Next time you talk to a higher up at Scion, tell them people want them.

 

Why not explain it to us? The only thing I've heard is that there is no difference and simply a different marketing term.

 

hes just trying to meet his 15 post a day quota.

 

Not to sound jerkish, but its an AWD Bb and not 4WD.

Clarify: AWD is just that. Constantly putting down X amount of horsepower to all 4 wheels vs. just the front or just the rear. 4WD is an option typically used with SUV's for off-roading, or in cases of extreme conditions. Most SUVS with 4WD uses another gear specifically designed for 4wd, its a very low gear. Another difference is, with AWD, you don't have a limit as far as how fast you can go. Once 4WD is set, it sort of acts as 1st gear in the sense that you can only go so fast. Its not designed for road-use anyway.

I do realize i just touched the basics of it, but i think you guys get the idea.


So with that said, i believe the main reason why they don't bring the awd to the states is because of JDM. The awd is the JDM-spec of the Bb. The way its set up, you wouldn't lose that much power to the wheels however the awd does run a 1.5L. Where as base Bb runs a 1.0L i believe. I would love to have the JDM Bb but if they brought it over, they would have to swap parts to make it USDM approved. (that would totally suck too)

 

There is a considerable difference between a 4WD system and an AWD system. I'll try to keep it as simple as possible.

The 4WD system in my Tercel is a part time system, meaning that my car is FWD until I manually engage the 4WD lever and lock in the rear wheels making it 4WD.

An AWD system is always on, meaning that usually the front and rear differential are always engaged. There are quite a few variations of AWD systems. Some alter the amount of power going to the front or rear wheels, like on some Subarus it's a 50/50 front/rear split, while on other Subaru AWD systems it's 90/10 split, with some kind of active system to send more power to the rear wheels if they start to slip, making up to a 55/45 split. Subaru uses that on their manual, and automatic equipped cars respectively.

Like I said, there are other kinds of AWD and 4WD systems, but that gives you an idea of the difference.

Part time 4WD systems have the advantage of having less parasitic drag and better fuel economy, but AWD systems are always on and you don't have to worry about engaging any levers or anything else.

 

On 4WD it's usually only truely 2 WD unless there is a locker front and rear. AWD from what I've heard doesn't have a transfer case and is contsantly driving all 4 wheels and is a viscous coupling (no transfer case or gearing difference) AWD sends (electronically) power to the wheels that have traction and removes it from the ones that are spinning. Hope this helps and if anyone knows more please feel free to correct my info.

 

Most 4WD systems now, when engaged puts out power to all 4 rather than just 2. AWD doesnt need a transfer case because you can't go in and out of AWD, its constant. But your right, no need to correct you. Just wanted clarify the fact that most 4WD systems do use all 4 wheels rather than just 2.

 

That is why I mentioned the lockers front and rear. On my wifes jeep wrangler, when put into 4WD on mud only one front and one rear wheel would spin thats why I had to add the limited slip diffs. If we had waited for the rubicon, we could have gotten the lockers from the get go. LOL I hate hindsite

 

That sucks! Im surprised companies still put out 4WD without lockers. They will do anything to save a penny.

 

Yea, they figure most people won't go offroad and I'm willing to bet that as many as 70% of SUV owners are too afraid to go offroad. It's a shame that people are buying these vehicles to just do everyday tasks. But I also love the crap out of the fact that these same folk are paying through the nose for their fuel now. LMAO

 

Hahaha! I know. If i owned an SUV, i would treat it like an SUV.

 

I would NOT buy an AWD xB.

Right now, I consider this cars power to be adequate with a 5 speed. Add AWD or an automatic and it passes adequate and becomes SLOW IMO. Even if the AWD is not on all the time, it adds signifigant weight and unecessary complication to the drivetrain and costs you some space in the back, as I remember.

There is no turbo 1.3 or 1.0 bB

There are 1.3 liter and 1.5 liter bB's, that's it. The AWD comes with the 1.5 liter and automatic transmission, which means 11-13 sec 0-60 times. No thanks.

I've lived in Vermont and Oregon and never needed more than FWD and good tires to travel snowy roads. IMO any kind of unplowed snowy road that requires AWD would be too deep for the xB to get it's low profile snout through anyway.

AWD is cool, but without more power it doesn't appeal to me at all and if they made a more powerful, less fuel efficient more expensive xB, they would be taking away the things I like about the car and I might as well be looking at Subaru Forester or something like that, that could actually handle driving through semi-deep unplowed snow and rough roads.

This is an economical little runabout, lets keep it that way.

 

RION, very well put!!!

 

My old Subaru Loyal had push button 4WD. On when you needed it, off when you don't. It still had a lot of pep for an old car with only a 90 HP engine.
If they do bring an AWD xB to the US I hope it's a 2.0 engine.
I'd trade in mine for the upgrade.

 

My old GL wagon had the same thing too. Worked pretty darn well. I'd still rather have a pull lever like the one in my Tercel. You pull it, and you know it's actuated.

 

AWD rox!
I actually thought of importing the JDM version, but that would be an expensive swap.........tranny and engine. Possibly axles, too...........engine management............nah!

 

Sorry guys. Sometimes I don't feel like spoon feeding everything, and I hope people
take the time to look things up. Especially those guys that ask about things that
are clearly in the manual.

Besides, I knew there would be several people here that would be more eloquent
then I about the differences of 4WD and AWD.

 

Can anyone provide a link to an authoritative site that describes this difference between AWD and 4WD? There are 4WD systems that are part-time, and some that are full-time. There are AWD systems that are part-time and full-time as well.
The differences are so varied and overlap so much that both terms are used interchangeably.

Given that, it's a bit silly for people to try to draw a distinction between AWD and 4WD, when it is very specific to car makes and models.

 

AWD -vs- 4WD

"...ALL WHEEL DRIVE:

Definition: A vehicle where all four wheels are driven, but there's no transfer case like a four-wheel drive rig. Most AWD setups are full time systems for year-round driving, and use a viscous fluid coupling center differential instead of a transfer case to route drive torque to all four wheels. This allows the front and rear wheels to turn at slightly different speeds when turning on dry pavement. Most folks do not consider this the same as four-wheel drive. It can be useful (and more fuel economical) in pavement driving where you're mainly negotiating bad weather conditions.

FOUR WHEEL DRIVE

Definition: A method of driving a vehicle by applying engine torque to all four wheels thru the use of a transfer case, differentials and hubs. Various schemes are used for 4WD including part-time, full-time and variable four-wheel drive. To help cut the drive train drag (and reduced fuel economy) that most 4WD's have, a transfer case is included that allows the driver to select either two- or four-wheel drive depending on driving conditions. Some performance cars have full-time variable four-wheel drive and use a computer-controlled transfer case to route power between the wheels.

It's important to note that even in 4WD, you still have only two driving wheels; one front; one rear. A normal passenger car is essentially one wheel drive, because the other one can slip. So a 4WD rig, with the front axle engaged, now has two wheels driving. Then if you add a locker to the rear, you've added one more wheel, to make your rig three-wheel drive. Add a locker to the front, so no tires can spin, and you have TRUE, 4-wheel drive, all four wheels driving...."

Author: Del Albright
Source: http://www.delalbright.com/Products/products_awd.htm

HOW STUFF WORKS
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/four-wheel-drive.htm