week 2010 I drove my (car then) Civic on all seasons up to Vermont. I then drove my buddy's Subaru on all seasons in the snow just to try it. Then I drove my mom's Subaru with snow tires. The next day, my buddy from before got studded snows on his Subaru, and I tried it. All noticeable improvements over the last. When I was going back and forth to college in the late 90s traversing those Green Mountains, I'd ONLY ever see out of state SUVs and trucks off the road in the snow. Inexperience and that false sense of security.

That Camry hybrid was not a great choice. I know someone who owned multiple Camry's and he complained about the hybrid being terrible in the snow, he always bragged about how good his front wheel drive Camry's where until he bought a hybrid, he actually complained about the hybrid getting stuck in a dusting of snow.

I haven't even watched the video yet but i can tell you right away that awd destroys fwd and rwd. My first car was fwd, my second car was rwd and now i have awd and i'm never going back. I have gotten stuck so many times with fwd and rwd. I have owned my awd for 2 years and i haven't got stuck once! and i've been driving in some extreme winter conditions. Other cars were totally stuck but i didn't have a problem.

Wish Honda offered AWD in their accord and civics if I was inclined to buy a crv, pilot, ridgeline or the passport. Unless if you go with the Acura TLX A-Spec/ Type S

I wonder how much Toyota fans are embarrassed now.Or proud because their favorite manufacturer just invented a NO WHEEL DRIVE vehicle.😂😂😂😂

I also hate traction control cuz once your stuck your stuck! And some cars you can’t turn it off. But if you can turn it off you’ll pull yourself out from where your stopped. Since with it off you can spin the wheels. And get grip. And ABS when stopping I’ve noticed takes longer then letting off the brakes and pressing again you’ll stop sooner! Even sooner if you put in neutral if you have to stop fast. Snow or not. The transmission is still pushing and not disengaging fast enough during an emergency stop

FWD sucks on snow or ice... AWD is WAY better... Why? because wheels in AWD need to transfer only half of momentum needed to move compared to FWD. When there is limited amount of traction each Nm makes a difference...

Does the Camry have a CVT transmission ? Mazda doesn't use CVT,'s I believe. How about testing the bast and most popular all AWD cars, Subaru !

I have two AWD cars with all season tires. I have a FWD car with winter dedicated tires. Even without snow tires the AWD'S spank the FWD with winter tires. Just my experience.

I have an 2021 Subaru Impreza "sport" 🤣 hatchback but I only have 5" of clearance so, I don't know if my Subie could do that either.....🏹🤠👍

You can't just say "The Camry is 2 wheel drive." It's Front Wheel Drive which is a big difference as opposed to Rear Wheel Drive especially in the snow.

Guys, this video was kinda a waste of time, I mean of course AWD will beat FWD in deep snow. Perhaps a more interesting match-up would be the AWD car with stock all-season tires Vs FWD with some good (narrow) snow tires.

Go to TYRE REVIEWS on youtube and you will get a much better review of snow tires vs all season, rwd vs fwd winter, fwd vs all wheel drive winter, awd all season vs fwd winter, etc….. they did all the combinations and did it in a more controlled manner which was not opinionated!

I like to know what happens with the video chevrolet silverado 1997 vs high country on the farm 🚜 the one looks to bad the over 50 000 dollars 💸 💵 truck vs chevy silverado not the same price? I look 👀 for the video and I don't found any more I think chevrolet enforce too removed the video?

"Hey guys! Wanna ask the stupidest question in the world and make a video about it!?!? LETS DO IT! Hey, for the next video, lets see if 4 guys of the same size can carry more weight than 2 guys! Oh man! This is such great content!"..... You guys are literally the worst.

Do you have snow tires? That makes a big difference too! We are in the Mid Atlantic we don’t usually need snow tread unless we are medical or first responders

I would bet the sidewall makes a difference. These low profile winter tires are terrible. It's better to have a high sidewall so the tire has give and absorbs the snow and ice ... Am all season tire 215 75 r15 will be much better than 215 50 r 15..

how about "real world" driving? Drive a set route with a mix of surfaces, hills, curves and speeds. Score it by the number of times the car gets squirrelly, has trouble moving or stopping. Lowes score wins.

Andre looks like AKA Bobby the grandfather my deceased father! Also Andre is only 5 foot 5 inches same size as AKA Tom Cruise Bobby The Grandfather too!