Part-time 4WD

Although in the strictest sense, the term "four-wheel drive" refers to a capability that a vehicle may have, it is also used to denote the entire vehicle itself. In Australia, vehicles without significant offroad capabilities are often referred to as All-Wheel Drives (AWD) or SUVs, while those with offroad capabilities are referred to as "four-wheel drives". This term is sometimes also used in North America, somewhat interchangeably for SUVs and pickup trucks and is sometimes erroneously applied to two-wheel-drive variants of these vehicles.

The term 4x4 is used to denote the total number of wheels on a vehicle and the number of driven wheels; it is often applied to vehicles equipped with either Full-time 4WDor Part-time 4WD. The term 4x4 is common in North America and is generally used when marketing a new or used vehicle, and is sometimes applied as badging on a vehicle equipped with four-wheel drive.

Similarly, a 4x2 would be appropriate for most two-wheel-drive vehicles, although this is rarely used in the USA in practice. In Australia the term is often used to describe utes that sit very high on their suspension. This is to avoid the confusion that the vehicle might be a 4x4 because it appears to be otherwise suited to off-road applications. A 2×4, however, is unambiguously a piece of lumber.

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