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I have issues with the xwd nay-sayers. There can be arguments made against even safety features like a.b.s. (fun to drive and track racing), but does that mean we should not put the system on our cars?
The "huge" weight discrepency between awd and fwd is pretty much negligible. For example, the 2007 vw passat 4motion weighs a mere 120lbs more than the comparable fwd model. That amounts to a 3% weight difference, nearly the same as driving with a quarter tank of gas versus a full tank of gas. Furthermore, you could leave your wife at home and save that much weight. ;)
The increased fuel consumption could be a valid issue. The vw 4 motion passat uses an additional 3 and 4 mpg (city /highway), and this may or may not be applicable to the new saab. The press I saw on the saab seems to imply it will be more effecient than the vw system. The numbers listed on the euro models indicates there is no difference between the fwd aero sc (auto) and the new turbo x. The press release lists the sportcombi xwd combined (city/highway) gas milage at 11.0L/100km and the fwd aero SC auto tranny at the same 11.0. This may be deceptive due to the new xwd press release not indicating what transmission the 11.0 figure was based on. So if it was actually based on the manual, then 10.4 L/100km would be the corresponding figure for the fwd aero sc... a 5.4% increase over the xwd model.
So that leaves the awd = more confident = blah blah blah argument. You can't fix stupid. If you are so dumb to think that your 4x4 or awd vehicle can stop any faster on ice than any other vehicle can, that is your issue, not the vehicle's. I too pass numerous ditched 4x4s during the Colorado winters, but I can gaurantee that these are 99% driver error. Why else am I passing them in my saabs?
These issues do not seem to be the huge detractions that you guys make them out to be... imo. I would much rather the performance gains of the xwd system. I love my 06 aero sc, but man I wish I couls swap it for the xwd.
posted by 71.208.218...
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