Non-Subaru All Wheel Drive Systems

Honda CRV & Element

Honda uses a "RealTime" four wheel drive system. When the  front wheels slip, power is sent to the rear axle. I have driven both the CRV and Element in extreme conditions and found both to be totally pathetic in comparison to every Subaru I have driven (including my friend's front wheel drive Loyale).

And I am not the only one that thinks so:

From the article "Honda Element puts the "funk" in "functionality" By Jim Kenzie" on Autopoint.ca

Element is offered in front-wheel drive with either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. On the range-topping "Y Package" model like my tester, you can also choose Honda's so-called "RealTime" four-wheel drive, currently only available with a four-speed automatic transmission. With this system, Element remains a front-wheel drive vehicle until the fronts slip enough to activate an electronic coupling which bring the rears in to the party.

By the time this happens, you're probably already in trouble. And if one front wheel is on a slippery surface, such as a sandy shoulder, and the other on dry pavement, wheelspin on one front wheel alone won't activate the coupling. Trying to negotiate a tight uphill hairpin bend on a sand-covered road pointed out the inadequacies of this system.

Colleague and fellow MSN Autos Canada contributor Gerry Malloy calls this "Too Late" four-wheel drive. He also says - and I agree wholeheartedly - that if you're going to go to all the trouble of engineering a four-wheel drive system, why not do a proper all-four-wheel-drive/all-the-time system? Four-wheel drive brings benefits in all-weather handling as well as straight-ahead winter traction. Why not go for the gold?

All power to Honda for taking a chance with a remarkably different vehicle. The Element is flawed, to be sure. It's noisy and not particularly comfortable. Subaru's Forester is probably a more rational choice.