4wd

Very good question, you just have to look out of the window to see it has its uses (will Mr Brown & Mr Darling now give us a road tax rebate) in the recent snow the 4x4 has proved to be more than just a toy and I know how I would have felt if I was stuck in snow with what looks to most like a jeep - its like going to the wild west with a replica gun and before you bite my head off - yes its a heavy axle to drag about when not in active use and yes it may be another 30 years before we get this weather again but would you rather pay a bit more and get home safe every time or save a few quid and take the chance your 2wd may not get you there in bad weather ! Some one at Nissan must have asked the question and for some reason they decided to not even offer 4wd on the 1.5 or 1.6, perhaps the mpg figures would have been just too bad to be able to sell it in the show room, who knows but would you rather be in a QQ with the extra ride height or a standard look a like ford/hall with no charm. If this weeks weather is a reason for wishing your smaller engine 2wd was a 4x4 get down to Halfords on go online get a set of snow chains for under a hundred quid and when the thaw comes you can go back enjoying more mpg and less tax. Perhaps Nissan will make a LTD edition 1.6 4X4 to see if it would sell - WOULD YOU GUYS HAVE PAYED THE EXTRA IF IT WAS AN OPTION ? (AND HAS THE SNOW CHANGED YOUR THINKING)

Qashstu, You raise some interesting comments. I am not critising 4x4 owners I simply want to know why Nissan dont offer it in 1.6 or 1.5 models. You can buy saloon cars with 4 wheeld drive.

We live in Kent and I manage to get around without any problems in my Vectra. 8 inches of snow with country lanes not a big problem.

A friend has a RAV4 but is unable to get up his very short sloping drive onto the road.  Is he correct iwhne he told me that 4-wheel drive is good in snow but no better than 2WD on ice?

Dear non 4wd qashqai colleagues, I live in the only hiily part of lincolnshire, yes there are some hills and to get out of my village I have to negotiate a sharp bend on an incline before a gradual bend going up a 1in10 hill. I did get up but on thursday spent 5 minutes neither going forward or backward and switched the esp on and off to get the wheels to spin and grip before getting going again. So you can see why I did question the option. The other problem is those people that don't know how to drive in snow that get stuck and then hold you up.

The thing is that grip is the most important thing in the icy snowy conditions.  Talking to a Swedish and a Polish guy I know from my work they don't see the need for 4wd - just use studded tyres or failing that chains.  I suppose Volvo don't have a proud tradition of 4x4.