Driving Wheels - Front, Rear or All-Wheel Drive?

Each has clear advantages and disadvantages, some of which can be a matter of life and death depending on the situation. Joe Kenwright looks at all the issues surrounding the different combinations of wheels which do the driving and steering.

FRONT WHEEL DRIVE

What is front-wheel drive (FWD)?
Front-wheel drive cars are so-called because the engine's power and torque are supplied to the front wheels via a short driveshaft. The front wheels have the double task of putting power to the ground as well as controlling the direction of the vehicle (steering). The rear wheels are basically there to keep the car's bum from dragging down the road. Okay, oversimplification, but you get the picture.

Some examples of front drive cars
Small cars: Ford Laser, post-1985 Toyota Corolla, Holden Astra, Honda Civic, post-1981 Mazda 323, VW Golf, Peugeot 306, Hyundai Excel
Medium cars: Holden Vectra, Honda Accord, pre-1994 Subaru Liberty, Peugeot 405, Toyota Camry, Audi A4, Saab 9-3
Family cars: Mitsubishi Magna, Audi A6, VW Passat, Nissan Maxima, Volvo 850, Saab 9-5
Sporty cars: Honda CR-X, post-1985 Toyota Celica, Nissan NX, Mini, Renault Clio Sport

Did you know: The original VW Beetle was rear drive but the 2001 New Beetle has front drive Golf mechanicals hidden where the boot used to be. Because many Beetle fans dismissed it as an imposter, sales never reached projections.

From the driver's seat
If a driver applies too much power while a front drive car is cornering, then it will tend to run wide or steer less than what the driver expected hence it understeers. If the driver releases the accelerator at this point, the back will come around and steer more than the driver expected hence the term oversteer. This is generally accepted as being more forgiving for the average driver.

Typical crash situations
Overshooting a corner then ploughing head-on into a tree or pole or oncoming traffic; overshooting a right turn and hitting the kerb or traffic lights; overshooting the centre line into oncoming traffic while turning left in a T-intersection; overshooting the closest lane while entering a highway; leaving the road sideways after backing off too severely mid-corner.

Survival tactics
Better to avoid trouble in the first place. Slow down before the corner, match accelerator and steering to the corner, increase acceleration only after the car has settled in its new direction and you can see what is ahead. If you must back off to sharpen up the cornering line, do so smoothly.

Upsides and downsides
Upside: Because all the mechanical components are located ahead of the windscreen, the car can be made lighter, cheaper and more economical.

Downside: Small front drive cars only need a lightweight rear section to support the wheels and suspension. In the absence of minimum rear crash standards, many provide token rear crash protection.

Upside: Because the complete engine, transmission and front suspension can be installed in one process, front drive cars are cheaper to build than rear drive cars.