To feel the sting of below-freezing Canadian air hit my lungs, I stepped out of a warm Acura RDX. At a remote vehicle-testing facility known as Mecaglisse, I was about 100 miles north of Quebec. On a variety of special test tracks laced with deep snow, hard-packed snow, and pure ice, the day's task was to try different all-wheel-drive systems.

On hand were various Acura vehicles shod with Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive (SH-AWD) along with a gathering of direct competitors fit with AWD as well, including a Lexus GS 350 AWD, Mercedes-Benz E350 4-Matic, Audi Q7 quattro, and BMW X3 X-Drive. Acura was convinced that back-to-back drives of different all-wheel-drive systems would show the superiority of its SH-AWD.
most driving conditions.