What Is The Best 4WD System?

Who Has The Best 4WD? What Is The Best 4WD Vehicle?

Who makes the best 4WD system is certainly up for debate, but what is the best 4WD system? That question seems like it should have a realistic answer based on physics. The best 4WD system, in my opinion, is the system that gives you the least likelihood of getting stuck. In nerd-speak, it's able to put down the greatest percentage of available torque.

So how do you put down the greatest amount of torque? Well that requires a clever 4WD system, that's able to change based on conditions. One such change vital for off-roading is the ability to lock up differentials. What's the difference between an open and a locked differential? An open differential allows for uneven wheel speeds, but always maintains equal torque. A locked differential does the opposite, locking wheel speed together, but allowing for unequal torque distribution. Torque is sent where grip allows for the torque to be sent. Check out the video for full details, as well as examples of vehicles which I would consider have the best 4WD systems.

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IMPORTANT NOTE: Vehicles like the Mercedes G-Class blur the lines between what is “technically” 4WD vs AWD. Today, to call something 4WD traditionally means it has a transfer case and can switch from 2WD to 4WD, as well as having a low speed range within the transfer case. While the G Wagon does not have the ability for 2WD, it does have a hi/low speed transfer case, as well as lockers front/rear/center. For these reasons I’ve included it in this discussion, since like the Jeep Wrangler and Ram Power Wagon, it is designed with offload capability in mind. Like the Jeep and Ram, the center lock in the G-Wagon should not be used on road, since it will cause binding (assuming the road isn’t covered in snow, ice, etc). For what it’s worth, Mercedes currently refers to this system as “Permanent AWD with 2-speed transfer case.” The same terminology is used for the more serious G550 4x4 with portal axles, a machine clearly built for off-road use.That said, according to MotorTrend, in the 90’s Mercedes referred to the E-Class with 4Matic as 4WD, not AWD like it is called today. It’s important to know that ultimately these terms are founded as marketing differentiators rather than technical differentiators to explain how the 4WD system works. At the most basic level, 4WD simply means all four wheels receive torque. If you’re interested in more detail, below are a bunch of related videos. :)

[nemoevr]

As a former and proud owner of a 1976 Toyota land cruiser, I can tell you that the best 4WD is the one that does not breakdown in the middle of nowhere, and is easy to fix.
You have the best simple explanations out there, and we are very grateful for it. Do you remember another beast from Mercedes called the " Unimog "?
Cheers from Canada.

[callMeAMug]

A question.. how many G-Wagon owners actually use their G-Wagons for off road?

[ec]

Man i think this channel has stayed the same more or less but SERIOUSLY upped the GAME on subject matter lately!!! Thanks sir this is becoming my new fav channel!!!

[garnetcampbell]

Manual locking hubs and manual shifting transfer case that does not require wires or hoses that will work every time is a must in my book.

[MyPandaRawrs]

the fast and furious part almost made me choke on my cereal lol

[Shakshuka]

Also, just about everything you find in that G Wagon system can be found in a $2000 Mitsubishi Montero/Pajero from 25 years ago.

[Chris-cyuq]

What if all 4 wheels are stuck? *spare tire intensifies*

[SouthMainAuto]

Sure is hard to beat gear to gear transfer case and high pinion locking solid axles :)

[GUYANESEGT]

you only wanted to impress the ladies with that dumbbell :-P

[SickFlicksTrick]

This is great, thanks for explaining it all so simply. When I first got into off roading this was pretty hard to get my head around, if I had a video like this to watch it would have saved me a lot of Googling and head scratching staring at diagrams.

[ChristopherGaul]

Good video, and I'm glad you referenced your AWD video in it so that people can see the difference.
It would be nice to see a discussion of other systems and hybrid 4WD/AWD systems.
I would also mention that a nice addendum to this video would be one covering the types of locking differentials and hybrid lockers like the GM G80 which give the driver the best of both worlds.

[danieljensen]

I'm curious why we haven't seen any major electric vehicles aimed at off-roading, since their low end torque seems pretty ideal, and for the type that has a motor in each wheel you can do torque vectoring like this as long as you can control power distribution to each motor separately.

[BatmanRZ]

so basically, he doesnt actually tell you the best one

[LOLO]

My Cherokee had the following modes: 2WD, locked center diff (part-time 4WD), and a viscous coupling center diff (full-time 4WD), and limited slip front and rear diffs. This viscous coupling setting ("full-time" 4WD) was awesome on icy roads, because you could safely leave it on without breaking traction every time you made a turn, but you still got good traction when some of the wheels were on ice. It did really well when there were repeated transitions from/to ice & dry pavement. It was better for mud than my wrangler Rubicon, partly because of this system, but mostly because of the lower weight.

[brandonrodriguez]

For someone who is interested in buying a 4x4 all this talk about differentials and locks and different types of drive trains you break it down into detail and direct thank you very much! Looking forward to seeing more of your videos!

[angelsordevils]

Dumbbell explanation was brilliant. Thank you for all the great content.

[pauloleary]

These videos are super helpful. Thank you for putting these together. In our house, we're consolidating cars since we live in a city now and don't really need two. Unfortunately it means my BRZ has to go. Fortunately, it means I get to pick what we get next. Maybe a new Bronco? Now I get to learn about the wonderful world of SUVs, 4WD systems, and everything that comes with it!

[braggland]

Can’t say It’s the best considering I have not used all of them but the 4wd system I had on my hummer H3 was great. It went through everything I throw at it.

[vegasxventures]

The Quadra Drive II system in my Jeep Commander has the only limitation of tires that cannot grip.