I just bought a 2013 G37X Coupe coming from a 03 G35 Coupe and I love it.

We have had nothing but rain and **** weather since buying it and I grip the road significantly better than I did with my rwd coupe.

X for the W

 

I'll reply...again.
I don't know where you read the RWD isnt that great in inclement weather. My RWD has been great in the past couple weeks of cold, wet weather all while still on dedicated summer performance tires. Time to put my Winter set on pretty soon though.

Is the AWD system worth it...speaking as someone who owned an 07X...absolutely.
Do you need the AWD...absolutely not. People have been safely driving around in RWD vehicles, with worse handling than a G, in snow for years. e.g. pick-ups.

X drivers saying how much fun the AWD is...we all have different ideas of fun. I used to do this in my X too, in late January and a foot of powder.

 

Ah hell, I live in Fargo, ND for school and I get around JUST fine in my RWD+Snow tires. Makes it more fun.


Between my dad and I we have had 4 G35s. 2 AWDs and 2 RWDs. Each were first and second generations.

I prefer the RWD and find myself having more confidence with the winter tires than the AWDs on all seasons.

However, my friend has an 04 G35X with snow tires and yea, that car will run rings around mine when theres a foot of powder on the ground.

I think if you live in a fairly snowy area, winter tires are a must regardless of drive wheels.

 

See the pattern? LOL

 

Let see, I will make this real easy. When I used to leave the house when living in Colorado during a snow storm I would:

A) hop in my rwd Mustang?
B) hop in my awd/4x4 Liberty (it had the fancy pants transfer case, you could select between awd and 4x4 in high range, it stayed in awd during snow storms)

Sometimes I would take the awd Jag, it did good as long as the snow wasn't too deep.

This is a no brainer. Can you drive a rwd in snow? Yes, but which is better? AWD is far superior period. There is no argument here.


The other thing I will say though, I wouldn't drive a g in the snow, I would just get a beater for the winters. The crap they put on roads sucks. It ruins cars.

 

^ what you say is true and no one is disputing that AWD is typically better in snow. I say typically because many settle for leaving AS tires on.

The avg annual snowfall in Baltimore is nowhere near what it is in most parts of Colorado.
The OP can save the extra money, get some snow tires and drive around just fine, in a RWD, in Baltimore.

 

Why would I drive a POS beater instead of my 4 door sedan.... i don't understand that logic. Maybe If I was planning on keeping this car forever, but im not. It's a car, and i'll drive it. It is a nice car though, so i wash it once a week during the winter. But yea, screw a beater. I'll take my heated seats and traction control.

 

Agreed, even though my decisions are pre-made by virtue of only having a two-car garage and no more room for a 3rd vehicle. But still... agreed. AND you bring up a great point. My RWD car might be less capable in the snow, but it does have Traction Control, ABS and a Limited Slip Differential... two out of three things I've not had before in the winter.

I know snow. I live in Upstate NY. And I'm not at all worried.

On top of that, I'm rather looking forward to using the heated seats. It's been 12 years since I've had a car that keeps my tushy warm.

 

Thanks to everyone for the responses and opinions. Like I said before, I wouldnt have an issue driving a RWD vehicle and would actually perfer to do so to keep a manual tranny, but I've read numerous peoples negative opinions about the RWD in snowy and wet conditions. Obviously some of that is due to drivers abilities and driving styles but my thought process behind the AWD system is the assurance and peace of mind that it brings. I personaly dont want to worry about getting stuck because my car cant handle the element's thrown its way (within reason).

I have always owned manual FWD coupe cars and switching from a manual coupe to a 4door auto is kind of a booring and scary thought to me but I had to realize that once I have a kid I'm also obligated to get something that keeps safety in mind while still allowing me to tear up the street when the mood fits aka every day while my wife or kid are not in the car. :-) Thanks again for all the great opinions and observations. My heart was telling me to get the manual RWD but from what I've read and what my future holds for me I think the AWD X is the car for me and I'm not disappointed with that one bit.

 

3 kids here...just sayin'

Enjoy your X. The G is a great car and either way (X/S) you can't really go wrong.

 

2 kids here... also sayin'

 

I find them most fun in the summer with an unsuspecting passenger......

Might be first flakes of snow here tomorrow. Weather calling for rain/snow showers. Think it might be time to get the snows put on.

 

They may stop putting craps on the roads if all RWD cars were outlawed.

 

I do that all the time.

 

Not mentioned is the superior feel of AWD in strong crosswind. I drove both types back to back on a windy day and the difference is astounding.