FWD VS AWD

[2020Telly]

Nope, Comfort mode. My wife has a heavier foot, but the SXP is her daily ride. We live in the Detroit area so mostly flat, level driving.

I’m curious how much GVWR makes a difference vs driving mode and terrain.

There is about a ~339lb difference between the trims in advertised weight.
FWD 7pass: 5,578
AWD 7pass: 5,736
FWD 8pass: 5,776
AWD 8pass: 5,917

All things being equal, I think Kia is saying that AWD adds between 141-158lbs and the bench seat adds between 181-198lbs.

I’m going to try Comfort mode for a few fill ups to see if I notice a difference.

 

[2020Telly]

Have you ever had an AWD with torque vectoring and actually use it? It's not going to overcorrect...it pretty much shuts most of the power down to all wheels..it is amazing. But I agree with you that if I lived in the south, it wouldn't be worth it IMO..not to justify the price difference unless I had to have the Prestige package.

I meant the driver will over correct. I’ve lived and driven through many icy and snowy conditions and see more AWD vehicles left in a ditch because people didn’t know how to drive and thought AWD=4x4, while FWD and RWD cars whizz right by them. For example, in northern New England you will still pay a premium for a used rust bucket Subaru that hold their value because some people think it’s like driving a truck. But the average buyer would probably have been better off spending the same amount of money on a FWD with really good snow tires and forgone the symmetrical or active torque vectoring.

In the spirit of May 4th . . . This is after 2.5” of snow in the south.

 

[Ciscokd2000]

For most people, driving is the most dangerous thing they do daily, aside from eating a bunch of junk food.

I can't understand why people cheap out and not get the AWD.

It not being cheap it's being smart , if you don't need AWD , then why purchase the feature . If I lived in area where there is a lot of snow or back road then yes AWD will work but I live in the east coast . No need for AWD year round ..

 

[mrmac]

It not being cheap it's being smart , if you don't need AWD , then why purchase the feature . If I lived in area where there is a lot of snow or back road then yes AWD will work but I live in the east coast . No need for AWD year round ..

One never needs AWD until they need it.

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[2020Telly]

One never needs AWD until they need it.

You sound like a teenager trying to justify sneakers or a new phone to me.

I don’t need a Telluride to get from point A to point B. (I would prefer a Kia Stinger with RWD and torque vectoring for my family but that doesn’t fit my needs as well.)

AWD is an option which means it is optional the same as colors or seating preferences. No one needs AWD to drive on most road conditions if you have good tires and common sense. But it is an option if you want to pay for it or find yourself in other than normal road conditions often.

 

[mrmac]

You sound like a teenager trying to justify sneakers or a new phone to me.

I don’t need a Telluride to get from point A to point B. (I would prefer a Kia Stinger with RWD and torque vectoring for my family but that doesn’t fit my needs as well.)

AWD is an option which means it is optional the same as colors or seating preferences. No one needs AWD to drive on most road conditions if you have good tires and common sense. But it is an option if you want to pay for it or find yourself in other than normal road conditions often.

I'm not selling anything to anyone. You restated exactly my point. No-one needs AWD until they need it, period.

However, some buy it for peace of mind.

Some buy it out of an abundance of caution.

Some buy it because they live in the frozen tundra or want to drive on sandy beaches.

Some buy it because they want their perceived best chance to drive safely and unhindered in most any conditions.

Some buy it because that was all there was available.

Some, like me, bought it because I had to to get everything else I wanted on the SXP.

I loved it on my Stinger GT2 because when racing for pinks from stop light to stop light, you don't want wheel spin.....

At least AWD and 4x4 are vehicle options which retain the highest percentage of their initial purchase amount on resale/trade. Therefore, if you get it, it is a good value because the majority of buyers identify it as a good value by paying more for an AWD version of the same vehicle over a RWD time and again.

 

[Nas4atu10]

So it’s sounding like FWD vs AWD is a lot like Apple vs Android.

 

[2020Telly]

You restated exactly my point.

Sorry about that. I missed the sarcasm in your post.

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[2020Telly]

So it’s sounding like FWD vs AWD is a lot like Apple vs Android.

Ironically I’m an Apple guy, but I don’t agree that it is Kia’s job to tell me what I want. I’m an American buyer who wants to be spoiled with options.

 

[Nas4atu10]

Ironically I’m an Apple guy, but I don’t agree that it is Kia’s job to tell me what I want. I’m an American buyer who wants to be spoiled with options.

Lol, I’m in the same camp as you it sounds. I enjoy having AWD on my current vehicle, but I also know it’s another part that can fail (transfer case, etc) and it’s just another part that needs servicing. I’ve made it for most of my life before my X3 without here in NC just fine.

 

[ucinn]

You sound like a teenager trying to justify sneakers or a new phone to me.

I don’t need a Telluride to get from point A to point B. (I would prefer a Kia Stinger with RWD and torque vectoring for my family but that doesn’t fit my needs as well.)

AWD is an option which means it is optional the same as colors or seating preferences. No one needs AWD to drive on most road conditions if you have good tires and common sense. But it is an option if you want to pay for it or find yourself in other than normal road conditions often.

You would be disappointed since the RWD stinger does not have torque vectoring, the AWD has it. The RWD has limited slip differential.

 

[2020Telly]

AWD doesn't provide better breaking, but it does have torque vectoring which will help handling in inclement weather and in emergency manuevering.

@ucinn This doc was posted on the thread about the suspension in response to the debate about self-leveling. On page 24, the way I read that chart, torque vectoring is standard regardless of FWD or AWD option (TVCC?). Just curious If anyone else reads that differently.

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[mrmac]

@ucinn This doc was posted on the thread about the suspension in response to the debate about self-leveling. On page 24, the way I read that chart, torque vectoring is standard regardless of FWD or AWD option (TVCC?). Just curious If anyone else reads that differently.

I do read it that way also. However, I expect it is only at 2 corners for FWD, thoughts?

 

[alexdrums]

@ucinn This doc was posted on the thread about the suspension in response to the debate about self-leveling. On page 24, the way I read that chart, torque vectoring is standard regardless of FWD or AWD option (TVCC?). Just curious If anyone else reads that differently.

Did you mean torque vectoring at the front/rear wheels, or both? I am guessing it could be engineered either way. It is not really clear in the document.

 

[Gwyn]

I would take anything printed in those documents with a huge grain of salt. I could not count how many errors we have found in documents from kia.

 

[Cmsharp]

We don’t need AWD, but definitely want it. The torque steer my wife’s current suv is horrible, but it’s a 2012 base model terrain. I’m sure a fwd telly is much better.

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[2020Telly]

I do read it that way also. However, I expect it is only at 2 corners for FWD, thoughts?

Fair enough. Having it on 4 wheels vs 2 would make sense.

 

[Dansnes]

what about folks who drive in the suburbs 95% of the time then head up to the mountains a couple times a year in the snow. Seems like you don't really need it until you need it..

 

[2020Telly]

what about folks who drive in the suburbs 95% of the time then head up to the mountains a couple times a year in the snow. Seems like you don't really need it until you need it..

That is basically me and I can report FWD is just fine driving through I-95 and on snowy roads in the New England (CT-MA-VT) winter about 2 weeks out of the year. The main point is that I stick to main roads that are treated and maintained. I’m not off-roading. Traction is more than adequate to me and I would not trade the FWD Telluride for an AWD for my needs. And I have driven AWD vehicles in the past.

I sent a note to Kia product info asking about TVCC on the Telluride to see if it is different on FWD vs AWD. Apparently torque vectoring is accomplished a few different ways. I read that one newer method that is less expense to implement on newer vehicles is brake based and used in FWD vehicles to electronically apply the brakes when necessary in cornering situations to aid the outside wheel and aid in stability. The other traditional implementation is differential based. There is nothing in the manual about which system is used in the Telluride. However, it’s possible that if it is brake based there is no AWD advantage with TVCC over FWD because FWD may already have it standard on all 4 wheels. I’m hoping Kia will reply back with more details. I have read that in other older Kia vehicles they use a Dynamax AWD with traditional torque controls. But in all my searching I have not found the term Dynamax anywhere when referencing the Telluride’s AWD implementation.

 

[alexdrums]

That is basically me and I can report FWD is just fine driving through I-95 and on snowy roads in the New England (CT-MA-VT) winter about 2 weeks out of the year. The main point is that I stick to main roads that are treated and maintained. I’m not off-roading. Traction is more than adequate to me and I would not trade the FWD Telluride for an AWD for my needs. And I have driven AWD vehicles in the past.

I sent a note to Kia product info asking about TVCC on the Telluride to see if it is different on FWD vs AWD. Apparently torque vectoring is accomplished a few different ways. I read that one newer method that is less expense to implement on newer vehicles is brake based and used in FWD vehicles to electronically apply the brakes when necessary in cornering situations to aid the outside wheel and aid in stability. The other traditional implementation is differential based. There is nothing in the manual about which system is used in the Telluride. However, it’s possible that if it is brake based there is no AWD advantage with TVCC over FWD because FWD may already have it standard on all 4 wheels. I’m hoping Kia will reply back with more details. I have read that in other older Kia vehicles they use a Dynamax AWD with traditional torque controls. But in all my searching I have not found the term Dynamax anywhere when referencing the Telluride’s AWD implementation.

Don’t sweat the details. Try and enjoy your ride!