Thanks everyone, especially gathermewool, for the additional insights. Appreciate it.
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
On the other hand, he performed the same test on a CX-9 and CX-7 with similar results...
It's very interesting to me that most car-based, AWD vehicles perform about the same; start up the incline, then tires lift off at breakover, and progress stops (coupled with excessive wheelspin). With all I hear about Subaru and their supposedly superior AWD system, I just expected better spin management and ability to direct power.
With that said, take a look at this. Not a direct comparison by any means, but what I expected from Subaru.
If anything, I'm truly most impressed by the Canyon. Yes, it's a truck, but there's no sophisticated electronic wizardry at play here...just an old school, dumb 4WD system underneath with nothing more managing traction than a G80 in the rear end. Spin, it clunks into place, and on you go: