Update: Watch the 2015 Toyota RAV4 beat Forester, Cherokee and CR-V in snow
Many design elements go into making a vehicle good in the snow. Not all vehicles equipped with all-wheel drive are equal. Tires, the vehicle’s center of gravity, its suspension, its transmission, and many other factors contribute to the overall snow capability. In this video, Toyota takes on the segment all-stars in a head to contest to see which vehicle is the best in the snow.
Rav4 vs. Subaru Forester
The RAV4 does not just beat the Subaru Forester in the acceleration test, it walks away from it, beating the Subie to 50 MPH by two seconds. The braking test has the same result. The RAV4 stops dramatically shorter than the Subaru. The RAV4 dusts the Subie in the lane change maneuver as well.
Jeep Cherokee vs. RAV4
The Jeep Cherokee Latitude deserves congratulations in this test as well. It hangs with the RAV4, and this contest would be easy to call a tie between the RAV4 and Cherokee. Even though the RAV4 beats it in each contest, the Cherokee is so close this test reveals that the there really are two standouts in the compact CUV segment.
UPDATE: March 12, 2015
I felt that the reader comments below were worthy of asking Toyota and AMCI if the video was faked. I submitted my questions based on the comments below. Here are the answers. They are pretty clear, so I have not posted my questions list:
AMCI Testing’s primary role for OEMs is as a competitive-product research company. We tell our clients the unbiased truth about where their vehicle stands relative to the competition. Occasionally these comparisons demonstrate significant advantages, which our clients choose to publicize as AMCI Testing Certified claims for marketing and advertising
• All of the competitors were procured from authorized dealers
• No modifications of any kind were made
• All of the vehicles underwent the identical, simultaneous break-in procedure; these were the only miles on the original-delivery tires
• Multiple runs were conducted on identically prepared surfaces
• The video is an accurate depiction of the performance delivered by each of the vehicles; it is not a depiction of the actual testing as it was conducted