FWD cars are mainly for non car people

[No one]

Originally Posted by Llarry

The classic case is a FWD car going uphill in conditions with minimal traction (ice, gravel, etc.).

You need to reverse it, just in case. This can be hard to do on a highway though.

Originally Posted by Sedoy

Another classic opposite example: an FWD car trying to accelerate from a driveway with the wheels turned on a slightly damp surface = 0 traction for FWD, no issues with RWD.

So put them straight (where RWD will go with no front grip). Another classic opposite example: starting in a slippery (snow) rut a FWD car can grip the walls if you turn those wheels while RWD is helpless.

Originally Posted by M5Rick

Also the grip would progressively get worse as the front tyres wore more than on a RWD car, can tell a FWD's car screeching tyres from the lights hunting for grip.

My winter rear (I followed BMW's suggestion to always put wheels on dedicated places despite square design, not anymore with the new set) tyres got worn off while the front ones remained pretty new. Summer staggered ones not so much. My RWD MT runflat tyres do screech sometimes, even when shifting gears (I drive in Sport+).

Originally Posted by cmyx6go

I hate FWD cars!

I even drove them back then.

[RockCrusher]

My first FWD car was a 1987 Ford Tempo. That car would have been crap with RWD/AWD.

My 2nd was a 2002 VW Golf TDi. It was a very nice car. Drove it in all kinds of weather even in snow/ice and never had any real problems other than one time on a slushy/snowy road in Williams AZ I took a frontage road turn a bit too fast and darn near lost the car. But instinctively (or by luck) I gave the engine some throttle and the front tires grabbed some traction and helped pull the car in the direction I was steering and away from the ditch.

My next FWD experience was my 2018 MINI JCW with a 6-speed manual. Wonderful car. So too was my 2022 MINI S with the dual clutch 7-speed sport transmission. I traded it in when I bought my 3rd MINI, a 2023 MINI JCW with a 6-speed.

With the exception of the Tempo I have good memories/experiences with FWD cars. For my pleasure cars I have had a RWD or AWD car some fitted with an automatic transmission others fitted with a 6-speed manual so it is not like I'm totally in the FWD camp.

I look upon it as the right tool for the job. For what I bought the FWD cars for -- daily driver duties -- they were just great although the MINIs were fun to drive in a more sporting manner. In fact my 1st JCW was paired with a Dodge Challenger Hellcat and the JCW was more at home on the interesting mountain roads than the Hellcat. The Hellcat was only at home next to a gas station pump...

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by 25 V8 IS

I absolutely LOVED my 2009 GTI. One of the best FWD cars I've ever owned.

But yes, mechanically, it was a POS.

The chap who bought my gas Merc C class Sport years back had a Golf GTD. A mechanical disaster with the wiring loom running through the engine oil inside the engine and when it failed a total rebuild cost him badly.

[G30M]

[spazzyfry123]

Clearly someone hasn't gone tray sliding in an old Honda

[Frostynorth]

My 07 GTI was super fun. Never let me down, even at stage 2.

Miss that car.

[No one]

I'm afraid I must make it clear: FuckenWagen owners don't qualify as car people. They don't even live, they only exist.

Regarding "FWD is able to go in a straight line without spinning off": it's a trap they warn against in the manuals. After you've gained unsafe speed on a slippery road what will you do when you need to stop or turn? RWD is honest. I don't feel humbled when in winter FWDs leave me behind struggling to set off. Crap they are, crap they'll be. No matter what!

[vt100]

Originally Posted by No one

After you've gained unsafe speed on a slippery road what will you do when you need to stop or turn? RWD is honest.

yeah, RWD will honestly wrap your car around a tree

PS: I really don't understand where this hate comes from... everything needs to be so polarizing these days?!

[Burrcold]

I love old FWD cars! I've had so many Civics, Preludes, Celicas, Maximas, GTi, etc...it's what made me love cars!! I probably would never buy a modern FWD car, but that has less to do with what wheels are being driven.

[No one]

Originally Posted by vt100

yeah, RWD will honestly wrap your car around a tree

Only if you deserve it.

Originally Posted by vt100

PS: I really don't understand where this hate comes from... everything needs to be so polarizing these days?!

My hate for anything they call "people's" comes straight from my ABSOLUTE hate for communism. But anyway, I can't believe a car/driving enthusiast can look at that brand: all practical and nothing else. All boring and nothing else! I don't care how it drives. At least while there's a choice.

[vt100]

Originally Posted by No one

Only if you deserve it.

The car won't ask you It might hint if you're going close to the limit but you need to be listening...

Originally Posted by No one

My hate for anything they call "people's" comes straight from my ABSOLUTE hate for communism.

Huh? FWD == communism?!

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

Liked this vid, at the end I assumed that non car people would generally go for a bland FWD a to b car while car people would keep with the RWD configuration.

It's never that simple.
There are fun FWD and RWD cars on the market, if you look around.
There are also a lot of dreadful FWD (more) and RWD (some) cars on the market as well.

AWD ones are uniformly forgettable, including every AWD BMW I ever owned or got as a loaner. With the possible exception of M5 Comp.

Originally Posted by ZTK_M240i

The only FWD car I ever drove that I actually liked was the new Honda Civic Type R. I was surprised how good it was.

I had all sorts of fun in a (modified) Mini Cooper S, including autoX and DE events. Until the engine let go. Twice.

Handbrake turns are a lot easier to execute in a FWD car. Amazingly fun.

Originally Posted by ZTK_M240i

BUT, I was also saying "man if only this thing was AWD, it would be even better".

Literally, not a thought I had EVER had driving any FWD or RWD cars.
EVER.
AWD dumbs down the handling and removes possibility of throttle steering. What's good about that?!?

Originally Posted by 25 V8 IS

However, my wife's CX-5 is the most practical, fuel efficient, get the every day job done car I've ever owned.

I ended up driving Road to Hana in a rental CX5 earlier this month.
It was surprisingly well balanced and up for the task, despite pretty borderline suspension and cheap interior.

a

[No one]

Originally Posted by vt100

Huh? FWD == communism?!

Not exactly (I never gave it that much of a thought... ): "volkes wagen" == (C++? ) "people's car".

[vt100]

Originally Posted by afadeev

I ended up driving Road to Hana in a rental CX5 earlier this month.
It was surprisingly well balanced and up for the task, despite pretty borderline suspension and cheap interior.
a

Interesting... I also rented CX-5 in BC a couple of months ago. Was surprised that I liked driving it (and I liked the suspension actually ). But maybe I'm just getting old...

PS: SW/FW in CX-5 was driving me nuts sometimes though.. Feels like they never really tested it properly and UX wasn't thought through either.

[KevinGS]

I don't even like AWD cars, no matter how sophisticated and rear-wheel-biased it is. I just prefer RWD in any fun car I own. In my fun car, I don't want maximum traction....just give me a solid, predictable chassis, and I'm good.

Having said that, Honda's Type R is pretty good...but still feels FWD when you're pushing it, and that capped how much fun I could have in it when I drove it. It's a great car for a first, sporty car, until you learn how to drive and control slip angles and such.

[RM7]

Haven't been at autoX watching people "push" these cars...I seriously doubt people in this thread are actually "pushing" them. You can throw a good FWD car around a roundabout and it's great. You can hit the gas on the highway. You can take turns, etc. If you are really pushing it, you are getting that rear wheel off the ground...but I really doubt most people are pushing it.

[tturedraider]

I enjoyed my 1996 Infiniti G20 for more than ten years and Car and Driver called it a Japanese BMW, but when I would drive home from a BMW driving event driving the G20 really made me appreciate BMW’s rear wheel drive!!

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by No one

Not exactly (I never gave it that much of a thought... ): "volkes wagen" == (C++? ) "people's car".

When the first VW came out in those dark times just before the war a certain herr Hitler championed it as the peoples car, it wasn't called a 'Beetle' until 1968 and the jerries then knew it as a kafer.

[No one]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

When the first VW came out in those dark times just before the war a certain herr Hitler championed it as the peoples car, it wasn't called a 'Beetle' until 1968 and the jerries then knew it as a kafer.

"The Beetle featured a rear-located, air-cooled four-cylinder, boxer engine and rear-wheel drive in a two-door bodywork." (Wikipedia) I'd rather have a Porsche.

Originally Posted by tturedraider

I enjoyed my 1996 Infiniti G20 for more than ten years and Car and Driver called it a Japanese BMW, but when I would drive home from a BMW driving event driving the G20 really made me appreciate BMW’s rear wheel drive!!

The term "G20" seems to introduce some ambiguity here. I read someone from Honda claimed Honda was a Japanese BMW. AFAIK BMW is German. They say Japanese cars lack German quality, German cars lack Japanese quality and other cars lack all the quality.

[M5Rick]

[QUOTE=No one;32312204]"The Beetle featured a rear-located, air-cooled four-cylinder, boxer engine and rear-wheel drive in a two-door bodywork." (Wikipedia) I'd rather have a Porsche.
---

Me too

[Llarry]

I recall that Car and Driver magazine did an article on the best-handling cars quite a few years ago (perhaps 1990ish?) and one of the surprise winners was the Honda Prelude (a FWD coupe). The Prelude was not put in a unique FWD category, either. In general, the list was dominated by RWD cars, of course.

[G30M]

Originally Posted by Llarry

I recall that Car and Driver magazine did an article on the best-handling cars quite a few years ago (perhaps 1990ish?) and one of the surprise winners was the Honda Prelude (a FWD coupe). The Prelude was not put in a unique FWD category, either. In general, the list was dominated by RWD cars, of course.

the best handling car i've ever driven is the current gen Suzuki Swift Sport (mine was a 6 speed manual, super close ratio - i can use all 6 gears on public roads unlike a Porsche you can drive in 1st and 2nd maybe 3rd the entire trip).

It couldn't lose the rear end with power (but I can easily skid the rear with control maybe not finesse, by pulling the handbrake)

but the handling from factory is already 99%, with understeer at the limit.

which is why it's one of the most popular Ring Tools.

but I sold mine after 3 months, i didn't feel safe in it!

do i want another FWD? only if it's a maybe an Audi RS3 (also the new Golf something something might also gain the 1/2 Huracan engine, so that might be ok too).