Yes, by all means, buy a $1400 clapped-out old four wheel drive for the same $1400 it would cost to option your CX9 with all wheel drive.

Then park the beater 4x4 in one of your several open garage spots...they were just collecting dust anyway
Then insure the beater 4x4....that's free of course.
Then repair the beater 4x4 when it breaks....the CX9's 60,000 mile warranty will cover the beater too, isn't that what it says in the fine print?
Then enjoy the safety and comfort of driving your beater 4x4 on long road trips with your family to that skiing destination. I'm sure that $1400 beater 4x4 has all the comforts, conveniences, and safety features of your new CX9.

You guys are retarded

I see your position, I verified each of your points - and you are absolutely correct. I am not.

Didn't see that coming, didja? :D

angela

Thank you Angela ;)

That said, the Edge is a great vehicle if you do not 'need' the extra seating capacity. So if 5 passengers works, your points are perfectly valid and I'd recommend looking at one. They are good deals in the used market. So is the smaller Mazda CX7, in fact I've recently bought a couple for clients.

+1

Gonna go to the dealership and test drive a front wheel drive one next week. If I do decide to stick with FWD instead of AWD, it does increase my options as far as buying used instead of new...

There are/were more AWD CX9s than FWD... it is a sport ute afterall! Maybe not in Dallas, but certainly nationwide.

A used 2011 Sport AWD with under 20K miles would run under $25K

A used 2008 Grand Touring AWD with under 20K miles would run the same....if you want heated leather, moonroof, NAV, DVD, HID, 20's, all the toys

Front wheel drive versions are $1500-2000 less than the AWDs

They're out there. 2011's are typically repos or rental returns. 2008/2009's are typically lease returns.

Your Land Cruiser is FULL-TIME FOUR WHEEL DRIVE..... essentially sending 50% of the power front, and 50% rear through a center differential, all the time. It is different than the way your PART-TIME four wheel drive LC works in that does NOT have a center differential, rather a chain-locked drive that does not allow the front wheels to scrub when turning (among other things). Either way, when engaged, half of the power goes both forward and aft.
ALL WHEEL DRIVE is different as it allows a torque split front to rear. Some are clutch based, some viscous, some electronic controlled. Some are normally set to 50/50, some are 98% front biased, some 98% rear-biased, or anywhere in between.(quote: kaisen)
Yes I know all that otherwise I wouldn't have compared the two (ie: the four wheel drive is 2WD most of the time and the AWD is constantly pushing power to all four).in the LC it's actually a 60-40 split. As I said in my earlier post, unless the AWD system basically runs 2WD most of the time (in this case through an electronic decision maker) , I can't see that there is only 1MPG difference. From your description of the new system, that is exactly what it's doing. The OP has to decide whether the additional complexity, (maintenance and repair?) initial purchase price and the supposedly modest MPG penalty is worth it in his real world. Where I live 4WD or AWD is used for a month or so every year even if it is to just get up my long and steep driveway, so I've reasoned that it is worth it to me. Tires are also not to be ignored, an AWD with normal all season cruiser tires is not a very capable machine.... I would like to see how it would compare to a 2WD with decent rubber on it. Cheers

Yes, newer Landcruisers use a Torsen T3 center diff (helical planetary) that allows a bias. They will only 'lock' up to 30% and will only 'bias' from 35f/65r to 65f/35r. But they are instantaneous and bulletproof.

Automatic all wheel drive systems have been around for decades, with automatic meaning that the system engages and disengages based on relative wheelspin. But the wheels need to spin BEFORE the system will transfer power away, which isn't ideal.

The AWD system in the CX9 could be considered a 'proactive' automatic all wheel drive system as it will pre-load the differentials if it sees other sensor readings that would predicate slip (previous ABS/stability activation, previous yaw, outside temperature, etc) or other conditions that would benefit from power transfer (like cornering or heavy throttle input).

Some systems (not the CX9) take this a step further to include side-to-side transfer and can include 'torque vectoring' to aid handling even further. GM/Saab's Haldex system is one example.

You only really need to insure it when you are driving it, otherwise no. If it is $1500, you are not spending anything fixing it, and sure as heck not parking it in the garage.

Really Eric, your contributions here are sincerely intended to be helpful and quite valuable

Tobra, do you hear hoofbeats and think 'Zebra'??

The vast majority of consumers would NOT think adding TWO vehicles to the household fleet would be a good solution in this case. It's ridiculous.

You'd HAVE to consider parking, insurance, repair, and registration on that extra vehicle in order to make a good decision. It's irrational to overlook the real impacts and costs of having another car around.

If you don't see value in my contributions then ask a moderator how to use your ignore function.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HXEWWTpit_A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Let me know what you think of the FWD version. My mom has been looking at these and I wonder if all that power to the right front wheel will be a buzz kill even in a heavy vehicle like the CX-9. Not that you'd be hot rodding a CX-9 but it would get irritating to have a choice between one wheel peel everywhere or traction control shutting things down all the time.