Why 4x2?

skibuff

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I bought a 4wd because I'll be driving in the snow 50+ days a year.

If you don't drive in the snow or plan to drive off road there is no reason to get 4wd save the money.

As stated above you do not want to use the 4wd just for rain. Acceleration is not the problem in the rain braking is and 4wd does nothing to help breaking.
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jjmanzano

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I went with the 4x2. As much as I love 4x4s, I really don’t need one here in South Texas. Plus, I doubt I would take a Lariat trim pickup too far off road. I did get the automatic locking differential.
 

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I went with the 4x2. As much as I love 4x4s, I really don’t need one here in South Texas. Plus, I doubt I would take a Lariat trim pickup too far off road. I did get the automatic locking differential.
I did the same 4X2, Lariat, Locking Rear. It’s gonna be a pavement princess, no need to fool myself.
 

Pinecrestjim

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I originally ordered a 4x2 with rear locker, Lariet trim. After a week of back and forth indecision, I changed the order to 4x4 with rear locker. I tow a boat and have seen a number of trucks having trouble trying to pull a boat out of the water, all 4x2. If there is a group of fellas around, they'll pile into the bed and/or bounce on the rear bumper and with squealing rubber the truck will manage to get the boat out.

Oftentimes when fishing out of Flamingo in the Everglades, I'm the only one at the ramp. I don't want to be stuck there unable to get a boat out of the water because of a slick, pitched concrete ramp. I've been to other ramps, dirt and broken concrete full of pot holes, and I'm sure that without the weight on the rear of the Explorer, I'd have been stuck there also. I just don't want to be "that guy" at the ramp that everyone else finds entertaining.
 

Carl

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Great info....but there is another make or break decision. If you plan to flat tow this vehicle behind a RV you need 4 x 4 so you get a transfer case that disconnects the front and back wheels from the transmission. Correct me if I am wrong but I do not believe the 2 x 4 can be flat towed for any distance at 65mph. The manual makes reference to this mode selected with the 4 x 4 switch and also present on the F150 (I think you turn the dial 5 times...and it shows in the display). This might be one of the few automatic trans vehicles that can be flat towed behind an RV. Planning for the time we retire our AWD 2005 Honda CRV...the last year a CRV can be towed is 2014....2015 and after went CVT...which means no flat towing at all.
 


WXman

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I've had 2WD Ford trucks with open diffs, I've had rear lockers, and I've had 4WD models too.

There is NO WAY I will ever own a 2WD ever again. Here's why:

First of all, while a rear locking differential does make a huge difference if you're off road, or if you're trying to recover a boat on a steep wet boat ramp, it doesn't hold a candle to using four wheel drive. A four wheel drive with two open differentials will walk all over a two wheel drive with a locked differential in 99% of situations. Also, a rear drive only pickup is the most useless vehicle on earth, because your traction is on the axle with the least weight over it. Physics tells us it's easier to pull than push, which is why a front drive car will go places a rear drive truck won't.

Second, 4x4 trucks have much higher resale value. 4x2 trucks around here sit on dealer lots for months if not a year or more. Most dealers won't even take used ones in on trade because they know they'll sit on them forever.

Third, it's better to have four wheel drive and rarely need it than to not have four wheel drive and get stranded. In the snow, my 2WD truck was MISERABLE. Even with four sand bags in the back, it is just no where near as safe or confident as four wheel drive. Night and day difference. And, factory e-lockers can only be used in low range, which makes them useless on the roadway. For winter use, you NEED four wheel drive.

The small 1 to 2 MPG penalty you pay for 4WD more than pays for itself in resale value, and in safety and confidence in rough conditions.
 

jsphlynch

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Also, a rear drive only pickup is the most useless vehicle on earth, because your traction is on the axle with the least weight over it.
I must come to the defense of RWD here. I've been driving one for 15 years, and it has been far from useless. Quite the opposite, the number of loads of lumber, firewood, large furniture, compost, gravel, kayaks, etc present a pretty good argument that my RWD has been much more useful for me than most other vehicles (passenger cars) would have been. And the lower price tag of RWD compared to 4x4 meant that at the time the 4x4 was financially out of my reach, and therefore useless to me.
Second, 4x4 trucks have much higher resale value. 4x2 trucks around here sit on dealer lots for months if not a year or more. Most dealers won't even take used ones in on trade because they know they'll sit on them forever.
Yes, 4x4 has higher resale value. It also has higher cost new, and no, you will not recover that entire difference in cost when you sell it. 4x4 drivetrains are not exempt from depreciation. Regarding dealers not taking 2WD trucks on trade-in, my experience is completely opposite of this. Two years ago we were looking to trade in our sedan (same age as my pickup) for an SUV. At three different dealerships, when I told the sales guys I wanted to trade in the sedan, they asked if I wouldn't consider trading the pickup instead. One of the salesmen explained that pickups, even 2WD, fly off the lot, so they love to bring them in on trade. A couple years prior to that, a coworker traded in his 2WD Ranger for about 20% over the KBB trade-in value.
For winter use, you NEED four wheel drive.
I've driven in the winters of eastern Washington state and the midwest. I've gone skiing, winter camping, and mountaineering. I drove across the mountain passes of Washington multiple times per winter for 8 years. I did it all without four wheel drive. That's not to say 4WD wouldn't have been nice at times, but merely that it wasn't needed.
The small 1 to 2 MPG penalty you pay for 4WD more than pays for itself in resale value
The math here is pretty easy. If you keep your rig for 5 years, driving an average of 12k miles per year, that's 60k miles. Let's assume 22 mpg combined for 2WD for 2727 gallons of gas over that 60k miles, and a 1.5 MPG penalty for 4WD that amounts to 200 extra gallons (2927 gallons over 60k miles). If we assume modest increases in the price of gas to $3/gallon, the extra fuel cost over the five years of owning your Ranger is only $600. According to Edmunds, a 5-year-old Tacoma is worth ~$2000 more if it has 4WD than if it's only 2WD. So yes, you are correct that the MPG penalty is small compared to the increase in resale value (~$1400 in favor of 4WD). However, that ignores the fact that 4WD is a $4160 option, plus the associated cost of financing that higher initial price tag.

I'm not trying to argue that 4WD is not, in general, superior to 2WD. Nor am I trying to argue that people who need (or want) 4WD should instead settle for 2WD. I'm merely trying to point out that for many people (myself included), 2WD is a perfectly acceptable and economical (and certainly not useless!) option.
 

FijiSun

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Any reason why some folks are buying a truck but 2WD? Other than ground clearance, you don't get any benefit over a rear wheel drive car?

I'll be trading my 2011 AWD BMW X5 diesel (live in California) and trying to determine why I should get 2WD other than lower cost.

Sorry for the stupid post ..all my past vehicles have been AWD so not sure what I'm losing going with a 2WD truck.

PS: Was looking at the Tacoma but 2 things bug me considering both the Taco and Ranger are in the same price . Lack of power and outdated plastic interior/cloth interior. Looks wise, I still prefer the Taco (especially the Off Road) but haven't seen the Ranger in person. I did sign up for the demo that's coming to Sacramento on Nov 11 in a car show.
Well there is one big reason that I may end up compromising 2WD. And that is because to have the B&O option you have to order the top trim. So once you add 4X4 to that your at the very top of the spectrum of price.. 45K. Just to upgrade the stereo. This bundling really boils me.
 

rangerdanger

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Well there is one big reason that I may end up compromising 2WD. And that is because to have the B&O option you have to order the top trim. So once you add 4X4 to that your at the very top of the spectrum of price.. 45K. Just to upgrade the stereo. This bundling really boils me.
It only requires the Lariat trim, you can get it on the 4x2.
 

Ric

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It only requires the Lariat trim, you can get it on the 4x2.
I ordered the Supercrew Lariat 4x2 with locking rear and the tech pack to get the bumping sounds. It’s gonna a pavement princess, no need for 4x4.
 
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RodSlinger

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.... It’s gonna a pavement princess, no need for 4x4.
Technically 99% of the jacked up, mud tire 4x4 trucks are also.

And I'm with you on being street only use. I'm on my fifth truck since 92 and there has been exactly ONE time where 4WD may have helped me. I use my truck for work and tow a lot and couldn't care less about crawl control, breakover angles, ground clearance, etc... It needs to be able to haul loads, haul ass and handle decently well on the asphalt. Any offroading I do is limited to yard work or parkingin the grass at the park.

I'd be more excited if they came out with a pickup version of a Mustang.
 

FijiSun

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It only requires the Lariat trim, you can get it on the 4x2.
Yes I understand that. But I require a 4X4. You can get 4X4 in all trims but you can only upgrade stereo in the lariat trim. And it also has to be crew cab as well so that's really pushing it at the very top for pricing. All I know is the base head unit is made by sony and their is no sub. Nobody knows anything about the base radio. Its what's keeping me from pre ordering a ranger. Because Colorados have better pricing for leather/4X4 and upgraded audio. Rangers are competitively priced until you start hitting the top trim. And in that, they are not even. They are considerably more expensive. Even more then Toytota. Except for maybe the tacoma pro.
 

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I ordered the Supercrew Lariat 4x2 with locking rear and the tech pack to get the bumping sounds. It’s gonna a pavement princess, no need for 4x4.
Well unless you drive up to big bear you probably would never need it. Cali is a big concrete jungle. California/Arizona sells a ton of 2WD for a reason.
 

MrClortho

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When I was a boy many years ago, my father had 2wd Ford F150's that he used for most of the reasons we buy trucks: towing a boat, hauling stuff, going to the deer lease, camping, fishing, etc... I remember being stuck trying to pull out boats on the ramp and needing help, or in the sand at the beach or having to avoid areas at the deer lease because of it. I vowed to never own an SUV or truck when I grew up that was not 4wd because it limits the truck's use.

Fast forward a couple decades and there I was, at the beach with my wife and kids, buried to the axle in a 2wd, next to passenger cars, and seeking help. I remembered my childhood vow and never again owned a 2wd unless it was a car. I can say for sure that I have used 4wd several times, and it has saved my bacon.

For me, it is 4wd tuck or SUV, or drive a car.
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