Throwback Thursday: Two-wheel drive vs. four-wheel drive (04:45)

"Mention four-wheel drive," Graeme Fletcher said back in 1995, "and most people automatically think about the off-road advantage."

My, how times have changed.

The perception of four-wheel drive has changed greatly over the last 21 years, but the age-old question persists to this day: What are the advantages over two-wheel drive?

Well it was on an episode of Motoring 1995 that Graeme, along with Motoring TV host Brad Diamond, set out to answer just that with the help of the then-new Subaru Legacy.

Because unlike the current Legacy and the rest of its Subaru stablemates, the automaker's midsize offering of the day was available with either front- or all-wheel drive.

So with a front-wheel drive sedan and all-wheel drive wagon in tow, Graeme and Brad took to the side of a ski hill in the spring to put traction to the test.

This segment originally appeared on Episode 19 of Motoring 1995.