Was it the AWD version? And did it have the entirely inappropriate 'sporty' tyres I imagine they come with fitted?
Very good question my friend, especially about the tyres, and one you'll regret having asked!
A true 4wd system is either permanently locked, or can be manually selected to lock all 4 wheels, so each wheel receives constant power from the engine. On off road oriented vehicles it's usually a 50:50 distribution, but in sporty road cars it may be biased to the rear.
Some cars, like modern Defenders, have a centre diff so are left in 4wd all the time. Others, like my mighty Kia of Manliness, do not have a centre diff so you would only engage it when off road.
A true 4wd will almost certainly have diff locks, or electronic simulation of diff locks - again, my Kia has the electronic faux sort. Some full on 4wd vehicles will also have a low range.
Now here is where it gets interesting...
Awd systems normally only power the front wheels, engaging the rears only when the front loses grip. This mechanically simple, requiring only a TorSen diff or Haldex unit somewhere in the centre of the drive train.
But there's a big problem - you only get power to the rear when the fronts have lost their grip, and even on moderate off road such as a slimy unpaved track that is too late.
Now, you mention the thorny issue of tyres. On a 4wd car you will indeed vastly improve off road performance with specialist rubber. I run Yokohama ATS IIs on mine, which are also fairly civilised on the road.
However, on an AWD vehicle such as a Yeti or a NedFlander this doesn't work. You rely on the front wheels losing grip to engage the rear axle, but AT or MT tyres means the fronts won't slip and you never get drive to the rear wheels. So beefy tyres do nothing to improve an AWD cars chances off road, and may even make things worse. This is why Freelanders are crap off road, yet a quiet and unassuming Subaru Forester are little monsters off the beaten track.
So if it says AWD on the tin then it doesn't matter how meaty or rugged it looks, or what plastic faux lower body protection it sports, it inappropriate for anything but road use. The situation doesn't help that a lot of manufacturer s label such offerings as "4x4", when in the strictest technical sense they are not. AWD doesn't even help much on the snow, although with clever electronic management - such as in the XC 90 - it can be made to work well on the snow, but the systems required to do so cost money and tend to end up in the more expensive motors.
