AWD Or RWD

[Rhian]

Hello all,
It’s my first post here, and we are about to pull the trigger and order and Model 3 now the order books have opened in the UK today!
We live in a village in the country side and we have lots of hills. While it doesn’t snow often (this year we had no snow, but the year before we got loads) we do have quite a bit of frost in the morning.
So I would love your advice on whether we should choose all wheel drive or rear wheel drive in our case.
Thanks in advance guys!

 

[Candleflame]

"now the order books have opened in the UK today!" woohh what.

I know the UK is the odd one out as winter tires are not compulsory but tbh it is just too warm in the south for them to be necessary. If you live in the north and get snow you need winter tires anyway. AWD doesn't help in snow/ice, it just gives you a false sense of security.

edit: wow LR AWD barebone is £47,900. that is nasty but I guess the pound is just so damn weak.

 

[Snow Drift]

AWD is extremely useful in snow, mud, sand, rain/puddles and also dry conditions.

Yes, snow tires should be used in snow climates, and I do, but to say brakes/differentials controlling wheel spin at four wheels isn’t helpful is false. AWD with snow tires will outperform 2WD with the same tires in low grip situations.

Yes, people get over confident. Or use poor tires.

OP, if you want the premium extras of the AWD, get it. I love my LR Dual Motor. It’s great to have extra grip in all that rain.

But, if you want RWD, go for it. Efficient, lighter and cheaper. You don’t really get snow like we do, and the RWD had been very popular in Norway. So it’s supposed to be decent in bad conditions.

 

[Stanwood Steve]

I have the AWD and found it very useful this past winter. I live north of Seattle and we received snow on several occasions this past winter, which is a bit unusual. Because we have a lot of hills, having AWD is certainly an advantage. A did purchase an additional set of wheels to mount my winter tires on (per the photo), and they performed flawlessly. There is a hit to range with AWD though, from what I've read on this forum. For me, the piece of mind is worth it. Every situation is unique though.

 

[ngogas]

Awd.

 

[ewoodrick]

Hello all,
It’s my first post here, and we are about to pull the trigger and order and Model 3 now the order books have opened in the UK today!
We live in a village in the country side and we have lots of hills. While it doesn’t snow often (this year we had no snow, but the year before we got loads) we do have quite a bit of frost in the morning.
So I would love your advice on whether we should choose all wheel drive or rear wheel drive in our case.
Thanks in advance guys!

What do you have now? Tesla's traction control should make RWD better than most other implementations.

 

[Matt L]

"now the order books have opened in the UK today!" woohh what.

I know the UK is the odd one out as winter tires are not compulsory but tbh it is just too warm in the south for them to be necessary. If you live in the north and get snow you need winter tires anyway. AWD doesn't help in snow/ice, it just gives you a false sense of security.

edit: wow LR AWD barebone is £47,900. that is nasty but I guess the pound is just so damn weak.

What are the import fees?

 

[afadeev]

It’s my first post here, and we are about to pull the trigger and order and Model 3 now the order books have opened in the UK today!
We live in a village in the country side and we have lots of hills. While it doesn’t snow often (this year we had no snow, but the year before we got loads) we do have quite a bit of frost in the morning.
So I would love your advice on whether we should choose all wheel drive or rear wheel drive in our case.

Where in the UK do you live?

If it snows, or you regularly get ice on the roads, you need snow tiers. Period.
AWD will do nothing for slowing you down and cornering, and those are the two problems that produce the vast majority of winter crashes.
You will need to get super-creative to imagine a scenario where not being able to accelerate fast enough is the root cause of an accident

RWD with snow tires will be WAAAYYYY safer and more sure-footed over ice/snow than AWD on all-season tires.
And the best thing about snow tires, is that you can ditch them for the summer, and have superior handling on proper summer tires.

a

 

[Talax74]

Sorry for the banality but the answer is "it depends"
If you have money to buy an AWD and put winter tires on then go with it since you'll have the best of the 2 worlds
If your budget is a little bit tighter then go with RWD and use the money you saved from not getting the AWD to put on winter tires every season.

 

[Mr Vader]

Hello all,
It’s my first post here, and we are about to pull the trigger and order and Model 3 now the order books have opened in the UK today!
We live in a village in the country side and we have lots of hills. While it doesn’t snow often (this year we had no snow, but the year before we got loads) we do have quite a bit of frost in the morning.
So I would love your advice on whether we should choose all wheel drive or rear wheel drive in our case.
Thanks in advance guys!

think of what you currently have: FWD, RWD or AWD/4x4. Have you been switching back and forth winter/all season tires? have you had any issues? your situation is unique to you.
i can say that for me, living in the Bay Area, even with the seasonal rain, AWD did not make sense, and opted for RWD for better range.
i am planning to take a road trip to Lake Tahoe during winter, and chain will do just fine!

whatever you decide, you really can't go wrong

 

[Paddy3101]

Hello all,
It’s my first post here, and we are about to pull the trigger and order and Model 3 now the order books have opened in the UK today!
We live in a village in the country side and we have lots of hills. While it doesn’t snow often (this year we had no snow, but the year before we got loads) we do have quite a bit of frost in the morning.
So I would love your advice on whether we should choose all wheel drive or rear wheel drive in our case.
Thanks in advance guys!

The AWD is excellent, and helps out even on wet roads (or broken-up/muddy/gravelly ones). I'm originally from UK, and the AWD will definitely help out on the UK country roads.

However what you get along with the AWD is the extra range and premium interior. The extra range will be worth it, on its own.
(Assuming the LongRange is only available on the AWD still)

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

RWD handled Southern Ontario Winter w/o issue while everyone else was fish tailing about

 

[rickdogg82]

If it is in the budget, I'd go AWD for the increased power. Better in bad weather would be a bonus.

 

[Zirak]

RWD handled Southern Ontario Winter w/o issue while everyone else was fish tailing about

Agreed, RWD with winters are really good in Southern Ontario winter.

 

[Gwgan]

My 1 winter experience: AWD (Tesla) > RWD (Tesla) >= AWD (Subaru, for example) >>> FWD > RWD (anything else) with regards to getting up my S curved uphill dirt driveway in winter weather. The RWD Model 3 is the only non-AWD vehicle to ever get up my snow covered driveway.
Of course winter (cold temp) tires make all the difference for going down the driveway.

 

[LGA737]

I have one of each. RWD was remarkably competent on snowy roads this winter even on the stock tires. If the difference in price between AWD and RWD is a lot of money to you, get the RWD. If its not a lot of money, get the AWD.

 

[C141medic]

I’m a little biased because I love my dual motor. I paid 4K for my dual motor and thought it was a good added value. If it won’t “break the bank” go for the dual motor.