l am thinking of buying a Subaru Liberty and all Subaru is are AWD, is this inferior to 4WD? Pleading ignorance..

l also see that so called 'soft roaders' are AWD and not 4WD, so l thinking that 4WD is more desirable and more expensive.

AWD means all wheel drive. so l think its the same with 4wd.

awd is constant 4wd can be selected when you wish

In the very classic sense, they r the same thing, all wheels r powered by the engine. l think it is partially a marketing thing, where AWD is used on cars & is for people that do not think a huge 4x4 truck is for them. AWD also normally has computer controlled power, where normally only two wheels provide power, but if needed power can be adjusted between all 4 wheels. 4WD is normally used on bigger trucks & more ''beefy'' off-road vehicles. 4WD vehicles also often have lockers or low range gears that r better for off-roading but useless for people that never leave the pavement. So if u r only planning on going on roads, even roads covered in snow/ice, AWD is for you. If u want to bog through the mud, 4WD is the way to go.

Subaru AWD can be AWD or 4WD depending if it is a manual or auto. Their manuals are 4WD AWD and autos are AWD. 4WD has a low range gearbox for off road use. AWD is a normal gearbox driving through 4 wheels and is always engaged.
If you do not go offroad,or only light offroad, AWD is fine. 4WD is only for going through deep sand or crawling over large rocks where you need high motor revs with very slow speed.

typically AWD is made of lighter components than 4WD
also AWD is not able to be disengaged but has higher gas mileage due too lighter weight

they work the same. its the teminology ..

AWD refer to vehicles that dont go off road like the subie ..

4WD refers to vehichels that do go off road like jeeps and land rovers .. and 4wd has a low range gear for this type of off roading .

FOR LIGHT OFF ROADING AWD WILL WORK FINE. AWD HAS BECOME VERY SOPHISTICATED ON MERCEDES AND AUDI'S. 4WD IS A VEHICLE WHICH RUNS IN 2 WHEEL DRIVE UNTIL YOU BY BUTTON LEVER OR REALLY OLD ENGAGE ''THE HUBS'' ALWAYS IN THE FRONT. AWD IS ENGAGED AT ALL TIMES AND CAN DUE DEPENDING ON THE TERRAIN A VERY DECENT JOB OFF ROAD. 4WD HAS AN ADVANTAGE IN IT HAS A LOW RANGE WHICH KEEPS THE VEHICLE IN 1 OR 2 GEAR AND ALLOWS YOU TO TACKLE VERY ROUGH TERRAIN. MOST PEOPLE WILL DO NICELY WITH A GOOD ALL WHEEL DRIVE. 4WD WILL IN GENERAL BE PICK-UP AND A FEW SUVS--IE LAND ROVER AND JEEP. 4WD HAVE AN ADVANTAGE OF MORE GROUND CLEARANCE THAN MOST AWD COUNTERPARTS. AWD HAS ONLY ONE INFERIORITY TO 4WD WHEEL DRIVE AND THAT IS IN VERY ROUGH TERRAIN DEEP MUD SAND AND ROCKY AND STEEP TERRAIN OTHERWISE AWD IS MUCH MORE USEFUL FOR AVERAGE MOTORIST.

AWD means the car is capable of driving the wheels at both ends, if the AWD system (electronic or mechanical) senses the primary drive wheels r slipping. The amount of bias to the primary drive axle depends on the design of the system. Some can transfer 100% of the drive to the axle with the most traction.

4WD in the original sense means that there is a transfer case that can be engaged or disengaged manually to have both front & rear axles providing power. It locks the front & rear axles into synch with each other.

Neither means that all wheels r driven, necessarily. This is because one or both axles will typically have an 'open' differential, which, because of its mechanical design, can only drive the wheel with the least traction. In order to drive ALL wheels, u need to have 'limited slip' differentials at both ends, & either another between the axles, or a manually engaged transfer case.

For the average driver who will seldom drive off paved roads, AWD is just fine. They will be safer in daily driving because their lower center of gravity makes them less likely to roll over in emergency maneuvers. Subarus r AWD.

If u r contemplating serious off-road driving, 4WD is best. The vehicles that come with this feature usually have greater front & rear 'attack' angles (Short overhangs so they do not get their bumpers hung up on rocks in front or behind.), ground clearance, & 'articulation' - the ability to keep all wheels on the ground (and available for traction) under extreme variations in terrain. They also have a 'granny' range (extra-low gears) in the transfer case for creeping up steep slopes or slowly in tight quarters & tricky terrain, & for descending steep hills, when it is unwise to use the brakes.

You can learn about the Subaru AWD system on their site. l can not give a direct link, because they r not set up that way, but here r the steps u can follow to get there.

Go to http://subaru.com
Point to ''Why Subaru''
Click on ''Core Technology''
Click on ''The Science''
Click on the picture of the tire in the upper left corner
Click on ''Learn More''
Read this page & click on:
''The Advantages of AWD''
Read this page & click on:
''Compare to Rear-Wheel Drive''
Hit the ''X'' in the upper right corner to go back a screen
Click on ''The Advantages of Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive''
Read all three sub-menu topics from this page as u did before.

There u go.