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All-wheel drive

All-wheel drive costs you in four places, permanently: mass, fuel, a second set of driveline parts with service intervals of their own, and tyres that often can only be replaced as a set. Those four fall due every day, in summer as well and in flat country as well. Against that stands what it gives back — and that is not a matter of taste but of where you live: a steep or unmade driveway, roads that are not cleared in winter, regular towing, resale in a mountain region. With none of those, you are buying insurance you never claim on.

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What matters

  • Replacing a single damaged tyre is not permitted on many all-wheel-drive systems: different rolling circumferences create a permanent speed difference between the axles, and the coupling or centre differential absorbs it. Budget for a set rather than one tyre after a puncture — that is the item that catches people out.
  • The transfer case, the rear differential and, on multi-plate couplings, the coupling unit all have oil change intervals of their own. They are in the service schedule, are almost never documented on a used car, and on a car that has towed they are the first thing to ask about.
  • Weight is the quiet item. The driveline brings mass with it, and mass is paid for in brakes, tyres and fuel — not once but for as long as you keep the car. Between two otherwise identical cars that is the difference you see at the end of the year.
  • At resale the markets part company: in mountain regions and in Scandinavia all-wheel drive supports the price, in flat markets it reads as a fuel penalty. If you can sell across a border, plan around that — it is one of the few options whose value depends strongly on place.

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Common questions

May I use a space-saver spare on an all-wheel-drive car?
That is in the car's handbook and is answered differently there from model to model. A space-saver has a smaller rolling circumference than a normal wheel, and that difference is precisely what loads the all-wheel-drive system. Most makers allow it with a speed and distance limit, some require it on a particular axle only, and others supply a repair kit instead. Look it up before you need it — the roadside is the most awkward place to read a handbook.
How do I check the all-wheel drive still works at all?
That is the unpleasant trait of these systems: a car with a failed multi-plate coupling or an empty transfer case drives completely normally on dry tarmac, and not every model has a warning lamp. Two routes help. First the fault memory — a garage reads it out in minutes and sees stored faults that are not currently active. Second a pull-away on a loose surface, which shows whether any drive reaches the rear at all. Both belong to the inspection of a used all-wheel-drive car.

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