Are 4x4's a threat to the safety of other road use

[Lykurgus]

You do realise, I trust...

...that the Impreza is NOT a 4WD.
It's a hatchback with an additional driveshaft (or "all-wheel-drive" as the dealers call it).
Therefore it would handle like a hatchback. On slicks.

It received an "average" safety rating in most reviews in this country.
Odd, for a car designed mostly for the grandparents.
The sluggish handling... not so odd.

If it's like most "all-wheel-drives", the front drive can't be disengaged, giving you a card-carrying gas-guzzler (I don't care what Subaru told you to the contrary).
And for future reference - almost nobody actually cares about the coast down test, since the margin of error can be so large. But it looks good in glossy brochures.

But if you have any other background in 4WDs, let's hear it.

[franfran]

You do realise, I trust...

...that the Impreza is NOT a 4WD.
It's a hatchback with an additional driveshaft (or "all-wheel-drive" as the dealers call it).
Therefore it would handle like a hatchback. On slicks.

It received an "average" safety rating in most reviews in this country.
Odd, for a car designed mostly for the grandparents.
The sluggish handling... not so odd.

If it's like most "all-wheel-drives", the front drive can't be disengaged, giving you a card-carrying gas-guzzler (I don't care what Subaru told you to the contrary).
And for future reference - almost nobody actually cares about the coast down test, since the margin of error can be so large. But it looks good in glossy brochures.

But if you have any other background in 4WDs, let's hear it.

Going a bit OT, I know, but what exactly is the difference between Four Wheel Drive and All Wheel Drive? As far as I can tell, Four Wheel Drives (or at least, serious Four Wheel Drives) are meant to be able to be used off-road and All Wheel Drives are ordinary passenger cars that have drive to all wheels to increase stability, but are no more intended for off-road use than their two wheel drive counterparts. There must be more to it than that though....

[Guest]

You do realise, I trust...

...that the Impreza is NOT a 4WD.
It's a hatchback with an additional driveshaft (or "all-wheel-drive" as the dealers call it).
Therefore it would handle like a hatchback. On slicks.

It received an "average" safety rating in most reviews in this country.
Odd, for a car designed mostly for the grandparents.
The sluggish handling... not so odd.

If it's like most "all-wheel-drives", the front drive can't be disengaged, giving you a card-carrying gas-guzzler (I don't care what Subaru told you to the contrary).
And for future reference - almost nobody actually cares about the coast down test, since the margin of error can be so large. But it looks good in glossy brochures.

But if you have any other background in 4WDs, let's hear it.

First of all, Subaru told me nothing. I prefer to learn about a car from a technical approach, not from glossy advertising. All my knowledge of the Impreza (and similar cars) and it's comparisons are based on personal data and experience.
Any difference between the various types of 4WD transmission are being continually eroded by technology. For example, Land Rover stopped using a manually lockable centre differential on some models a few years ago. The drive distribution being controlled by electronic brake application. Control was taken away from the driver entirely. However, certain models of the Impreza have a driver controlled centre differential giving manual control over the slip characteristics.
Again, many off road 4x4's are permanently engaged so the front drive can't be disengaged. I believe that started with the original Range Rover decades back.
As I say, the differences are blurred.
As to the coast down comparison, again I've verified that personally comparing a number of permanent 4x4's with conventional cars. However the additional drag and weight of the extra transmission will have a detrimental effect on fuel economy. That's dictated by the laws of physics and has nothing to do with any manufacturers figures.
I don't know what country you're in, but in UK the Impreza is certainly not aimed at grandparents. The turbo is regularly compared to the various Misubishi Evo models as a performance car. I tried to explain the difference between primary and secondary safety. All the various official tests compare ONLY secondary safety. As for describing the handling as sluggish, have you driven one in anger?
The Impreza drives all 4 wheels. That makes it a 4x4. It's just not an off road car. However, to return to my original point, many 2WD vehicles have characteristics more like an off roader (heavy, high CofG, poor roll control, sluggish performance, etc) than a number of road going 4x4's.

[Lykurgus]

Going a bit OT, I know, but what exactly is the difference between Four Wheel Drive and All Wheel Drive? As far as I can tell, Four Wheel Drives (or at least, serious Four Wheel Drives) are meant to be able to be used off-road and All Wheel Drives are ordinary passenger cars that have drive to all wheels to increase stability, but are no more intended for off-road use than their two wheel drive counterparts. There must be more to it than that though....

Not a whole lot more - at least not for the driver. The guest appears to be getting a bit protective of their Impreza*, but basically...
The "All-wheel-Drive" grabs better than a 2WD on wet roads (in my experience) and some hard-packed tracks, and that's as close as they ever get.
Anything beyond that needs high ground clearance, short wheelbase, and lower gears... which the serious Four-Wheel-Drive has (and all of which puts it below par on a road).

There's other bells-and-whistles, but you already had the gist of it.

*(psst... if you ever see the Imprezas interior, you'll know why I mentioned grandparents )

[Guest]

Going a bit OT, I know, but what exactly is the difference between Four Wheel Drive and All Wheel Drive? As far as I can tell, Four Wheel Drives (or at least, serious Four Wheel Drives) are meant to be able to be used off-road and All Wheel Drives are ordinary passenger cars that have drive to all wheels to increase stability, but are no more intended for off-road use than their two wheel drive counterparts. There must be more to it than that though....

Not a whole lot more - at least not for the driver. The guest appears to be getting a bit protective of their Impreza*, but basically...
The "All-wheel-Drive" grabs better than a 2WD on wet roads (in my experience) and some hard-packed tracks, and that's as close as they ever get.
Anything beyond that needs high ground clearance, short wheelbase, and lower gears... which the serious Four-Wheel-Drive has (and all of which puts it below par on a road).

There's other bells-and-whistles, but you already had the gist of it.

*(psst... if you ever see the Imprezas interior, you'll know why I mentioned grandparents )

I think we're saying the same thing but using different terms.
To me AWD and 4X4 both mean that all wheels are driven, All Wheel Drive and 4 wheels x 4 driven wheels.
To you 4x4 means more ground clearance etc for off road. I call them off roaders since the transmisions of each type are very similar.
As for the interior of the Impreza - well perhaps Subaru spent the money elswhere. It's not the best around but I bought it for it's performance and grin factor amongst other things and it has those in abundance.

[Lykurgus]

I think we're saying the same thing but using different terms.

If we were, this thread would never exist.
A vehicle either is a Four-Wheel-Drive, or it is not. Our opinions don't come into that.

To say that the line is blurring... that there are varying degrees of Four-Wheel-Driveliness, is to say the same thing about the line between Rigid and Articulated trucks.

The transmissions are anything but similar. I did mention why.

BTW just so you know - I have test-driven these half-castes... as you can tell, I wasn't impressed.

[Guest]

I think we're saying the same thing but using different terms.

If we were, this thread would never exist.
A vehicle either is a Four-Wheel-Drive, or it is not. Our opinions don't come into that.

Since Four Wheel Drive means all four wheels are driven by the engine, that includes AWD and 4x4

[Strandy]

Who is any of us to judge whether somebody else's choice of car is "appropriate to their needs" or "used properly"???

I have more than one vehicle - including a 4x4 which I use for heavy work like fetching animal feed, and yes, it does get driven off-road from time to time. I consider it appropriate to my needs. But then, I dare say others who have them and don't use them to fetch feed or drive across muddy fields consider them appropriate to THEIR needs (whatever those needs might be). Who am I to say they are wrong?

Doubtless, yes, if I were in an accident with a smaller vehicle, then I suspect the driver of that vehicle might suffer more than I did. The same could be said, though, of my 7.5 tonne lorry, my 2 tonne van and my tractor. Does that make those vehicles a "threat to the safety fo other road users"? Well, in a sense, yes. But equally, if I were in an accident with a 22 tonne lorry, in any of my vehicles, then I should probably come off worse. So does that make THEM a threat to my safety? Well yes, it does in exactly the same way - but so what? I'm not going to go around sayign that they should be banned.

But I AM going to say that I want to see drivers (of ANY vehicle) prosecuted and punished if they fail to observe the laws relatign to the use of their vehicles that have been enacted for my (and other road users') protection.