Hi there, I am looking to buy an electric SUV. To acquire AWD, a lot of them need you to purchase the most expensive trim. It made me wonder: what is the difference between a RWD ICE and a RWD EV? I anticipate traveling up mountains and through the snow a few times a year. Is the extra money worth it?
AWD isn’t necessarily essential for all EVs, but it offers some advantages depending on your needs.
Order of preference for snow driving
- FWD ICE
- RWD EV
- RWD ICE
That said, an RWD ICE with snow tires beats a FWD ICE with all seasons. Tires matter the most.
My mom has an original Ioniq and really struggles with some tough hills during winter, even with good winter tires. There was one time we had to give up and find another route. I’ve gone up that same hill and even stopped midway several times during worse conditions with absolutely no issues whatsoever. Winter tires do help, but having all-wheel drive (AWD) along with winter tires is way better.
Snowstorms that declared a state of emergency required me to work at my job. New snow tires on my FWD Accord have never let me down. But I did pass a lot of AWD SUVs in the ditch that were on summer tires.