AWD is unneeded. Good tires (even all season) will work perfectly well.

FYI, you can also post in r/Pennsylvania to get a better scope of answers, because Pittsburgh is in a very different climate than Tyrone.

I can say this having grown up in the Altoona area (which is down the road from Tyrone).

However, a competent driver with good winter tires will be just as functional with a FWD vehicle as AWD.

Note I said "competent driver." I rolled FWD most of my life, but as I said above, I learned how to drive in superior shitty conditions. For newcomers from the south, the two best things are AWD and staying the fuck off of the road when the ice starts to fly.

We train to drive greater distances in shittier weather on far worse roads than most of the country. Assuming everyone has that level of comfort and experience is why we're still on the roads while overconfident rookies are in the ditch.

In Pittsburgh proper? ehhh, decent tires and FWD will do you 99% of the time. In Tyrone? Little snowier and colder and more back roads that might not be maintained. Definitely a smart move, but tires do make a bigger impact that AWD in most regular driving cases.

I'm on my 2nd AWD vehicle. Mine only engages when the car senses it needs to. It's far from a requirement here, you'll get around fine in winter if the tires have enough tread, I don't have snow tires. What people rarely mention in this sub about AWD, is that they handle a lot better in the rain with the water on the road.

Having lived here with both, if you have need to go out in bad weather and can't stay home until the roads are well cleared, AWD is nice to have. You don't really need it very much, but those few days a year that you do its worth having. It's not critically necessary, but given the choice between AWD and 2WD I wouldn't opt for the 2WD version.

Keeping your tires in good condition is the most important thing though. AWD doesn't overcome bald tires.

I've driven front-drive cars with all-season tires for 16 years. I've never had an issue aside from 2 times I got stuck on un-plowed hills that I knew darn well I should'nt have driven on and decided to try anyway.

AWD definitely isn't necessary. The thing people forget about AWD too is that it's not all-wheel-stop - people think they're driving a small tank that'll do whatever they want and then end up in more trouble because they overestimated what AWD can do for you.

The biggest thing is just use common sense. If it's so bad that FWD can't make it, chances are AWD won't do much better.

Tyrone is way out there and kind of sits in a weird place between mountains and cross winds can certainly change the road conditions quickly. If they have any intention of driving in the direction of Ebensburg, AWD would be most beneficial. If they are staying around Altoona, shouldn't matter.

Main reason I'm carless is because when I moved here last year the new and used market were still insanely overpriced due to the pandemic wrecking the supply chain.

How is it these days? Did it get way better than it was July 2022? Or is it still pretty bad?

If it’s in the outskirts of Tyrone in the mountains, then yes, they needed AWD. If it’s in the outskirts the other directions where you’ll be lucky to see a plow once 24 hours after the storm comes, then AWD is needed unless you want to be stuck in your lane. If they live closer toward Altoona, then you can get away without having AWD.

Short answer: it depends.

AWD is not necessary. I run snow tires on my FWD car and it’s easily tackled everything I’ve tried driving through. Though if we keep having winters like this one snow tires aren’t even necessary. Damn near could get by on racing tires in this weather.

Re: your Chicago comparison, the terrain makes a difference imo.

I lived in Michigan for a few years and have driven around a lot in central Illinois, both of which I assume has a similar terrain as Chicago. Given a fixed amount of snow, I'm way more comfortable driving in Michigan or central Illinois than PA. Worse came to worse and I were to slide off a road, I'd likely just go into a field at a similar elevation as the road. If you slide off a road in PA, there's a chance you're dropping off of and into something. The hills themselves also make a difference in terms of impact on navigability. My SO who is from central Illinois is mildly terrified of driving around Pittsburgh in snow, so your friend isn't unique (not that it's entirely rational or justified).

I also drive a ford focus. I haven’t had any issues with driving around in it. Just have good tires and go slow.

Snow tires make more difference than awd. I had a second set of wheels with snow tires for the winter and never got stuck in a fwd 6 speed.

I grew up near Tyrone. You can get by with front wheel drive for sure. If you have a choice though, the AWD would be so nice. They’ll be doing lots of back road and high elevation interstate driving. Driving home on Xmas day this past year from Pittsburgh was pretty scary in my little front wheel drive coup. The Appalachian mountains were icy. But I made it 🤷‍♂️

Sounds like they just wanted an excuse for a new car

my parents live in the country, having four-wheel-drive gives me a lot of mental peace when I make that drive.

>there's no way he would ever drive here during the winter

This is the appropriate response. No matter how good you, your tires, or your transmission are, all it takes is one idiot losing control in the other lane. Just stay home on Darwin Awards night.

But, if you must go out, you don't need AWD unless you live on a hill that never gets plowed.

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It very much depends on your loved ones' needs to drive in all conditions at all hours.

Do they work in health care, emergency services, critical infrastructure, etc. and need to be at work any day, any time of day? Get AWD. City plowing especially can be spotty.

Are they retired and/or do they have jobs where they can work from home or take off during severe storms? Don't bother. It's been about five years since the freezing rain/snow/lack of plowing combination was so bad that people were trapped for an entire weekend.

Until recently, I had a FWD Ford Focus and had trouble on all seasons in winter, but getting winter tires fixed the problems I had with going uphill in the snow. I have the option of staying home in severe weather and I use that option to make room on the road for people who work in critical sectors.

Honestly depends on the borough. I’ve dailyed a RWD sportscar in the South Hills for the past 2 years without much issue. Definitely a little sliding but nothing I couldn’t handle. I’ve personally never heard of Tyrone and looking it up it seems to be out in the middle of PA. You may get some more untreated roads out there and the AWD may come in handy

Normally, very important.. this year outside of the ice storm, not so much.. and awd isn’t helping in that stuff

It can get pretty nasty in Tyrone and it gets rural around there real fast with much bigger mountains.

Tyrone gets more snow and has less resources. The winter forecast changes about 45 minutes east of Pittsburgh. You might want to concentrate on responses from that area. The areas around it, Johnstown and Altoona have seen half or more of their population leave, yet have the same amount of roads.....other than that, FWD with good tires is almost always sufficient.

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It’s not necessary, certainly nice to have, but not a requirement. Don’t forget not too long ago awd cars were pretty rare with the exception of two brands

No, people just generally suck at driving in poor weather.

I've never owned an AWD and it's never mattered, because unless you live on a nasty hill, there are generally ways to avoid nasty hills.