Among the many dark arts of automotive engineering, none has more resources being poured into recently than AWD systems. And few automakers have more experience in the field than Audi, but the new Arteon seems to be outperforming an A6 here.
It should be noted that, like any test, this roller test doesn’t necessarily replicate real-world conditions with perfect fidelity, but it is a useful comparison point for how these part-time AWD systems deal with zero grip on or more wheels.
While real-world grip may fade more gradually, the point of these systems is still to deal with varying levels of grip. And the Arteon manages to escape the rollers with up to three gripless wheels, albeit not without trouble.
That’s more than can be said about the Audi, though, which is nearly completely trapped when both rear wheels and one front wheel are put on rollers. The fact that Audi tunes its AWD system to funnel more power to the back wheels than the front ones may go some of the way to explaining that.
That makes it pretty impressive, though, that VW’s front-biased system manages to escape the rollers when only one back wheel has grip.
It should also be noted that this is a brand new Arteon and a 2016 A6, so this might just be the speed of progress. And it’s not like the A6 performs badly. Clearly, if you ever find yourself in a position where only one of your wheels has grip, the situation could fairly be described as bad even the most adventurous of vehicles.
Even though VW uses a system that was developed by Haldex, the GenV traction system was developed especially for VW’s transverse architecture, and it looks like they did a pretty good job.
Audis whose engine is longitudinally mounted (A4 and up) use Audi’s own Quattro system, which combines clutch plates (like the 4Motion system) in combination with a crown gear center differential.
In my own experience, Audi’s system tends to feel a little nicer through corners, but if I ever I have to drive through some rollers, I guess I’ll pick the VW.
The post Watch: The Arteon’s 4Motion System Outperforms Quattro? appeared first on VWVortex.
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