{"id":6991,"date":"2016-09-13T06:33:19","date_gmt":"2016-09-12T20:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/?p=6991"},"modified":"2020-06-20T00:50:22","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T14:50:22","slug":"making-sense-of-the-difference-between-4wd-and-awd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/buy-new-car\/making-sense-of-the-difference-between-4wd-and-awd\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Sense of the Difference Between 4WD and AWD"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"news\"

Source:<\/strong> news.com.au<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

With Australians purchasing new cars<\/a><\/span> at a record pace, a surge in the growth of SUV sales<\/a><\/span> saw the category land fractionally behind the number of passenger vehicles sold during August. Which leads to a common, yet often misunderstood, question \u2013 what exactly is the difference between 4WD and AWD? In many instances, consumers are led to believe these two systems are the same. However, there is a notable distinction between the two, which will shape your driving experience.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FWD (front-wheel drive)<\/em> and RWD (rear-wheel drive)<\/em> vehicles rely upon a single axle to distribute power to move the car. Conversely, 4WD (four-wheel drive)<\/em> vehicles depend upon a distribution of torque from the transmission going to all wheels at the same time. This transfer is done via a component called a transfer case, ensuring an even distribution. As a result, 4WD vehicles have added versatility – they are equipped for off-road driving, typically across terrain such as mud and rocks.<\/p>\n

However, in some instances, like turning, having power supplied to all wheels is undesirable or simply unnecessary. To account for this, some 4WD systems can be controlled (activated\/deactivated)<\/em> through a central mechanism \u2013 a dashboard switch, or via a handle. When the system is off, the car effectively operates like a two-wheel drive vehicle. In 4WD vehicles where such controls are not available, they will permanently act as a four-wheel drive, but a differential is used to adjust the individual axle and wheel speed where necessary.<\/p>\n

There are also controls which allow differential regulation of the system (either high or low)<\/em>, so that one can distribute the power in a non-equal fashion. In turn, these options can be used to either mitigate the effects of locked wheels, or make them act in such a manner.<\/p>\n

\"subaru\"

Source:<\/strong> Subaru.com.au<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

On the other hand, the AWD (all-wheel drive)<\/em> system is used across a wider variety of vehicles, particularly passenger vehicles but also \u2018mini\u2019<\/em> SUV\u2019s. The other notable feature is that they are effectively in use all the time, and cannot be \u2018deactivated\u2019<\/em>. In a mechanical AWD system, three differential gearboxes help to distribute the torque to the front and rear axle, and then each of the wheels. Meanwhile, electronic AWD systems use an engine control unit, as well as a myriad of sensors, to distribute the torque where it\u2019s required.<\/p>\n

This type of system is most suited to wet or slippery driving conditions, or in sporting applications where each wheel has a different level of friction with the ground. While not quite possessing the off-roading capabilities, or low-range driving associated with 4WD vehicles, general handling and weight distribution is considered to be superior, and one doesn\u2019t need to adjust the system to calibrate it.<\/p>\n

With that said, both systems do share one commonality \u2013 that is, they generally increase the weight of your vehicle, which in turn decreases your fuel economy.<\/p>\n

If you have any questions, don\u2019t hesitate to contact us.<\/p>\n

Best wishes,
\nThe Private Fleet Team<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au<\/a> http:\/\/credit-n.ru\/offers-zaim\/ezaem-zaim-online-za-15-minut.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Australians purchasing new cars at a record pace, a surge in the growth of SUV sales saw the category land fractionally behind the number of passenger vehicles sold during August. Which leads to a common, yet often misunderstood, question \u2013 what exactly is the difference between 4WD and AWD? In many instances, consumers are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buy-new-car"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6991"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11491,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6991\/revisions\/11491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}