As someone who recently purchased a 4x4 vehicle after getting stuck in an “all-wheel drive” vehicle…
I can’t fault the NPS for these actions.
Every manufacturer seems to have a different definition of 4WD, with the line between AWD getting blurrier and blurrier.
Sure, some AWD systems are pretty capable with automatic electronic braking to drive power to different wheels (mine wasn’t).
Even my new 4x4 vehicle also has this (A-trac) and I rarely need to lock my diffs, it’s great!
But when push comes to shove, road conditions are unpredictable and having a high-clearance vehicle that you can manually override which wheels are getting power is a lifesaver (literally).
I can’t fault the NPS for these actions.
Every manufacturer seems to have a different definition of 4WD, with the line between AWD getting blurrier and blurrier.
Sure, some AWD systems are pretty capable with automatic electronic braking to drive power to different wheels (mine wasn’t).
Even my new 4x4 vehicle also has this (A-trac) and I rarely need to lock my diffs, it’s great!
But when push comes to shove, road conditions are unpredictable and having a high-clearance vehicle that you can manually override which wheels are getting power is a lifesaver (literally).