All AWD Honda's, Acura's and Nissan's are FWD bias until the TCS senses loss of traction and then it puts power to the rears. The new GM SUV's (acadia, traverse, outlook and enclave) are the same way.

BMW's and Audi's are full time AWD.

Thanks for the info. :thumbup:

The Audi Q5 might not be a bad choice as an option to the X3, but you would have to wait for it.

Yup, just bad timing on the Q5. My TB lease is up in January... there is a possibility that i might just lease an X3 with a manual for 2 years until the gas crisis shakes out one way or the other and the manufacturers' new models settle in with better mpg...

The Acura's with SH-AWD constantly vary the bias between the front and rear wheels, and between the two rear wheels. You can see this when you drive; there's a display of drive proportion of all the wheels. The RL I drove has it, I'm sure the others too. The MDX is a major soccermom vehicle though, and dunno if the RDX is big enough for your needs.

SH-AWD system definitely works. You get great rotation with the system all while having great grip. It's the best of rwd and awd in terms of dynamics, and you can very easily tell. Will be great when DPC spreads past the X6. The current Acura's are really watered down in terms of driving excitement though. Overboosted steering, and even though thr suspension is pretty competent, the whole experience is really disconnected and lacking feedback. This goes for basically every current Acura.

Infiniti's are exclusively rwd until they detect slip.

I say give the X3 a shot at least. I haven't heard of too many complaints (if any at all) with the latest batch of X3s since mid-winter. I drove one back in January with a normally functioning transmission. It's fast and geared really tight (the 6th gear revs the same as the 5th gear in previous X3s), so acceleration is very fast and rapid. If you can live with the pre-facelift models, the older 5AT is still the better automatic gearbox and more reliable.

Of course, if it all goes out the window, then get the manual.

I too have a Vette as my #1 ride but we only can drive the Vette seven months of the year - the rest is SUV weather up here in Canada. I have an 07 X3 and really the tranny problem is overstated - The X3 goes like a bat, is fun to drive, and reasonable on gas given what we pay

My two cents

Ininiti handles like a pig IMHO(impersonating Josh);). Q5 may be a good option.
New MDX is not bad. Big difference between 1st and 2nd gen MDX. The SH-AWD Acura has, BMW finally got an equivalent in X6 with DPC. And Japs do have an edge with reliability.

It must suck being you...

Carry on :)

i'm not looking for the infiniti to be a sports car, i have another car for that when needed :) I've driven the fx35, handling is pretty good, and that's all i need. Coming from the handling on my TB, you can understand lol

Q5's won't be available before my lease is up in December, and if they're like every other audi sans the A4, they're going to be gas hogs.

Infiniti deal dead.

X5 deal executed this afternoon.