4x4 vs. AWD

[JWIL4CY]

Tires make so much of a difference when it comes to traction on snow/ice. I have a 4x4 truck but my tires are bald. I basically just ice skate across the roads.

 

[CloneAggie]

Bought a CX9 for the little lady a month ago. Love it. Never had a Mazda before. Noticed the CX5 on the lot & in the show room and the mileage on the sticker. For what you get, can't believe you don't see more around. Think Mazda will sell a lot of vehicles in the near future.

Love my CX9. It is AWD but it isn't that good in the snow. The factory tires are just not very good for that type of driving. Haven't sprung for winter tires, which overall has been fine because this and last winter have been so mild.

 

[Tri4Cy]

I have a Jeep that has 4wd with two settings to choose whether you want the diff locked or not. It is nice to be able to drive around without worrying about turning in 4wd while still providing power to all. Then if you get stuck or an especially bad stretch you can still lock the diff.

that is an '03 so I don't know if the new ones are still mechanical or done automatically.

I have an 11' Grand Cherokee. I went with the full time 4WD option as I didn't think I would really ever need the locking diff (an upgrade). Getting from point A to point B in a straight line is amazing. I am a bit of a control freak and don't like all of the computer stuff getting in my way. If I had kids in the back I wouldn't want anything else but it's kind of hard to drift with traction control Plus when I do take it off road it just doesn't handle like my 02' did (with the locking diff).

 

[BigLame]

Love my CX9. It is AWD but it isn't that good in the snow. The factory tires are just not very good for that type of driving. Haven't sprung for winter tires, which overall has been fine because this and last winter have been so mild.

Yeah, I noticed the brand on it was not one I would look to buy if adding replacement tires, but since the vehicle was new (2012 with the 2013's coming onto the lot), I figure it's good to go for the first 30K to 40K miles.

Got the Gran Touring, so it has the best interior you can get. Think they put a little more into the interior than past models, but did see while researching that interior in Mazda's typically do not hold up well. Kids aren't all over the place now that they are older, so don't think wear & tear on interior will be too much of an issue. Thing definitely has the 'zoom zoom' out on the roadways.

Still couldn't get over the 32 or 33 mpg on the sticker of the CX5's. Look pretty sporty, so I just think more 'younger' couples (pre-kids or with their first) will definitely give them a hard look. They had prototype 2014 Mazda 6 car in the showroom that looked awesome (no one had driven it yet - were not allowing people at the dealership to drive until spring or something like that). Thinkin that could be my mid-life crisis car in a year or two.