A Stong Grip

Not so many years ago, all-wheel drive (AWD) conjured up images of dusty off-road trucks. But today, Ford offers the most extensive lineup of vehicles with AWD and 4WD, including Edge, Escape, Fusion, Taurus and Taurus X. With AWD, a vehicle is driven by all four of its wheels rather than the usual two. The benefit? Every wheel helps pull the car along the road, which improves the handling. If one wheel loses its grip, three more are still actively keeping the vehicle aligned. The greatest advantage comes from pairing AWD with modern traction-control systems like Ford's AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control (RSC). Adding sophisticated sensors and software to the four wheels improves control on uneven and slippery surfaces.