Ford Taurus ESC vs. AWD

doc144

I had a general question about safety features. In your opinion, If you only had a choice of one of these options, which is better to have on a car, ESC or AWD? Secondarily, if the car has AWD, does ESC actually add much more to the safety equation?
Thanks to all who may have an opinion

mschmal

ESC is yaw control. This is a seperate benefit from AWD and you want it:

New data, same finding:
electronic stability control
REDUCES CRASH DEATHS
A federal report finds that electronic stability control,
or ESC, reduces fatal crashes involving a single car by
36 percent. The corresponding percentage for SUVs,
pickups, and vans is 63 percent. Fatal single-vehicle
rollover crashes are reduced even more — 70 percent
for cars and 88 percent for the other vehicles.
These findings, published in July by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), update
a 2004 agency report, which also showed ESC’s lifesaving
benefits. Two Institute studies show similar
effects (see Status Report, June 13, 2006 and Jan. 3, 2005).
ESC helps by monitoring vehicle response to steering
and detecting when a vehicle starts to stray from a
driver’s intended path or the rear of the vehicle starts
to spin out. Then ESC automatically brakes individual
wheels to maintain the intended direction and, thus,
driver control.
Responding to accumulating evidence of ESC’s
effectiveness, NHTSA issued a regulation in April to
require this feature on
passenger vehicles by
the 2012 model year.
In issuing the requirement,
NHTSA estimated
that 5,300 to 9,500
lives will be saved
annually when every
passenger vehicle is
equipped with ESC.
This is in line with the
Institute’s conclusion
that ESC may save as
many as 10,000 lives
each year. Most of the
benefit will be in rollover
crashes, in which
NHTSA predicts that
deaths may be reduced by 4,200 to 5,500 annually.
Automakers may be moving faster than NHTSA
requires. About 2 of every 3 new passenger vehicle
models already have ESC. This proportion is expected
to rise in the years before the federal rule takes effect.
“Statistical analysis of the effectiveness of electronic
stability control systems: final report” (DOT HS 810
794) is available at http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/
p102/479883.pdf.

Mark

thegraduate

AWD helps you start in slick conditions. It does not provide the extra braking prowess and safety that Stability Control does.

In the south where it rarely snows, I'd much rather have ESC over the AWD because I feel it adds safety benefits that AWD does not; not to mention the AWD's added weight, complexity, and lower fuel mileage.

Give me ESC!

[Deleted User]

Most people will find ESC and traction control superior to AWD for safety purposes. The best combo might be ESC with AWD, since a lot of AWD vehicles tend to be a bit top heavy and more prone to rolling. ESC corrects a lot of that tendency. For a low sedan though, unless you live near the tundra or drive slalom, AWD will not pay you for its upkeep.

mschmal

At my training for the new Nissan Rogue, they had a slick plate set up (6 4x8 metal panels edge to edge in 2x3 pattern covered with soapy water.

They showed us the Rogue on the slick plate starting from stop with ESC off and ESC on. AWD was on in both instances.

ESC makes a huge difference in control and smoothness.

With ESC off all four wheels where spinning and the Rogue started to move sideways. Also the engine revved alot higher to get the car moving.

Mark.