[touringcamry]

For me, if Im going to get an SUV, Id want one that I can take off-road and tow with.
Thats what SUVs are supposed to be all about. If you dont want to go off-road or tow, why not get a Matrix or a Sienna?
Some people want to be "cool" and have an SUV, but dont want the harsh ride and dont need the off-road capability, and thats why you have car-based SUVs (wanna-bes, IMO).

Yeah...4x4 is for going off-road and possibly hauling stuff off-road. But if all the hauling is on road, I would get a 2WD just because the 2WD usually can haul a bit more due to lighter weight of the vehicle and also saves gas because it's lighter.

I think I take my 2WD vehicles off road more than most people take their SUVs. I got my Camry stuck twice in the sand. I don't even know how many times I got my 2WD work trucks stuck in the soft sand. Our unit "doesn't have priority" for 4x4 vehicles.

A lot of people don't want to be seen in a minivan. There was a woman who worked here who opted to get a Civic instead of an Odyssey after she had her baby. They had a Pontiac coupe before that. She end up really regretting the Civic and wish she got the van instead.

My friend just trade in his Explorer for a Passat wagon and much prefers the wagon. He said it can haul the same ammount of stuff (volume wise) and save gas.

 

[touringcamry]

^ No idea. I never drove in ice or snow. I drive on sand.

I doubt it would make much difference. I think that 4WD (not AWD) would really on have an advantage in gettting the vehicle moving or unstuck granted you don't have open differentials. After the vehicle is moving, I don't think it really matters once the vehcle is moving. I'm not talking about rock crawling, mud bogging, or Rubicon type stuff where 4WD is a requirement.

On sand 4WD only helps get the vehicle going. Once it's going my 2WD trucks usually don't get stuck as long as they're moving. The 4WD truck helps out a bit if I'm trying to climb a berm or something and the rear wheels are just digging. But if I have a moving start, even my 2WD trucks can get up or part way up the berm. I don't have too much experience with the 4WD truck. And I'm talking about Class 5 trucks here so it might be different for a SUV. My trucks weigh 11,500lb-15,000 empty and run 110PSI in street tires (the 4WD truck has A/T tires)...so I don't know how much of this applies to your situation.

I don't have much experience off roading with a 2WD pickup truck. I've gotten them stuck before, but once was in a section of my parking lot that I didn't realize was soft sand. The other time it got suck because the driver accidentally got the back wheel into a rut that the stake truck dug. The back wheel fell in the rut and the truck was resting on the leaf spring or frame rail.

The cylinder management system is multi-displacement system. When you're cruising, one bank on the V6 shuts off so your vehicle runs on 3 cylinders to save fuel. Microphones and speakers inside the vehicle generate an inverted waveform to cancel out engine noise inside.