Have you ever wondered just how capable an all-wheel drive passenger car can be? Well, wonder no more…
- What does 4MOTION mean?
- Which Volkswagen models offer 4MOTION?
- Why go to New Zealand to drive 4MOTION?
- What happens when you drive 4MOTION-equipped vehicles on ice and snow?
- Driving by the seat of your pants
4MOTION, 4MATIC, xDrive, ALLGRIP, i-ACTIV AWD… there are so many all-wheel drive systems on the market these days that it can be hard to keep up. The good news is that most are simply brand names for part-time all-wheel drive set-ups that engage drive to all four wheels as the car’s electronic brain sees fit. But how does Volkswagen’s 4MOTION system differ? And what are the benefits to the average family buyer? To answer these questions we went to New Zealand’s Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground with Volkswagen Australia and carsales’ own Luke Youlden to get a grip on the situation.
What does 4MOTION mean?
Simply, 4MOTION is Volkswagen’s term for all-wheel drive. But there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye.
Initially presented under the ‘Syncro’ name in the late 1970s, it now refers a trio of driveline systems that in some instances can quickly change the vehicle from two-wheel drive to all-wheel drive, vary the amount of drive sent between the front and rear axle or, in some models, operate as a tradition dual-range four-wheel drive system.
In all instances, 4MOTION is used to improve either acceleration, grip, handling, towing or off-road ability – or a combination thereof – without any real need for driver intervention.
As stated, there are three different 4MOTION systems available in the Volkswagen range: one for its transverse engines and two for its longitudinal engines.
The primary difference here is that the former uses a Haldex-style electronic coupling to engage drive to the rear wheels on demand, while the latter use either a TORSEN (TORque SENsing) centre differential or dedicated two-speed transfer case to drive all four wheels permanently.
In practice, most drivers won’t notice any difference between the arrangements in regular driving, though the mechanical set-ups do offer some benefit in more challenging off-road scenarios (eg: the centre differential may be locked for low-speed ‘crawling’).
To save fuel, the Haldex-based system has the ability to disengage four-wheel drive when it isn’t needed. This gives the Volkswagen system an advantage over permanent all-wheel drive systems, such as those found in the Subaru range, for example, when underpinning its lighter vehicles.
Which Volkswagen models offer 4MOTION?
In Australia, 44 per cent of Volkswagen’s passenger car range and 62 per cent of its light commercial vehicle (LCV) range is fitted with 4MOTION all-wheel drive of some description.
In the passenger car range, all models excluding the Polo light hatch are available with 4MOTION, while in the LCV range it’s every model except the Caddy small van.
For passenger models, that includes derivatives of the Golf, Arteon and Passat, and SUVs like the new T-Roc (due 2020), Tiguan and Touareg. While for LCVs, it’s the Amarok, Crafter, Multivan and Transporter.
Volkswagen says that with more than half of Aussie roads being unsealed there’s a growing demand for its 4MOTION-equipped vehicles.
A booming domestic tourism industry is partly the reason, so too Australia’s love of towing, and a strong interest from rural and provincial buyers or those towing or carrying heavy loads.
In all, the take-up of 4MOTION-equipped vehicles is almost double of all-wheel drive models in other brands, Volkswagen says. In fact, the trend is so popular it’s lead to the removal of front-drive offerings in some model ranges altogether, such as in the Tiguan SUV.
Why go to New Zealand to drive 4MOTION?
The short answer is reliable snow, and plenty of it. At least that’s usually the case… A warmer than usual start to winter in New Zealand meant some of the snow had turned to ‘slush’ by the time we arrived.
In Australia, most drivers will (thankfully) never experience the full capabilities of Volkswagen’s 4MOTION system on the road. In fact, in ideal situations, the system remains in standby waiting for instruction from the wheel-speed and yaw sensors to activate should the driving wheels lose grip.
If you need to use it in ordinary driving, chances are you could be in trouble! And the chances are it’s a system like Volkswagen’s 4MOTION all-wheel drive system that will get you out of that trouble – probably before you’ve even had time to react.
But in order to demonstrate the system’s potential in a short period of time, it’s necessary to remove as much traction (also known as the coefficient of friction or ‘MU’) from the road surface as possible.
It’s a scenario that may occur in aquaplaning (hydroplaning) or when driving on snowy, sandy or muddy tracks. But for us it will happen courtesy of New Zealand’s Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground (SHPG) – the Snow Farm, as it’s sometimes called.
Used by a wide variety of vehicle, component and tyre manufacturers, the SHPG near Wanaka (outside Queenstown) comprises 16 private land-based test areas with their own ice and snow-making facilities.
Split MU roads, handling courses, snow and ice flats and even hill gradients make up the 400-hectare facility, which sits between 1400 and 2000m of elevation.
Rather than momentarily losing traction, as might be experienced on the road, the Snow Fram provides us with the opportunity to drive with minimal traction at all times; thus highlighting the benefits and shortfalls of a part-time all-wheel drive system like Volkswagen’s 4MOTION.
What happens when you drive 4MOTION-equipped vehicles on ice and snow?
As uneventful as it might sound, when driven in the correct manner – and on winter tyres – there’s very little difference driving 4MOTION-equipped models on ice and snow.
The system is so intelligent that it actually takes a fair bit of driver intervention to get the car ‘unstuck’, which is where instruction from carsales’ own V8 Supercar driver, Luke Youlden, comes in.
“The 4MOTION system is designed to keep the car heading where you point it,” Youlden explained. “If you direct the steering wheel and apply the throttle, the car will head in that direction – it’s actually really difficult to get the car to slide, even on ice and snow.”
Youlden explained that a famous rally move known as the Scandinavian Flick, combined with the disabling of the electronic chassis controls, was required to get the car ‘loose’. Even then, it’s difficult to outwit the all-wheel drive brain of the models assembled.
“What you need to do is create a pendulum effect to unsettle the rear of the car,” Youlden continued. “By transferring weight on to the front-end, and gently directing the steering, you’ll be able to create a slide similar to that of a rear-wheel drive car [oversteer].
“Once you’re sliding, it’s time to change direction, and get back on the throttle to pull yourself clear of the obstacle.”
It’s a theory that takes a bit of practice to master – and a few orange cones come off second best in trying. But the exercises we experienced at the Snow Farm quickly demonstrate how unwilling the 4MOTION system is to let the car get out of shape.
“Even when we were here setting up yesterday, we found it really difficult to get the cars to break loose in the way we would in the kind of rear-wheel drive cars you and I have grown up with,” Youlden said.
“It’s a very smart system that’s almost predictive in the way it handles any loss of traction, it’s actually difficult to completely disengage.”
That might sound like the fun police were in charge of our time on the ice. But that same technology beneath the family car provides the kind of reassurance that’s obviously making all-wheel drive systems like 4MOTION so popular Down Under.
Driving by the seat of your pants
It doesn’t take long to get a feel for driving on low-MU surfaces. As Australians, we rarely have the opportunity to sample the kinds of frigid conditions experienced by our friends across the ditch. But soon the words of our instructor begin to make sense.
“You’ll begin to feel what the car is doing through here,” says Youlden slapping his behind. “The sliding action of the car will begin to become instinctive, and it’s the use of hard throttle inputs and soft hands on the wheel that’ll get you through the course.”
By soft hands, Youlden means subtle inputs on the steering wheel. He explains that sharp, sudden or large steering inputs will result in understeer – or no response at all. It’s a lesson I manage to quickly learn after tackling one exercise with a little too much vigour. I soon find myself facing the opposite direction.
“You need to be patient,” Youlden reiterates. “Making big movements won’t get the car turned any quicker. You’ve got to be progressive with the steering and use the 4MOTION system and the throttle to pull you in the direction you want to go.”
It’s much easier than it sounds.
Fortunately, we get a few hours’ practice in before the surface turns to slush, and by the time we line up for the final motorkhana course, most of the participants are brimming with newfound confidence.
“You’ve all done really well,” Youlden said of his ice-road students. “It’s not an easy thing to master in a couple of hours, but hopefully the experience shows you how well the combination of winter tyres and 4MOTION can be in really slippery conditions like these.”
I’m not sure about ‘really well’, but the fact the cars got through the day without a scratch proves the technology works – even when you’re trying your best to outsmart it. In regular driving it’s the kind of reassurance family drivers demand, regardless of which car they choose.
“In regular situations you won’t even know it’s working,” said Youlden of the 4MOTION system. “It might be an icy road, black ice, or an aquaplaning scenario that it saves you from, but the point is that it works – and it works no matter which car you have it in, as I’m sure you’ve all noticed.”
We put cars from the smallest T-Roc to the largest Crafter 4MOTION through the frozen course with near-equal levels of success. Yes, it takes your head a moment to recalibrate itself to a longer wheelbase, but the extra traction and control on offer is hard to dispute.
No, we didn’t have the opportunity to compare 4MOTION systems against their direct competitors. But I can say with confidence that Volkswagen’s AWD systems work as well as the brochures claim they do.
For peace of mind on not just icy — but wet or gravel — roads, that’s a point worth considering when it comes to buying your next family car.
Keyword: Tested on ice: Volkswagen 4MOTION