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AWD shines in low traction conditions. If you have 285 rear tires then the contact patch for a rear wheel drive car is 570. However if you have an all wheel drive car with 245's all around, then your contact patch is 980. I know there is more to it than that but as far as acceleration in low traction conditions is concerned, awd will shine. WHen going around a corner, the trick isn't exactly in the front wheels vs rear wheels setup like what an awd system will assist with. The trick is in a left side vs right side system, aka Limited slip differential. Look at the new corvette for example. It is rear wheel drive however the stiff frame and electronic LSD allow it to pull 1.11g. Thats the highest for ANY production vehicle. This is clearly not due to an awd system. It is due to the eLSD ability to transfer power between the left and right rear wheels as your going through a turn.
Hopefully i'm not completely wrong in this. I'm just applying general knowledge to what I picture happening on a vehicle through a turn (free body diagram FTW).
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