I can only speak to the AWD second hand. I have family in Maine with an AWD Camry and they love it. Have had it for quite some time and have mentioned no issues with the AWD not being useful.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I just found out that the AWD in the Camry is electronic only, no drive shaft (like in my truck). It's mostly FWD unless the car senses a situation where AWD is indicated and then provides torque to the rear wheels electronically via battery operated motor (sounds like up to 40HP).

One advantage is that if you damaged one tire, you'd only have to replace two instead of all four

Good thought and perhaps worth considering. But:

1) I’ve never had to replace a tire. Patched a couple but never had to replace one.
2) can’t the new tire be shaved or something?
3) safety is king; if the awd provides a pragmatic, real safety benefit, I’d suffer the potential cost
4) given no transfer case or whatever, is the e-awd system more tolerant of tire diameter mismatch? Or does the system get thrown off by different rotational speeds at each wheel?