Did you feel that chilly breeze? Fall is arriving! But what happens when it gets much, much colder?
It may have crossed your mind in winters past, but perhaps you are wondering whether it is finally time to invest in a four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive car this coming snow season. While it may seem like a reasonable purchase, here are three reasons why you don’t actually need one:
- Does anyone even go anywhere in the snow anymore?
As our cars have improved, so has our ability to understand and avoid danger. When the snow is coming down, schools and offices close down, thanks to remote learning and working. Because of this, there are also less cars on the road in the snow than ever before.
- If you’re a two car family, you probably already have at least one AWD vehicle.
Even if you try hard to avoid it—let’s face it, at least one of your cars is probably already equipped with 4WD or AWD. Just take that one!
- All around traction advancements have been exponential.
The capabilities of our cars have vastly improved over the past two or three decades. Maybe you remember the days where we were all sliding around, with one rear wheel spinning in a Buick. But those days are long gone! Advancements in car technology have been exponential: tires, traction control, wheel speed sensors, anti-lock brakes and hyper-sensitive computers make the average two-wheel drive car of today much more capable of handling snow than yesterday’s four-wheel drive.
Whether the power goes to two wheels or four wheels, the brakes are all the same, and braking distances increase dramatically as road conditions worsen. My recommendation? Stay home in bad weather, and if you must go out, drive slower. You can also learn how to handle limited traction like a professional at a rally school: https://teamoneil.com/.
