FWD vehicles can be a pain in the rear (im avoiding bad words) sometimes, more when something breaks down and u have to be a contorsionist to get the bolts out or even a full piece of the engine/transmission, but what i think people hate about cars that SHOULD be RWD are the opposite way around. What do you think? Which car or manufacturer you think should stop making FWD cars and focus on the good stuff? Let me know!
FWD vehicles are okay, I guess. Only I think this is mostly bad on cars that don't need it for example all the station wagons companies made from normal FWD vehicles. It is just the wheelbase most of the time has to be short for it to work well. Hot hatchbacks fit the setup pretty good, since they are small and nimble, but again that is being replaced by them being AWD. Honestly if we could make it possible put the engine in the middle and drive the middle wheels while it steering in the front and the back, but hey. It might as well be here due to advancements in technology being so quick after all.
They may seem boring and/or stupid to us petrolheads, but looking from a neutral point of view, they make a lot of sense. They are easy to control, have better traction due to the engine sitting above the powered wheels and much more. And with the right suspension setup they even handle pretty well. They are the best economy cars, thats why they are so popular. I dont even dislike them.
I think that horses should pull the carriage, not push it. The RWD layout is old and outdated. In fact, I think that AWD cars are the best, but FWD cars are still much better thad RWD ones. The way that front wheel drive car handles is surely less exciting, but FWD car is easier to control (especially for a novice driver), more stable (especially on snow/ice/gravel/mud) and better off-road. In my opinion, BMW 1, 3, 5 series and Mercedes CLA, C, E class should be all FWD. Much cheaper cars now use the more progressive FWD layout, and these manufacturers that claim they make the finest cars still use the inferior and outdated RWD.
OK, people claiming FWD sucks are IMO kinda wrong, because, well, FWD does have its reasons for existence. It's cheap to engineer, and manufacture, with all the powertrain in one part of the car and no need for a long driveshaft. It is, as you have said, easier to handle by a novice. For some applications, it might even be a better choice than RWD. But claiming it is a better choice in general (much better to boot) is just... equally wrong. RWD cars have their advantages too. They have more traction than FWD while being way lighter and less complex than AWD (Making for a great choice for a light sport vehicle). It is, as you have said, a more exciting choice. Moreover, since the drive halfshafts don't get in the way of steering, an RWD car can potentially have a tighter turning radius than an FWD one (which is why the current Twingo and the Smart are both RWD.) All layouts have their uses, in my opinion. Trying to peg one as much worse than the others irks me immensely. Kudos for voicing an opinion different from the majority though. It'd be an echo chamber otherwise, right?
Car culture is heavily influenced by the bandwagon effect/groupthink. Let me quote something Jason Statham said in a guy Ritchie movie. I think it applies to the very concept of "common knowledge" and "conventional wisdom". “if there’s one thing I’ve learnt about experts, it’s that they’re experts on fuck all.”
To be honest, FWD sucks, on all aspects. It is boring, utterly boring; and again boring. From my point of view FWD is the lesser type of drive, when it was intruduced in "mass" production during 30's I think, look out for Cord 810/812 or Citroen Traction Avant, back then FWD was new, "exciting", cool - but as it became main stream, it lost everything it ever had - and that was just the wow effect during its first two decades of production. Sure, some cars would be plain nonsens if done with RWD, like 2CV or DS series (and its sucessors). But honestly, how cool could be Golf MkI with RWD and 2.0? I tell you - übercool. But, it was done as FWD. Boring. The other aspect that is neglected, from obvious reasons, is that people loose the ability to drive properly. Example given is my friend, who was always a bit two left handed when it comes to driving, user of "VW a.g. concern wagen" with all the electronic gizmos and what not, bought an old Sierra with 2.0 pinto engine. So yes, old heap of junk with truly no power and open diff. No danger for normal driver, really. He managed to nearly kill himself on dry road, so, yes ... for people like that, FWD is the way to go ... but for rest of us? Never. It is a complex issue and if you look at it from greater distance, it is a sad fact. People become stupid (I lack of better word) and they hardly ever admit their fault. In the old days, when you crashed, it was your fault (and boy it was!). Today, people are able to run lawsuits for decades proving that their lack of intellect and disturbing lack of driving skills is not their, but car manufacturer's fault. And they win, which is even more disturbing. Greatest example of all would be the Corvair. It all started with that very car. And some imbecile going by name Ralph Nader. So, yes, invention&intruduction of FWD into mass production was inevitable, but boy I wish it would have never happened.
What most Americans don't understand, is that here, we don't have the choice, SUVs? Fwd, crossovers? Fwd, sedans? Fwd.... You won't come across RWD other that in high ends german/asian sports cars. And again it's pretty rare, you'll genuinely find fwd cars turn into AWD. On some high end Suv/crossover you can get AWD. The only Suv I know who's sell here with a RWD setup is a 47k € jaguar. The only way of getting a cheap RWD "sport-ish" car, would be to buy a used BMW or an old Asian something. Or getting an old 50-60's car, but it's not for everyone. The 403,for exemple, does have a RWD setup, but it's not like you're gonna do Burnouts and sick drifts with 58hp. If not I'll say FWD is the best setup for everyday driving, and a bit more. But it's not sporty by any mean (at least for moderns standards)
This stupid argument keeps getting brought up all the time it seems. FWD is great for everyday use, cost efficiency and space. RWD is often the best for high power applications and AWD is great for offroad. All 3 can be great for fun and sportiness. No matter what, I'll rather drive a good FWD than a bad RWD. Why not get a good RWD you might ask. Well, because there's often a markable price difference. And to the guy above about his "friend almost killing himself", FWD doesn't make bad drivers. It makes no difference if you have driven an FWD before or not when you start driving an RWD vehicle. And VW Golf mk I (and every single [base] model after that) is meant to be a regular and a fairly low priced everyday hatchback, not a sportscar, therefore it's not really designed to be that exciting either.
If the Mk1 Golf had RWD it would never have become the icon that it is today. It gave people hope that a FWD econobox can be fun to drive, too. All of that without sacrificing any space. And I've never seen any owner of a Mk1 Golf complain that it isn't RWD.
FWD can be more expensive in some cases, that's why we started with RWD, genius. --- Post updated --- Ehh, I sorta agree.
Is a VW GTi boring, utterly boring, and again boring? Is an Acura Integra, boring, utterly boring, and again boring?
i think u got it wrong bro --- Post updated --- after reading the comments and started thinking about it, i realised that the problem isnt if its RWD or FWD or AWD, the problem is the ENGINE LAYOUT, yes, transv. engines are the real struggle in my mind, there are some cars with longitudinally mounted engines that are FWD and im ok with it. For example: Volkswagen Gol, 1°, 2° and third generation Renault 18, Fuego ( badass coupe) and some other models of the french automaker What do u think?
Oh your post brings great memories from earlier this year. It used to be very cold in one evening, and there was lots of moisture freezing onto the roads. Lots of people crashed etc, on the highways you could only go 50 kmh or 30 mp/h etc. Everything was covered in a layer of ice everywhere. It was terrible. Anyway, I got an old FWD car that day and decided to have some fun. I discovered an abandoned parking lot and began to pull off a few mad handbrake slides. Before I knew it, there were like 10 cars and trucks drifting there and having fun It was so funny I can tell you that I was laughing my ass off
