Quote:
Originally Posted by Clark_Kent
I've owned a host of vehicles over the years with varying engine and transmission layouts. Front engine, mid-engine, no engine (EV), FWD, RWD, AWD and what's most curious to me is this strong aversion to FWD cars. What I've gathered is people are put off by the idea of a FWD car. Assuming the primary use case is a daily driver, in most cases you can't tell a FWD car from an AWD car from a RWD car. It's primarily on a race track, when the car is being driven at the limit, can you tell the difference. Torque steer won't ruin your jaunt to Whole Foods. Wheel hop won't kill the mood for date night with your significant other. Uneven weight distribution won't prevent you from hitting 90 mph on an interstate entrance ramp. It's all a little foolish and a bit of a reach to try to overlay the inherent weaknesses of a FWD car on every day driving, because let's be honest, most of these cars we're discussing rarely if ever see material track time.
But you're right. It's all personal preference. There are some cars I absolutely will not buy, for one reason or another and because of that, it's personal.
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I disagree in every way possible... and interestingly you've named them all.
Both RWD and AWD platforms provide for more fun at lower speeds to the driver and especially in daily driving. Having owned a Mazda Speed3, both the Torque steer and major lack of traction at any speed below 40 mph made the car near undriveable, the GTI that I drove was far better but still exhibited major traction issues.
Any stop light launch (light or hard) is more fun in a RWD / AWD car... a little low speed slide, same story - RWD only there... if you plan to add any more power mods to your car, FWD also becomes useless... take a harder turn, well make sure you don't understeer and with cars like the GTi, this is EASY to overpower.
Where does the FWD car excel? Well by default it will be lighter and at times the steering may feel a bit more connected... all other situations will necessitate a higher speed to have fun... and there RWD and AWD won't matter unless you are pushing to the max limit... in all other scenarios FWD is just a loser by default.