Is 4 motion really necessary?

[AS4]

As motacyclist said the 4motion handles way better... Yes, it is more capable in extreme conditions, but even in everyday driving it is much more planted on the road... And much better at accelerating out of a junction from stand still on a wet road.. Not necessary as the 2wd is brilliant (funding means I have a 2wd), but if you can afford the extra few quid the 4motion makes the vehicle even more amazing

 

[Ambler]

I've never had wheelspin in my 2wd dsg.
Mind you, the Cali is not exactly a boy racer vehicle.
I do find that in everyday driving it rolls a bit so 4wd might help there.
Other than that I don't see a need.
We do have a 4wd vehicle for other uses.

 

[Trebor]

2 wheel drive plus the right tyres is better than 4 wheel drive with the wrong tyres in my opinion.
I had 20 years of landcover / range rovers all 4wd I've now had 3 years of a 2wd cali never regretted not getting 4wd.
It was an easy decision for me as I needed the 5th seat. Ok there have been occasions where Ive got a bit of wheelspin pulling away on a greasy road but no worse than I've had with any other "normal" car. If its getting stuck on a campsite you are worried about i wouldn't worry.
There is only a very small window of ground conditions where a 4wd cali would get out that a 2wd wouldn't if driven well.

Yes but 4wd with the right tyres ! I also have had Series 1, Range Rover Classic , Dicovery . 4 x 110 County including V8 and Landcruiser Amazon 4.2 litre diiesel auto ( best ever ) and many more ...never had any wheel spin with Cali 4 motion even on sheet ice on steep hill in French alps this winter .

 

[Velma's Dad]

Blimey! Clearly you spent your working life as a vehicle dynamacist. Care to expand on your theory?

Ha, I was waiting for someone to call me out on that Pod! Actually no, not even Mrs VD would describe me as "dynamic", but here goes anyway...

What I was getting at is that I've noticed for years a prevailing belief that 4WD/AWD confers some magical quality that will make a vehicle stick to the road. Someone I know well was amazed when his Audi Allroad had the temerity to smack him into a barrier on a bend: "...But, but it's got 4-wheel drive!".

A lot of people with 4WDs seem to assume that, as well as the improvement in straight line traction (true, of course), they'll also get more lateral grip, or an improvement in braking. At the same time, the added traction of 4WD can allow faster acceleration in marginal conditions but the driver then needs to be more vigilant, not less.

Here's a very neat article, written by a Canadian (and let's face it they probably do a lot more snow and ice driving than most of us): http://www.wheels.ca/news/does-all-wheel-drive-actually-help-in-winter-driving/

 

[T6 CFO]

Good article and makes absolute sense to me.

Falls in line with what most of us want. The ability to get moving from a standing start i.e. To get out of a muddy field and pulling away from junctions. For anything else such as driving in snow get yourself some winter tires.

Mike

 

[Lavapotman]

In 6 years ownership the only occasion I needed extraction by tractor was at a particularly wet and muddy Latitude music festival some years ago. Festivals etc always have help on hand to assist in muddy conditions.

 

[B J G]

On a lighter note.

I recall two separate occasions when I wished I had 4WD.

1st in a snowy car park in Ipswich where my car had settled in the snow and refused to move, amazing how everyone does a detour to their car. In the end I left it in first gear got out and pushed myself out.

2nd was similar snow in Milton Keynes Ikea carpark when I'd gone to fetch the car and trailer to load up the flatpack items. Same scenario with nobody coming near. Eventually my Wife had got someone to look after our trolley and came searching as I'd been gone for over 20mins. We got moving but again with no help.

4WD comes to the rescue when you least expect it and if you have it you wouldn't always know that it had done its job. It's a cost option that can or can't be justified.

 

[MattBW]

Blimey! Clearly you spent your working life as a vehicle dynamacist. Care to expand on your theory?

Most layman folk that buy a 4x4 don't realise that getting more traction to get going in bad conditions like snow or the wet doesn't mean it can actually stop any better. It's probably why you sometimes see a 4x4 on their side or in a ditch when it snows badly in the UK. People think you can somehow drive them as if the conditions are normal, the marketing does often present like 4x4 somehow makes your tyres stickier which they don't

As above good tyres make a massive difference but sometimes those extra drive wheels can make a difference if you are stuck.

 

[Velma's Dad]

It's probably why you sometimes see a 4x4 on their side or in a ditch when it snows badly in the UK.

Yes, usually the same one that shot past you at 60 when you were doing 30, five miles back.

 

[MattBW]

My GF was a 4x4 offroading instructor in the past so I know from discussions with her that the secret to 4x4 off roading is to drive as slow as possible and only as fast as necessary. Weird that the marketing never presents this image.

 

[bvddobb]

...never had any wheel spin with Cali 4 motion even on sheet ice on steep hill in French alps this winter .

That's an interesting remark, Trebor! Since the 4Motion system only kicks in when a wheel starts spinning...

 

[T6 CFO]

This article explains how 4 Motion works.

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/technology/transmissions-and-drivetrains/4motion


Mike

 

[briwy]

And, personally I think it's a bit pointless having the 4wd without the diff lock. Fortunatley for us it was still included in the cost when we got our van.

 

[Teejay]

<snip>
A lot of people with 4WDs seem to assume that, as well as the improvement in straight line traction (true, of course), they'll also get more lateral grip, or an improvement in braking. At the same time, the added traction of 4WD can allow faster acceleration in marginal conditions but the driver then needs to be more vigilant, not less.

Here's a very neat article, written by a Canadian (and let's face it they probably do a lot more snow and ice driving than most of us): http://www.wheels.ca/news/does-all-wheel-drive-actually-help-in-winter-driving/

Yes as the coefficient of traction tends to zero makes no difference how many wheels and tyres you have!
You slide just as good with 2WD as with 4WD .

I believe that you will get even more out of a 4WD if you do a course and know its capabilities and deficiencies.

..message ends..

 

[bvddobb]

personally I think it's a bit pointless having the 4wd without the diff lock.

That is a common misconception about the 4Motion/Haldex system. Has been discussed at length on this forum before.

 

[briwy]

Generally I would agree with that article, however he is assuming that the grip on all four wheels is the same. This is not necessarily so, you could have front wheels with little or no grip and the rear wheels with some or all grip in which case the 4wd will help. Twice the chance of getting at least some traction.
Also going uphill weight transfer due to the gradient will transfer some more potential grip to the rear helping with overall traction. This is why sometimes it is possible with a front wheel drive vehicle to reverse up a hill when it won't go up forwards.

 

[bvddobb]

This is why sometimes it is possible with a front wheel drive vehicle to reverse up a hill when it won't go up forwards.

More often that is due to a difference in gearbox ratio between 1st speed forward and reverse... Quite often the gear ratio for reverse is lower than forward (that is how an old T-Ford would not go uphill in forward, but would in reverse...). Very recently had that with a Fiat Panda going up an icy hill...
In our T5, by the way, the gearbox ratio for 1st forward is lower than reverse... I believe that is so in all 4Motions.

 

[Bello]

We got the 4 motion only because of the need to pull a trailer with 2 ( small) horses in it. Even on wet grass it does the job well. So far never got stucked.

If I wouldn't have to pull the trailer (1600 kg) I would have gone for the 2 wd.

 

[sidepod]

We got the 4 motion only because of the need to pull a trailer with 2 ( small) horses in it. Even on wet grass it does the job well. So far never got stucked.

If I wouldn't have to pull the trailer (1600 kg) I would have gone for the 2 wd.

Would it not be easier to use the horses to pull you out........old school.?

 

[B J G]

Would it not be easier to use the horses to pull you out........old school.?

Bit of an imbalance on 2 horses against 150 or 204

 

[DM]

Yes, usually the same one that shot past you at 60 when you were doing 30, five miles back.

Is it wrong to wish that outcome when an idiot flies past you ignoring conditions. :thefinger

I've actually only had the pleasure once when someone planted their BMW ina wall on the A5 after overtaking me in fog with about 2 car-legths visibility.

 

[briwy]

You're a bad person DM.

 

[GrannyJen]

Is it wrong to wish that outcome when an idiot flies past you ignoring conditions. :thefinger

I've actually only had the pleasure once when someone planted their BMW ina wall on the A5 after overtaking me in fog with about 2 car-legths visibility.

Sometimes I feel positively homicidal.

Yesterday I was running home from Chichester to East Preston, busy small roads between the A27 and A29, no footpaths but clear, and I was high viz. One guy coming towards me in a 4WD with traffic behind me (his oncoming) had a choice, stop or run me over.

He chose the second. Pushed right to the verge I swear his wing mirror and my left elbow were only a couple of millimetres apart.

 

[Velma's Dad]

Is it wrong to wish that outcome when an idiot flies past you ignoring conditions. :thefinger

Morally wrong... but feeeels soooo right.

 

[soulstyledevon]

I was in the Austrian Alps a couple of weeks ago and asked our taxi driver if his T5 was 4 motion.
He laughed and said no not needed. Driving many years in the mountains and never had an issue with 2wd. He said it's all about having the correct tyres.
Plus in the years driving, he's only needed chains once and you only need to fit one set with 2wd.