Would love to see FWD + snow tires vs AWD + all-season

Living in the Canadian prairies, I definitely do not miss the days when I had front wheel drive cars in the winter. Since I started driving 4x4s, I've pretty much forgotten that winter driving was supposed to be a problem.

All seasons have come along way, particularly from the European manufacturers. However, so have snow tires. I’m running Blizzaks on our 2015 Sienna AWD, and it’s incredibly stable in the snow. Remember kids, AWD helps you go, but tires allow you to stop.

A light fuel pedal foot will help a lot when it comes to 2wd vehicles. But when it comes to putting the power down under full throttle, there's no comparison. Assuming equal power getting to the wheels, the 2wd is trying to put down twice as much power through each tire compared to the AWD. That means a lot of wheelspin for the 2wd, not much movement.

The AWD on my 21 Camry is fantastic. I've been able to get out of my driveway with ease, even after the snow plows put more snow at the end of the driveway. AWD is always highly recommended

'82 Nissan Stanza (12 years) '94 Camry (27 years). Many trips DC to Central PA and a few DC to Buffalo in snow. Cars were quite capable. '14 RAV4 AWD and '19 Lexus RX 300 AWD - handle snow a bit better.

Great fun! I just put Nokian all weather tires on my 2013 ES350 Lexus and drove about 800 km (500 mi) in -20 c (-4 f). Grip and stopping were great. Return trip it was around 0c (32 f) and grip and stop were acceptable. The amazing thing was I hit 6.7 l/100km ( 40 plus mpg) out, and 7.4 l/100km (high 30 mpg) on the way back. Some weight needs to be given to driver experience and skill. going out, I passed 2 different Wranglers in the ditch, on their doors!

Truth is that RWD, FWD, and AWD will perform better with dedicated snow tires. Studded snow tires are really great. I totally enjoy your videos. On the lighter side with lots of laughs. 😃

TC off can do better in the snow with a FWD sedan than having it on. Especially thick stuff, TC will just shut the car down before it gets moving.

You guys should show the difference in AWD vs 4WD in snow with the same tires if possible

The snow stopping test should really be done on a flat snow surface without loose show - that variable is difficult to control for otherwise.

Winter tires are more important in snow then AWD

AWD on stock all seasons vs FWD on dedicated winter tires. Yes I have tested that scenario for myself to see if I was putting too much emphasis on winter tires. It wasn’t a perfect apples to apples comparison but I tested the 2008 Sienna fwd with blizzaks WS90 vs Subaru 2019 AwD on stock all season. My Sienna was only slightly slower off the start than Subaru. Braking my Sienna was night/day better. For 99% of the time on paved snowy roads I would and do pick FWD with blizzaks over any awd/4x4 with all season tires. As long as I can get going with FWD then I prefer the at speed benefits of superior winter tires with less chance of spin out and FAR better braking performance. I’m not picking my winter vehicle based solely off off the line acceleration. Stopping and turning take priority. AWD with blizzaks is my best option but still have no issue leaving it at home for the extra people space of my van. It’s what I did yesterday cause I needed the entire space of the van. Had no concerns with taking the fwd van out with great tires.

This was more of an IQ test them all wheel drive vs front wheel... perhaps a better starting line for both autos.

I used to have a 2014.5 Camry SE V6 with Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires. In 2015, Lexington, Kentucky got two snow storms. One of them was just over 12 inches and the second one just over 17 inches and my Camry never got stock. That car was such a tank on the snow. It wasn’t a sport car, but it did it’s job just fine.

Just traded my Camry in for a new Mazda cx-5. First time having AWD and loving it. Good video. Thanks

Amazing how Pontiac had a awd car the 6000 STE and S/E models, from 1988 to 1990. The awd sedan concept didn't catch on, but 30 years later is the norm. GM was ahead of their time on a lot of innovations that are the norm now.

I wish my 2015 Camry was AWD, for the added assistance in certain situations. Driving in the road with new all season tires, it’s decent though overall.

The problem was that the Camry had Texas plates. lol

I live in north central MIchigan, and I have a Toyota Avalon. Just put Nokian WR-G4 all weather tires on it and it's amazing. Obviously can't handle deep snow, but anything up to 6 inches or so it goes like crazy. And the tires are quiet and smooth on dry pavement.

I noticed the Mazda side is snow route ready . The Camry side is snow in front of tires .. not shovel yet that’s y Camry was harder to take off too

That is crazy. I used to have a 98 Camry and it was a beast in the snow. It would take off like a rocket ship. Miss that car.

That was really fun! 😂 I think this was a really good real world comparison. That was my exact experience living in CO. I went from a Nissan versa to a Subaru Impreza and I could pretty much go anywhere in the winter. I still remember getting stuck in the a basin parking lot every weekend. That poor versa. Great car otherwise! Cheers and happy holidays 🎄🕎

I got stuck going up the last hill to my local ski hill in my Mazda Protege 5 so I flipped it around and made it up the hill in reverse! Sometimes you just have to improvise!

I left Subaru after a decade and bought a Mazda3 Turbo AWD. Seeing this I feel better about the AWD in the Mazda since we don't usually get a lot of snow in the Mid-Atlantic. I still think I may get a set of Blizzaks and steel rims for it as inexpensive insurance.

Wow that Mazda 3 did so good!

That Mazda also has a far more advanced AWD system than most others, so even more of an unfair advantage in this case

Having lived in Colorado for the majority of my life (since I was 3 - early 1970's), I have owned RWD and FWD cars until February 2015. In my opinion AWD is a luxury if living in the city including Boulder and Denver Metro area. That said since 2015, my daily driver hasn't been and will never be 2WD ever again - 2 different AWD sedans so far since 2015.

Wish they did front wheel with winter tires vs 4wd . At one point at had a bmw330xi , my moms, my dads explorer , and my civic si with winter tires . From my experience in a metro area . Hands down I’d take the civic or anything g with winter tires . The explore and bmw were better from a stop in thick snow above like 4 or 5 inches that’s fresh . But when it came to stopping , turning , pure speed on the hwy , the civic blew them away . Last night in Detroit and Toledo, Ohio I still went 65 and the car loved it .

My camry with some continentals did decent in the snow, but then again I would deactivate traction control and I have the V6. But nothing beats putting on my Blizzaks and watch the car eat up the snow. Winter tires really are a game changer 🙌

A compact class crossover with same engine but different drive system would be a good comparison. For example, the Kona base engine is available in FWD & AWD

I live on a 650 foot mountain and plowing it is a luxury we don't always get quickly. When I moved here I owned a FWD 2006 Saab 9-3 and a 2003 FWD Honda Accord. Neither car even with snow tires could get up the mountain - I would get warning failures in both cars and they would get stuck. I learned to wait until an uphill approach was plowed and follow the truck up the mountain. I have since replaced both cars with a 2013 Subaru Legacy and a 2018 Buick Envision (I keep cars for at least 10 years and about 150,000 to 200,000 miles). Even with All Weather Tires as rated by Canada, no problems getting home now even with snow on the ground. The big question now is will a hybrid car make it up the mountain with AWD? We know AWD EVs cannot do it.

I want a Mazda like that now so bad. Great video.

I was shocked to the core to discover that all wheel drive was better than front wheel drive in the snow. It was totally unexpected that twice the drive potential would mean twice the traction potential. That's crazy!!! 😜

The Toyota Camry actually does offer all wheel drive, would like to see the all wheel drive Camry in this deep snow, The Mazda 3 with all wheel drive did great. Would also like to see the new Mitsubishi Outlander in this deep snow. The Outlander has S-AWC and I think Mitsubishi has one of the best All Wheel Drive systems from what I have seen and read.

i can garantee you the mazda temperature indicator is very precise. i live in northern canada and i have a 2021 turbo mazda 3. it was -35 celcius this morning where i live and my mazda 3 started easily with no aid and not plugged. record low in my city is -49 celcius in 2016. at about 1 hour drive from my town the record is -51 celcius in 2014. i have owned 4 mazdas and they all perform very well in these extreme climates.

Should have tried (carefully) driving backwards up the hill with the FWD. It shifts a lot more weight onto the drive wheels and can make hill climbing performance a lot better.

Something I dont see mentioned here is tire width. New vehicles have wider tires than older ones did. Wider tires tend to want to ride on top of the snow then dig in. I've driven a few GM A-bodies in snow and those had narrower tires and those were great in snow. With ordinary all-season tires.

drove in the snow once about a decade ago. it was not bad but I was in my two-wheel-drive Avalanche and got stuck in a ditch that had iced over. Fortunately, I had a towel and was able to get it under the tires enough to get some traction. I can't imagine having snow every year. (Currently 84 degrees and sunny here.)

Would love to see the awd Camry tested!

I had zero issues in my 2017 Chevy Malibu while being stationed at fort drum, NY and while driving with traction control turned off with all season tires. Might I add that I never got stuck while being stationed there for 5 years between the years of 2015 to 2020

Keep the tire content coming guys

I remember when Andrae came on board, over a Decade or so ago. About the time I recognized TFL and the Ike gauntlet. This is what it looks like when people work hard toward the American dream. Good on you for working your way up. You did what few Americas are willing to do!!! And learned English.

Interesting test of AWD vs FWD. The big advantage of AWD is the initial dead start in heavy snow. I currently have a 2001 FWD Monte Carlo, but mine does the same thing in heavy snow, just don't like it. My next car will have the AWD feature being in Northern Illinois. Plus my driveway is sloped upward quite a bit to get into the garage. Thanks for the demo test of both cars. Take care.

TIres! With winter tires, I find I can get more traction on a front drive car versus an all wheel drive car with all seasons....I think a test with a front drive with winter tires and a comparable in size and weight all wheel drive car with all seasons would be interesting.

Love this test for its real world effect. I hate when test are done on a skating rink. Those road conditions were real world for New England and deep snow has different properties to it. It adds drag especially to a non AWD vehicle. I would love to see this done with multiple styles snows on the Camry and all seasons on the Mazda.

Another test would be the awd on all seasons and a front wheel drive on dedicated snow tires.

I would be nice to see a comparison between AWD: Altima - Camry - Mazda 3, in different situations, all season tires.

The Mazda looked great doing it!

I have a Chysler 300s awd with Yokohama all season tires mounted. That's one of the best awd vehicles to boot. Works great in the northern mountains of N.M..

I used to have a 2012 Toyota Camry V6 fwd and she did amazing in the snow in New Hampshire. It’s all on how you drive too and also traction control sucks in the snow it’s better to have it turned off.

To everyone saying snow fires would have made both capable. Yes. Of course. But unfortunately almost everyone doesn’t switch out their tires except for the car enthusiast who follow this channel. Heck most of my coworkers still use their summer fires all winter long let alone all seasons. So having awd vs fwd at least provides some safety benefit for people who otherwise wouldn’t switch out their tires anyway even if they should

I remember when I was dating my wife 16 years ago. Took her to Lake Tahoe in my 4Runner and we hit a snow storm. Caltrans set up a snow chain checkpoint. As I was driving, there a lot of people lookin for a parking space on the shoulder to put on snow chain out in the snow storm when we strolled along in a toasty 4x4 4Runner. She ended up buying an AWD and never looked back on getting a 2WD ever again.

I had my second car ever a 1997 Dodge Intrepid with a 3.5 l non snow tires in 2007 we had a major snow storm I was passing every truck on the highway to get to work when I got to work I couldn't even open my door That thing was a tank everybody was like does that thing have all wheel drive No it doesn't! My neon was a beast too! Love my front wheel drive vehicles❤

I'm not sure what everyone's dogging on these two for. Of course the AWD was always going to come out on top; the point was to illustrate the magnitude of the advantage.

Roman's near evil villain laugh at about the 14:35 mark while Andre is stuck really makes the video for me.

want to see the Mazda vs a subaru wrx or sti. see how well the 2 awd do

As someone who lives in the Snow Belt and having experience with all types of driveline configurations with all types of tires, I can say straight away without even watching the video, the difference between FWD an AWD on low-traction surfaces is night and day; and I'll never go without at least one AWD vehicle for as long as I live this far north. I can even attest that AWD with all-seasons will beat out an equivalent FWD with winter tires for straight-line acceleration. That said, I'd still much rather have winter tires on any 2WD than all-seasons on an AWD as the former will still have far superior braking and turning grip.

Stack a bunch of firewood on the front and you got this!I use to do this with my truck back in the day but I would put the firewood in the back at the tailgate

I also hate traction control cuz once your stuck your stuck! And some cars you can’t turn it off. But if you can turn it off you’ll pull yourself out from where your stopped. Since with it off you can spin the wheels. And get grip. And ABS when stopping I’ve noticed takes longer then letting off the brakes and pressing again you’ll stop sooner! Even sooner if you put in neutral if you have to stop fast. Snow or not. The transmission is still pushing and not disengaging fast enough during an emergency stop

TFL is awesome. Non-stop dad-friendly content.

Do you have snow tires? That makes a big difference too! We are in the Mid Atlantic we don’t usually need snow tread unless we are medical or first responders

My 1992 Acura Integra was very stable and didn’t get stuck in the snowy winters in Yakima, WA.

I have 2000 Camry fwd and I live in Minnesota. My car is fine on snow with all seasons tires, and the good thing is the 2000 Camry is higher than the recent model. The recent one is too low. It depends on how you drive on snow and the car weight also.

Try with snow tires would be interesting. Funny you think -6f is cold. Here in the Canadian prairies -40f is not unheard of, the challenge then is a) start the car and b) get the car to move. You get flat spots on the tires that stay flat for the first mile or so. Oil is like sludge unless you plug in a block heater. For those in Florida that is an electric heating element that is inside the engine block to warm up the oil. ...

All wheel drive is a definite advantage during acceleration and in handling in snow and wet roads however it doesn’t have much impact on braking.

i am shopping for a new car, wanted something small and nimble but suitable for winter state, and decided to get mazda3 turbo. and friends/coworkers/acquintances were asking why i dont consider civic type R or golf gti. from now on i will be showing this video as an answer))

Both of those cars have brand new all-season tires. Now imagine the test with tires with 10k to 30k miles on them and being worn.

That Mazda is good looking.

I've held up traffic in my fwd lancer trying to go uphill on the highway in bad snow. This is no joke.

I have a new Mazda Cx30 and put some Bridgestone Blizzaks on because I don't love the Turanza tires that came with it on the snow.

I moved to Michigan in 1995 from California. I had a 94' Honda Civic Dx and a 89' Honda CRX-Si. In 02' I traded the CRX-Si for a Subaru WRX. The WRX was so much better in the snow. So much so I actually would go have fun in empty parking lots doing donuts and drifting in the snow. Would never do that in the Honda's. I now have a 09' Forester X that is lowered on a racing suspension and my winter wheels have all season tires. Even 3 inches lower than stock the Forester has no problems in the snow. I would never go back to front wheel drive.

with FWD you want to keep your momentum moving forward and never stop. If you stop with FWD going uphill you are dead in your tracks. Nice experiment, but each vehicle has its advantage and disadvantage. Often it is better to have AWD in snowy climates but it all depends on how you drive. I've been driving for 44 years and never had AWD, it was either RWD and mostly the last 20 years FWD. I live in upstate New York and get an average annual snowfall of 127.3 inches however, over the last decade has appeared to be less and milder winters. You do not need AWD to drive during the winter season. I am a living example since I have never owned or driven a vehicle with AWD nor Four WD in 44 years of driving. My 2023 Camry XSE V6 has Michelin CrossClimate2 tires as the OEM Bridgestone Turanza EL440 A/S are expensive junk and worthless tires basically perform like a dry weather tire where it never rains or see snow. Wife has a 2022 Honda Civic Touring and got 16-inch steel wheels with Michelin X-Ice Snow tires for the winter. The Civic Touring is light weight with a 4-banger turbo and its FWD so with the X-Ice Snow it cuts through the snow much easier. Both the Civic Touring and Camry XSE V6 when more than 4 inches of snow and backing up into a parking spot with Winter tires, takes more time because for whatever reason going in Reverse sucks but going forward is fine. Guess it is poor weight distribution. My old 1995 Ford Taurus was made for winter driving and back in the day my 1975 Dodge Dart (looked like a Chevy Nova) with Slant-V6 would run circle around that Mazda in this video during the winter having snow tires on the Dart. Thanks for the demonstration guys. Liked the humor.

the fact that you had to shovel the camry out said everything.

BUT did Andre have the traction control off? And how about the same test with snow tires on the Camry?

Great video as usual Merry Christmas Happy New Year

I think the end of the video summed up the comparison pretty accurately in winter weather. LOL!

You would of had a better chance backing up the hill with the camry !

You two are so funny! I’m new to AWD & live in Minnesota. I’ve heard there’s a difference with how they handle driving on snow packed roads.

Of course an awd is better in a drag race from stopped in slippery conditions with similar tires, though too many drivers think they're invincible with awd/4wd. A fwd with winter tires can do quite well in the snow; I've used them for decades in Canada.

Mazda AWD is very underrated

Thank god I saw this video, I never would have guessed that an AWD car is better than a FWD car in the snow....thank.....god.....

Subaru sedans have been my favorite sedans . They always have AWD

Try that Camary with dedicated snows and it will be a game changer

It’s crazy how 4WD drastically changed things.

You should really try to line up 4 loaners from Mazda. All Mazda 3's, 2 with FWD, and 2 with AWD, equip 2 with winter tires and really do a full experiment. That would be awesome e to see.

I have a Mazda 3 hatch awd and it it fantastic in the snow with hakkapellita snow tires. Better than my old 2013 audi s6 to be honest. It sends enough power to the rear to do donuts.

Watching Roman push that camry was the best!! Way to go boss

I haven't even watched the video yet but i can tell you right away that awd destroys fwd and rwd. My first car was fwd, my second car was rwd and now i have awd and i'm never going back. I have gotten stuck so many times with fwd and rwd. I have owned my awd for 2 years and i haven't got stuck once! and i've been driving in some extreme winter conditions. Other cars were totally stuck but i didn't have a problem.

I have an 2006 real wheel staggered S430 Mercedes with deep dish low profile rims and I rode in deep snow ,ice storms and I had no problem because I used Continental DWS. I had other tires and would get stuck in an inch of snow with my other tires.

being stuck in the snow is one of the most helpless feelings I've ever felt in my entire life

Great fun! I'd like to see how an AWD Camry compares to the AWD CX-30.

Great job with product placement with Taste of Chicago! Just sent some pizza and Italian beef sandwiches to someone for Christmas, and they loved it. Plus, you don’t have to risk your life going to .Chicago.

The SMALL hatchback fwd's from the not too distant past.....many still on the road......where the best at snow traction.....over these bigger sedans of today with higher horsepower and wider lo pro tires ....Does anybody remember the OLD vw beetle from the 60s/70s? They seemed unstoppable in heavy snow!!

This is why I run Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 tires on my 2020 Civic.

Fwd with winter tires feels like a awd but using all season is also good to and down fall to can't get out of tall snow. Yall should do a corner turning it makes a big difference to. My v6 accord I have so much confidence on my winter tires. It gets up like a champ.

Looked like the Camry was starting in deep snow where the all wheel was in already snow tracts.

Really needs to be 4WD all seasons vs FWD dedicated snows!

Andree did you have traction control on or off on the drag race? It looked like it was robbing power from the wheel to prevent slip.

Your tires are the only thing that touches the road.. a little bit makes a big difference. That said, you also need to know what you're doing. Seems like Camry guy didn't have great technique either. AND, and I can't stress this enough, the better the traction situation the more potential for a false sense of security. Just because you can accelerate better doesn't mean you'll stop or turn better. Or stop AND turn better, which is often what you have to do in an emergency. Xmas week 2010 I drove my (car then) Civic on all seasons up to Vermont. I then drove my buddy's Subaru on all seasons in the snow just to try it. Then I drove my mom's Subaru with snow tires. The next day, my buddy from before got studded snows on his Subaru, and I tried it. All noticeable improvements over the last. When I was going back and forth to college in the late 90s traversing those Green Mountains, I'd ONLY ever see out of state SUVs and trucks off the road in the snow. Inexperience and that false sense of security.