Re:Electric or Not, Big SUVs Are Inherently Selfish
by qidydl on Thursday February 06, 2020 @03:30PM
(#22259970)
It's scary this comment appears to be getting downvoted. Having more than two driven wheels does not change the contact patch on the road, does not add braking capacity, and does not grant additional steering. Being able to steer and stop is usually more important for safety than being able to accelerate, and even then, if you don't have the friction you'll just end up spinning all four wheels instead of just two. Tires are the most critical part of a car.
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Re:Electric or Not, Big SUVs Are Inherently Selfish
by dsfyu404ed on Friday February 07, 2020 @09:21AM
(#22266134)
>Having more than two driven wheels does not change the contact patch on the road
It literally doubles the contact patch over which you can apply forward forces. This is important when doing something like ascending a hill that has any sort of curve on it.
Not to say that more traction per wheel isn't more better but to just pass off AWD as being of negligible improvement is pure lunacy.