FWD Sport Utility Vehicle?

  Since front wheel drive was first thought of in the sixties and then put into action in the Oldsmobile Toronado, it has slowly made rear wheel drive obsolete in economy cars. Anymore, RWD is only found in trucks and SUVs that also feature four wheel drive or in sports cars.

   Up here in Indiana, four wheel drive trucks and SUVs have grown to become the vehicle to have in deep snow and icy road conditions. Traction is key and something that a 4X4 has in abundance. FWD cars handle quite well in snow as well being that all the weight of the drivetrain is over the front tires. They tend not to fish tail like RWD vehicles.

    As I was driving today, I came across a Ford Escape Hybrid. The small SUV seemed interesting to me so I went home and did my research on it. Turns out it is optioned in FWD as well as a FWD/4 wheel drive. This baffled me. Now I like the idea of a FWD SUV that can be switched into a 4X4; but what's the point of an all-time FWD option? Doesn't that kind of beat the purpose of a Sport-UTILITY-Vehicle? FWD is by no means sporty. What kind of hauling or "Utility" work are you going to be doing with this vehicle? If you simply liked the styling, why not go with the 4X4? The classification of SUV has just become to vague.