Subaru AWD Beats Them All

[Mykl]

I forgot about Honda's SH-AWD system. I've heard lots of good things. If only they'd put it in a relatively lightweight performance oriented car.

The AWD system in Mitsubishi's EVO is also excellent, and quite advanced.

It's mostly the "FWD until a computer engages a clutch to send torque to the rear wheels" style of AWD that I dislike with a vengeance. I'd rather just have a FWD car than that.

 

[andrewg]

A different class....but I would be willing to bet a Honda Ridgeline would have fairly easily equaled the Subaru. I recall somewhere on the internet seeing a winter test of various competing vehicles climbing a snow/ice covered hill. The Ridge did very well from what I remember.

 

[Errtt]

Makes me want to get a Forester next for my to/from work vehicle (1-hr each way). I know a few fields I can cut across saving time/miles, that I wouldn't attempt with my RAV. lol

I know 2 people that have a Subaru. A Forester & Outback. Knew one that had the Baja but she rolled & totaled it up in the hills a few years ago. It couldn't get out of that one. lol

 

[zloveraz]

Here is another demo but pretty good explanation of the AWD systems:

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Why just Audi? Why not a V70XC.....oh yeah. Volvo doesn't export that to us anymore.
How about a BMW X3? Yeah.....I saw the Top Gear episode where Clarkson fails miserably in every off-road/low traction endeavor with an X6 -- Maybe not the X3.

Point about the Jeep Patriot is that you get a 19:1 Low range. I would be really surprised if the Patriot didn't crawl that little hill. Of course then you are stuck with a CVT. For comparison sake, virtually all the Subarus in stock here that aren't badged "WRX" or "STi" are CVTs now. Sure, you can order a Sube with a manual -- and pay full sticker price.

Now if Chrysler would just equip a Freedom Drive II with a manual....


Volvo XC70 is still available here...and it uses a Haldex system and includes hill descent control. I like the look/feel of the XC60 better than the XC70, however...

 

[buster]

 

[buster]

From reseraching Bu's over the last few weeks learned a few things about them I think are interesting.

1. Their AWD is simply better than anything otehr than maybe Audi. They ruined my liking of many other SUV's with AWD, now that I see how bad those really are. Subaru's system is so much better.

2. I give them credit for not following design trends and copying other sytles, which is so common today. They are not the nicest looking cars, but they do have their own look that's for sure. LOL

 

[Errtt]

Since this thread, I started to consider a used low mile Subie for my next work/run around vehicle as it sounds like the AWD would be good since I go a little off road for fishing, metal detecting etc.
I'll probably need to replace the old Rav withing a year or so as I'm approaching 200k on the clock now. Was looking into another Rav for the mileage but the Subie might be a nice change short of the head gasket issues I read here and there.
Still might look into & consider next round. Have plenty of time to look & think about it.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: Kiwi_ME
Originally Posted By: gofast182
Originally Posted By: Kiwi_ME
Honda has the dual pump thing for that very reason. That's why you see the rear wheels stopping and starting.

Not to be confused: the Honda system with the multi-plate clutch at the rear diff (VTM-4, found in the Pilot and Ridgeline) is different than the Real-Time AWD pump system in the CR-V....

Yes, looking at the Honda SH-AWD system it seems very sophisticated. I'm not clear on why some have planetary gearsets on each rear half axle. It may be a combination of providing a slight speed-up for cornering or to reduce the torque loading on each clutch - which I notice are seem to be direct acting from the solenoid rather than using an intermediate ball-ramp servo like the JTETK clutch. It seems brave to put clutches on wheel-speed elements of the drivetrain where the torques are the highest.

The Dual Pump however works different than what I thought - it still relies on a front/rear speed difference to unbalance the flow between the pumps, effectively a fully-mechanical reactive system.


SH-AWD is a wonderful on road system and an absolute hoot on gravel roads. You can fly as it pushes power to approrpiate rear wheel to track the vehicle in gravel well. It work pretty well in snow.

The system however is traction control with a lot of brains.I n deep snow or mud slows the vehicle to getting it stuck. You disable the stability control/traction and it basically outputs even power to four wheels. I did not realize to disable the system in my MDX.

My wife in her no electronics AWD Subaru with LSD drove right around me in 9" deep of snow while I was stuck in my MDX with burning brakes smell. I finally figured out the VSA off button gets it working again.

 

[JTK]

It's tough to come up with any negatives in regards to Subaru's AWD system. They've got it down to science as far as how transparently and efficiently it works in there cars. It might add more weight to the car, but if you've got the car up in the air for a tire rotation or whatnot, you can free-wheel roll the rear wheels with no more resistance than you'd find on a FWD vehicle.

Problem is, in my Buffalo winter driving experience with my 2012 Legacy, it's no better than any other similar class front wheel drive only vehicle.

There's no ground clearance on the Legacys and they come from the factory with tires that are absolutely HORRIBLE in the snow.

If you need to add snow tires to make it marginally better than a FWD only vehicle with snow tires, why bother, other than the fact it's a Subaru, so you've got relative reliability and resale on your side.