@VermontBound - what do you think? We could use some info, like what’s your budget?
Funny how quickly a desire turns into a need. Those same roads in rural New England were driven for decades by folks in rwd cars with no traction control or antilock brakes. Sure, there were more accidents (there were everywhere) but people did get up hills and live in remote areas with roads that were often even more primitive than they are now. Traditional 4wd was introduced decades ago but your average New England driver didn’t rush out to buy a big trucky monstrosity. No, they kept on driving their ordinary cars, most rwd at the time. Only when awd came along in the form of funny little Subarus did some eccentric sorts see the advantage. Which is there, no doubt, but that doesn’t make it necessary except for the tiny number who live up incredibly steep driveways and on the very worst roads, and that’s not many people. Unless the last 100 years of drivers are lying, it is possible to navigate almost all New England roads without awd. The awd is a little extra safety margin, and makes you slightly more able to avoid getting stuck. Proper winter tires give a bigger advantage.
The problem with Vermont…is that it’s ALL mountain. There really isn’t much flat land (even in the southern area). Area’s like Woodstock VT get well over 200" of snow a year. I’d wait til I got there and decide then. You may not need AWD/4wd. The other thing you have to worry about is flooding. When they got hit by the hurricane a few years ago…the mountains got well over 11" of rain…which meant the towns below were flooded with 11’ of water. I traveled through VT a lot. One trip almost a year later though this small town I use to visit a lot…they were still recovering from the flooding. Many bridges were still out and roads impassible.
@dagosa, nope not VT for me: SWCT just outside NYC.
Up until recently, we don’t get anywhere near the snow you guys get up there. We do get a fair bit of icing, though. Our roads are not in great shape and they get slick as hogsnot. Our roads are usually paved but not always plowed.
Usually people here are fine with FWD but all our daily drivers are all AWD (four Subies in the family) and the truck is 4x4, just in case. If I lived up in VT, ME or NH, I’d likely do what I do here get get AWD cars. It gives me the most ease of mind. If you don’t want anything to worry about up there, get an AWD. That’s what I implied/said. It is probably why I like Subaru as much as I do.
There are plenty of people that get by with common sense and FWD, though.
I used to drive strictly Saabs with a stick. With the proper tires, I would never get stuck where 4x4 trucks would be slipping and sliding all over the road.
AWD and 4x4 do give a false sense of security. Sure, you can go but you still won’t be able to stop, if the conditions are bad enough. That’s when common sense should prevail and you should just stay home, where ever you live.
Looking at cars.com, within 30 miles of Brattleboro there are about 700 used awd/4wd vehicles for sale, about 544 fwd. So it’s about 56%/44%.
If the OP has only about $5,000 to spend, and will be living and working in town, I’d still recommend fwd. If it’s, say, $20,000 or more, then awd/4wd. Either way great winter tires are a must.
But we’ve not heard back from the OP…?
@taxases: After hearing about the nasty New England weather, the OP decided to move to Florida instead - KeyWest, specificially, where you can get by with a bicycle.
Within 30 miles of Brattleboro puts you into NH. Brattleboro got hit very hard by Hurricane Irene.
Brattleboro is at the bottom of a few near by mountains.
@remcoW
"AWD and 4wd do give a false sense of security ?" They certainly may in Connecticut. But to say that they give a false sense of security in other areas means you have never lived a winter with one equipped with snow tires in areas with high snow totals. A modern Awd car equipped with winter tires offers so much more traction and potential safety to fwd, they aren’t even comparable. Though both fwd and Awd cars are capable of cornering on flat ground equally when you lift your foot off the accelerator, that is where the similarity ends. If all you do, is drive around on plowed city streets with little snow, who would need Awd ? But, once you actually have snow and ice, there is a world of difference.
The ability to start from a dead stop on a steep snow covered hill, merge into traffic in snow, corner while going up even the slightest incline…doesn’t even compare. It is a real sense of security knowing you don’t have to get a run for every hill and are able to slow down to make a corner going up grades or merge in traffic or go through a snow covered intersection quickly and safely.
Flatlanders ( no insult intended) who don’t drive in snow conditions with hills regularly cannot speak to the lack of advantages of Awd. The real question is NOT whether Awd is better ( it is) the question is, do you want to pay the initial premium to buy and pay out the extra clost in ownership for this advantage that may not use the rest of the year ? . But please with all due respect, to say Awd does not provide HUGE winter driving advantages is just plain wrong.
The ONLY REASON we as retired folk can live year round in our lake side retirement home and enjoy the serenity of a winter storm without fear of getting stranded is our 4wd cars and trucks. We enjoy the winter and those around here do as well that all the skiing, snow sledding, snow shoeing ice fishing etc. can provide because of these types of vehicles. We do what we want in ANY conditions because we can.
@dagosa, Dude, where did I disagree with you? There is no doubt as to the benefits of AWD. Where did I question it? I mentioned the benefits of traction control even.
As far as a false sense of security with AWD, maybe talk to my neighbor - the one that decided it was perfectly fine to try to make it to the main road after the first foot of snow had fallen last January. He got stuck in front of my door, him and his AWD Honda whateveritis. We had to dig him out so the snow trucks could make it through our one way street. Not easy to do, with less than6 inches of ground clearance. Or my other neighbor that slid sideways all the way down the street, to hit a third parked neighbor’s car - oh, and he was sliding his AWD at that time. It was quite a site to watch.
Believe, me: I know all about slickness. Try driving on the cobble stoned streets of Delft in flatlander Holland after a freezing rain storm. Nothing will help you when you’re on ice, totally out of control. Over there, you slide just standing still. In that case, how is AWD or traction control going to keep you from sliding into a ditch? Common sense may save you, in knowing when not to head out - something not that common with AWD people I meet daily, going 75 on an iced over bridge.
Understand, AWD is great but it isn’t the panacea of driving. It doesn’t make you impervious to bad weather as some think it renders one. I love having it on our cars but there’s no replacement for common sense, when not to head out and stay where you are, FWD/AWD/threaded vehicle or Tank. In winter months, I rather drive next to someone with a FWD and good defensive driving experience than someone that drives an AWD like it is mid summer.
I hear where you are coming from @RemcoW…but
All the complaints dude, about Awd are when people use all season tires and poor judgement with them. It’s easy to see why a Honda Awd whatever will slide sideways into a ditch. Not putting snow tires on an Awd or using poor judgement about a foot of snow is like not putting a performance tire on a Corvette then complaining about the handling. Notice ALL of my discussion of Awd is with snow tires installed. Awd is not the problem.
Your neighbor doesn’t know how to drive or prepare an Awd car. Might as well say that Corvette can’t handle a curve as well when equipped with Kmart special all season tires and driven by a person who can’t drive.
Btw. We CAN handle glare ice on hills. ( i deal with it for months at a time) Studded snow tires and Awd do wonders but of course, good judgement and very moderate speeds have to be observed. We travel on roads you can’t stand on and properly prepared Awd cars travel when 2wd cars can’t…all with studs. I don’t know how many in CT would even care to drive with studded winter tires. I probably wouldn’t if I lived there but I wouldn’t compound the problem by buying an Awd car and pretending it was a substitute …for winter tires and good judgement. I think this is where you are coming from…and I see your point.
I think we can agree in saying Awd will not guarantee a good winter driving experience in the hands of an idiot.
@dagosa, yup - we totally agree there.
As always, the only nut that truly counts that is present on any car is the one behind the wheel.
You’re right about our studs. We’re allowed between October and April but there aren’t too many people here that drive with studs or chains. I used to change to studs with bad weather but I now just work from home when the weather is bad. No sense having one more nut on the road.
I think it’s worthwhile remembering that a big reason why Awd and 4 wd vehicles can get into trouble in bad weather and become the brunt of poor winter driving examples is, the can. It’s much easier to drive too fast in these vehicles as their acceleration capabilities is diminished less in snow, even ompared with a 2 wd with snow tires.
Yup some of these people have no sense.