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How good is the scout 4 wheel drive system?

snig71
in Skoda Octavia Mk2 (2004 - 2013)

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I experienced my scout all wheel drive system today and was not very impressed. :-(

Bought the car last February and in my moment of need today it felt no better than my old 2 wheel drive passat when trying to get out my icy road this morning.

Does it only operate at certain low engine revs and load?

Edited by snig71

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  • silver1011
    silver1011

    Sounds to me as though you should be in marketing!   Four wheel drive (4WD) refers to vehicles that have a transfer case, not a differential, between the front and rear axles, meaning that the front

  • Quattrodaveuk
    Quattrodaveuk

    I've done a lot of off road driving and competitions over the years, the secret to not getting stuck is reading the road, ground clearance & traction.  Traction is achieved by driving style, tyre

  • Kenny R
    Kenny R

    4 wheel drive is not the answer to driving on ice/snow. The answer is to fit winter tyres. Winter tyres fitted to a 2 wheel drive car will out perform a 4x4 on summer tyres.

4 wheel drive is not the answer to driving on ice/snow. The answer is to fit winter tyres.

Winter tyres fitted to a 2 wheel drive car will out perform a 4x4 on summer tyres.

    •
    • Like 2

    What Kenny said.

    4x0 (grip) = 2x0

    I have had winter tyres for years. Wouldnt consider being without them. And both my last two cars were 4wd.

    On winter tyres yesterday I drove up a slope I struggled to walk up without the 4x4 kicking in.

    The echo seems a little out of tune.

    I travelled the length of the country a couple of years ago, in a shocking blizzard, to collect my new scout tsi. I immediately found it disappointing in the snow and it was a nervous ride home (and noisy thanks to unbearable road noise). The humble Golf 1.6 hire car I drove down was much more refined, and was actually better in the snow with its relatively skinny tyres. That Golf went up snowbound hills that I would not have believed possible

    I now drive an Octavia elegance as my workhorse car and have a set of winter tyres fitted. Petty confident it'll deal with most situations

    I travelled the length of the country a couple of years ago, in a shocking blizzard, to collect my new scout tsi. I immediately found it disappointing in the snow and it was a nervous ride home (and noisy thanks to unbearable road noise).

     

    You should have turned around for a refund then as this particular Scout was clearly faulty!

    The first winter I had mine I got stuck in the snow with all 4 wheels spinning on a hill, root cause was low profile wide summer rubber. Following this I got a set of 16" wheels and put winter rubber on for use at this time on the year, net result is I now can't get he wheels to spin. I'll dig out a pic I have from a couple of years ago when I drove into a car park, parked up for an hour, then drove out again leaving an imprint of the underneath of the car in the snow it was that deep, the Scout handled it with no dramas.

    Conclusion- it's the tyres that let it down.

    •
    • Like 1

    My 1989 Audi Quattro (Torsen diffs) is great in the snow with normal tyres on, my 1981 Range Rover is awesome in the snow with off road mud terrain tyres on (especially good in deep snow), not driven the Octavia in the snow yet, but I have got winter tyres on.  In the snow driving style defiantly helps, 4 wheel drive is good as it spreads the torque,  ultimately traction is transferred to the road by the tyres...

    This is what I was referring to in my previous post:

     

    20130324_121828_zps879a8389.jpg

     

    You can clearly see how even with the underneath of the car trailing in the snow the car still had no problem pulling away from a standing start up a slight incline.

    There is also this that I came home through, again you can see the snow up to the underneath of the front bumper where I have stopped.

     

    20130322_195644_zps313cd154.jpg

    There is also this that I came home through, again you can see the snow up to the underneath of the front bumper where I have stopped.

    20130322_195644_zps313cd154.jpg

    Nobody likes a 'snow off'!:-D

    I experienced my scout all wheel drive system today and was not very impressed. :-(

    Bought the car last February and in my moment of need today it felt no better than my old 2 wheel drive passat when trying to get out my icy road this morning.

    Does it only operate at certain low engine revs and load?

    As far as I know - VAG doesn't offer AWD/4WD cars. Perhaps some executive Audi Quattros still have mechanical Thorsen LSD central diff.

     

    It is marketing *******s - it is all Haldex clutch and it is rubbish. It switches on once is late.

     

    If you want to buy real AWD car - go for Subaru or Mitsubishi (unsure about Mitsu because I never had it)

     

    I once saw couple of guys with Golfs MKIV I think with so called 4Motion. They wheels were spinning with Haldex on and they were on one place. Meanwhile, I was sliding sideways or lets say drifting around in my good old Subaru Impreza GL.

     

    Further more, all VAG cars don't have LSD differentials - it is so called EDL 9Electronic Differential Lock). It is basically ABS and it limits slip by breaking wheel.

     

    STILL SURPRISED WHY YOU DIDN'T GET ANYWHERE ;-)

    All down to tyres buddy, i spent 15 years as a mechanic in a 4x4 specialist garage, i used to repair landrovers, isuzu, mitsubishi, etc etc and we found that the standard summer tyre was shocking in the snow, we then used to fit M+S tyres or winter spec tyres and it transformed the vehicles, i now work in a skoda dealer and have had 2 x octavia vrs and 2 x superbs 4x4s and with the 2wd octavias in the snow with summer tyres on they felt skitty on the roads and i did get stuck a couple of times i then fitted winter tyres and never got stuck, The superb 4x4 was also rubbish in the snow with summers on untill i fitted winters to them and my god how good they are in the snow especially when you switch the traction off. Get some winters on and you wont look back!

    If you want to buy real AWD car - go for Subaru or Mitsubishi (unsure about Mitsu because I never had it)

     

    I once saw couple of guys with Golfs MKIV I think with so called 4Motion. They wheels were spinning with Haldex on and they were on one place. Meanwhile, I was sliding sideways or lets say drifting around in my good old Subaru Impreza GL.

     

    STILL SURPRISED WHY YOU DIDN'T GET ANYWHERE ;-)

     

    The only thing that is rubbish is your post!

     

    I'd say Land Rover know a little more about 4x4 systems than most.

     

    Your super Subaru would be equally rubbish if fitted with the same tyres as the OP's car.

     

    Oh by the way the Haldex 4WD system is currently used in the following vehicle models

    • Saab Automobile[15]
      • Saab 9-3 Turbo X (2007-2008) (Haldex Fourth Gen with eLSD)
      • Saab 9-3 Aero XWD (2008-2010) (Haldex Fourth Gen with eLSD)
      • Saab 9-3 XWD 2.0T (2009), Turbo4 (2011) (Haldex Fourth Gen without eLSD)
      • Saab 9-3 9-3X (2010) (Haldex Fourth Gen with eLSD)
      • Saab 9-5 Turbo6 (2011) (Haldex Fourth Gen without eLSD)
      • Saab 9-5 Aero (2010) (Haldex Fourth Gen with eLSD)
      • Saab 9-4X XWD (Haldex Fourth Gen with eLSD)

    Edited by silver1011

    Mine has always been excellent in the snow up here in the Scottish highlands including today

     

    The only thing that is rubbish is your post!

     

    I'd say Land Rover know a little more about 4x4 systems than most.

     

    Your super Subaru would be equally rubbish if fitted with the same tyres as the OP's car.

     

    Oh by the way the Haldex 4WD system is currently used in the following vehicle models

    • Saab Automobile[15]
      • Saab 9-3 Turbo X (2007-2008) (Haldex Fourth Gen with eLSD)
      • Saab 9-3 Aero XWD (2008-2010) (Haldex Fourth Gen with eLSD)
      • Saab 9-3 XWD 2.0T (2009), Turbo4 (2011) (Haldex Fourth Gen without eLSD)
      • Saab 9-3 9-3X (2010) (Haldex Fourth Gen with eLSD)
      • Saab 9-5 Turbo6 (2011) (Haldex Fourth Gen without eLSD)
      • Saab 9-5 Aero (2010) (Haldex Fourth Gen with eLSD)
      • Saab 9-4X XWD (Haldex Fourth Gen with eLSD)

     

    I would suggest you to study, what really 4WD and AWD means.

     

    As I've written - most modern cars are pseudo 4x4 because it is cheaper to make EDL + Haldex than real think based on physical laws whether viscous coupling or Torsen type differential.

     

    If you like marketing - then keep living your dream.

    Edited by sniper29a

    4WD or AWD is exactly that, all four wheels are driven.

     

    How power is delivered to them varies system by system.

     

    I don't need a Land Rover Defender to get to work and back.

     

    Tyres and ground clearance have far more influence than the method in which power is fed to the rear wheels.

     

    Oh and I work in marketing. And I drive a Haldex equipped 4x4.

     

    Stick Octavia Scout into YouTube and see for yourself how well this 'pseudo 4x4' copes on and off road.

    No problems here with a 4x4 Octavia and decent tyres... At least no it in the heavy snow we've had in recent years. However sheet ice is a different story when it rains and then freezes. Nothing is any good then other than studded tyres

    The ambulance service here use scouts with normal tyres on and have been used to great effect in winter weather.

    Speaking to the drivers they can't get them stuck no matter what they try. Might be the added weight of the kit in the boot

    • Haha 1

    Yes you are right I spoke to one a while back when he came out to my daughter and he reckoned they were miles better than the volvos they had previously...

    4WD or AWD is exactly that, all four wheels are driven.

     

    How power is delivered to them varies system by system.

     

    I don't need a Land Rover Defender to get to work and back.

     

    Tyres and ground clearance have far more influence than the method in which power is fed to the rear wheels.

     

    Oh and I work in marketing. And I drive a Haldex equipped 4x4.

     

    Stick Octavia Scout into YouTube and see for yourself how well this 'pseudo 4x4' copes on and off road.

    Sadly not ;-) Re-read again. 4WD and AWD is different story, unless modern marketing didn't create something new from facts :-D

    Sadly not ;-) Re-read again. 4WD and AWD is different story, unless modern marketing didn't create something new from facts :-D

    Tell me what's the difference and how it also differs from 4X4.

    4WD:________________

    AWD:________________

    4X4:________________

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