^^ Best idea in inclement weather right here! I do the same. I've got great traction accelerating usually, but the brake test is the easiest to figure out actual conditions. Being in NC, winter events aren't common, so my biggest threat is people. Thankfully I go to work well before others hit the road, so I'm usually safe.
I drove a Volt and while it was nice I don't see how you'll think it's something you can live with coming from a sportwagen.
Yeah, I'll move the wheel back and forth and try different braking patterns. Everyone should do this in snow to practice reacting to what can happen and to get used to and understand what can happen. Been doing it for over 30 years and it has gotten me through lots of bad weather driving.
When I was a kid, after I got my license, I would wait for the roads to empty after the snow got heavy. Then I would take my beater of a Taurus wagon out for "practice". I would drive down a wide empty street and then cut the wheel and apply the parking brake. Once I did a 180 I'd pop the brake and cut the wheel back to straighten out. Little did I know that screwing around like that taught me a lot about controlling a vehicle on the snow. And it was a lot of fun.
or it's like comparing spending $X+1000 for a 2wd car with snow tires, or $X+5000 for an AWD car.
You might also consider a Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. I test drove one of those after the Volt and it was very nice with fantastic incentives (and an industry leading warranty). The Kia Optima Hybrid is the same car, I believe, but intended to be a more youthful style.
You might also consider a Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. I test drove one of those after the Volt and it was very nice with fantastic incentives (and an industry leading warranty). The Kia Optima Hybrid is the same car, I believe, but intended to be a more youthful style.
I looked at those larger models because after driving dozens of cars my wife finally said how she didn't understand why none of them matched the interior space of the Passat we were loaned while VW fixed our oilpan.
I told her that's because we are looking at the wrong segment! If I had known she wanted a mid-sized...anyway, best decision we've come up with is to give the JSW back and just make do with the eGolf and bug.
One final consideration is to wait for a generation or two of Audi eTrons, wait for this year's models to come off lease, or see if VW is going to bring some hybrids over here (they just killed the Jetta).
The Sonata comes in a typical hybrid and also the PHEV. We're on solar so I only looked at and drove PHEVs. I think the eTron has woefully outdated in car entertainment and too short of range for the asking price. That's one of the reasons I'm considering waiting for a few years to see what comes off lease or is offered new then.
You don't say....
Nah, that only applies if all four wheels are locked to the engine. Subaru uses open diffs, so it's really only a 2-wheel drive (one front and one rear wheel). Of course, it's always a good idea to always have equal sized tires on a vehicle since power will follow the path of least resistance. Sadly, a Subaru doesn't have much more traction than a 2wd vehicle with a good limited slip diff in it since both are only driving two wheels. These electronic traction control things help some by applying the brakes to the spinning wheel, but they aren't a real substitute for a mechanical LSD or locker.
Before Subaru took over Vermont (It's the only state where they beat Honda in sales), Saab was the token Vermonter car, at least in Southern VT. My high school parking lot was probably 30% Saab, another 30 VW, and the rest mixed. Great cars back in the day. Also the first car I ever sat in with seat heaters!
I guess it depends on the center differential per vehicle. I think Subaru uses four different center diff configurations depending on model and transmission. So long as the front and rear diffs aren't locked to each other, you should be fine. Honestly, you don't want to drive anything with a locked center diff on dry pavement since the front wheels and rear wheels naturally turn at different rates any time you're going around a corner, though it's more pronounced on tight turns. Most center diffs are unlocked for street use though and the viscous coupling is designed to handle different speeds front to rear.
Sorry it took so long I must have missed your post. Love the Q7 bought it used but really enjoy it. 3rd row is really only functional for kids but I have stuffed a couple of adults back there on occasion. Most of the time the seats are down and that gives us a lot of room.
Actually, Subaru recommends having four tires of equal size, identical tread, and identical wear. Replacement tire(s) should be within 1/4-inch of tire circumference or about 2/32-inch of each other in remaining tread depth.
Are you talking about a Toyota TRUCK with 4 wheel drive as opposed to a Subaru with AWD? Completely different system that works completely differently and you really cant think of them in the same way.
It's not that difficult. You just tell the tow company that you want a flat bed. If you request one, that's what they'll send...because they want to get paid. I did that with lowered and AWD vehicles over the years and never had an issue getting a flatbed.
We call it a High Bozo Factor
As the old saying goes "you've got to be smarter that the tools you use."
Very true, some of the Toyotas are much more similar to Audis using the torsen center instead of a more inferior (though cheaper) viscous coupling center used in many Subarus. The DCCD in the STI is closer to the torsen, but fancier with its clutch-type differential. None of them like mismatched tires, but there wouldn't be a difference in driving with slightly mismatched tires and driving down curvy roads on a regular basis in terms of center diff wear. I've rarely ever heard of any Toyota or Subaru center diffs going (not up to date on Audis) since they're pretty robust, and you know a lot of people drive around with uneven tire wear, etc.
