mikekj_cda wrote:
snowsport wrote:
Now here's another question for the floor. What would have better overall control, 4wd no ESP or ABS vs. 2wd w/ ABS and ESP? Say in winter w/ slick conditions? I feel gipped for not having ESP/ABS on my '05 but it came std on '06 models. I should just trade mine in for an '06 Renny
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ABS will save your bacon on the ice. That is all there is too it. It stinks on dirt roads though. The ESP... I would say from what I have felt of it it will also help you on the ice, almost as much as the ABS. 4wd helps you get across snow/mud where you would loose traction-- it does nothing to help you on a sheet of ice as all tires will have equal traction-- near 0. I drove though South Dakota, Minnesota and Wyoming for several winters with little econo box cars-- and never used chains as we were not allowed to use them (fleet vehicles). The cars I drove with ABS proved ABS's worth to me in the wintery conditions (I drove through many, many blizzards). ABS is of far more worth by itself than AWD/ 4x4 without it-- because it can keep you under control on some nasty stuff and still allow you to stop. It does you no good to get moving if you cannot stop or control where you vehicle is headed. You simply cannot pump a break fast enough to get the maximum amount of stoppage without lockup like ABS can. Unintentional wheel lockup on ice means your screwed and something very bad is about to happen. The ESP, well I have not had the opporunity to drive in winter with that, but I bet it is almost as good as the ABS.
As for 4wd-- I can't tell you how many 4x4's ended up in the ditch during blizzards. Most of them rolled. When you see pictures of a car in a ditch in the winter news-- do you usually see the rubber down? Yes. What about 4x4 SUV's? NO-- they are usually on their side or rolled. Our '4x4''s have a much higher roll over risk than any car-- and on ice ESP may save your butt. A 4x4 in a cross wind on ice will do nothing for you. It might help you get out of the ditch you get blown into, if you don't roll over first. A vehicle with less of a profile probably would not have been blown off the road to begin with.
Now when it comes to bucking snow drifts and crossing nasty spots-- weight (for momentum), traction, and ground clearance are then your friends and a 4x4 SUV will help you. If you only have 4x2-- then you tend to make up for it the best you can with a little more speed into the drift. I would also say that 4x2 with ESP or traction control is better than 4x4 without here as well. You will usually find that one side of the vehicle (left or right) has traction, and one does not. It is rare that the front half will have traction and not the rear (unless you slid your bum off the road). So the ESP again wins this, as it gives you what you really need-- side to side traction.
Of course, what I just said may not be popular, but I am certain for myself that it is so. And yes this means that if you really want a vehicle for travelling on the road in the winter-- you are best off with a Subaru AWD or some other station wagon (hate to say it because I am otherwise no fan of it... Jeep Compass uggg...). A higher center of gravity vehicle such as the Liberty is much more likely to roll over and get blown about-- so you must go slower. The good thing about the Liberty is it is heavy-- the heavier a vehicle, that less likely it is to get blown around. Those little cute ute's are just death-- high, skinny, and light. I can't think of a worse combo.
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My thinking was/is, by then it's to late. Avoid getting stuck or losing traction althought by being in full-time. This friend is also a Toyota freak so I take what he says w/ a grain of salt, no offence to Toyota fans 
. I guess this is how you do it w/ a manually engaged 4wd system.
. You grow to love it when driving to work in at -35C. Honestly though, I have to investigate and see if there is a control or way to regulate the heat b/c after 5 -7 mins on high and a swear I can smell pork cooking