Well, AWD only helps acceleration. It won't make a car brake or corner any better on ice or snow -- well, it may help you corner better if you are drifting like a rally driver. Most winter accidents happen because the car didn't turn or didn't stop.

And as has been stated many times by others on this forum, the stock A046 tires are downright scary in snow.

I know if I were trying to sell Evos, I'd offer to give the new owner snow tires at cost, plus offer two free tire changes (mounting and balancing) -- one now, and one in the spring. It might help you get the sale, and it gets the new owner acquainted with the service department in the spring. Are you reading this, dealers out there???

 

Not sure, I would agree with that. AWD doesn't only help acceleration. It wil always make a car corner better than a RWD or FWD regardless of the surface, as the horsepower generated by the engine is spread over 4 wheels and not 2. This of course only holds true provided that the car is fitted with adequate tires for a given weather.

 

You are right that AWD does help cornering in slippery conditions, as long as you are under throttle. But I would guess that most winter accidents occur off throttle, with the driver alternately stabbing on the brakes and turning the wheel one way and then the other, while the car skates forward or sideways with no effective braking force.

I know my only off-road excursion in snow was like that. The car lost traction under braking and slid off the road without ever regaining steering or braking. I doubt that AWD would have made a difference. ABS probably would have -- that was in a non-ABS car.

 

I agree with most of what you are saying... most winter accidents do occur in turns and stopping. Most people don't give themselves adequate room to stop, since they need so much more than normal, and they also don't recognize that you do need to go slower in the turns. A downhill turn in the snow can be downright scary!