Jack Williams

“I don’t need winter tires. My car has all wheel drive.”

"I don't need winter tires. My car has all wheel drive."

Does this sound like you? If it does, it's time to re-evaluate your thinking.

It's true that, all else being equal, all-wheel drive is better than two-wheel drive. That's not complicated to figure out: four wheels trying to grip the road will be more effective than two wheels trying to grip the road.

Without the right tires for the temperature and conditions, though, all-wheel drive won't get you very far. Zero grip multiplied by four is … zero grip.

A set of winter tires will give your vehicle superior traction in winter conditions, regardless of how many wheels are getting power from your transmission.

When Michelin tested an all-wheel drive vehicle with all-season tires against a front-wheel drive vehicle with winter tires, the front-wheel drive vehicle with the winter tires won every comparison except for an acceleration test. On matters of braking, handling, and traction in the snow, the all-wheel drive vehicle with the year-round tires could not match the winter tires' performance.

The bottom line: all-wheel drive is better than two-wheel drive, but winter tires trump all for cold weather driving. The best solution, perhaps obviously, is an all-wheel drive vehicle with winter tires. When the mercury dips and the snow falls, though, equipping your front or rear wheel drive vehicle with winter tires will let you outperform your neighbor's all-wheel drive vehicle that's fitted with all-season radials.

[Photo credit: Antoine de Cardaillac, used under CC-by-2.0 license]