Front or Rear drive. What's best .

[MD]

Recently a topic was opened by a newbie looking for advice regarding a specific front wheel drive model Alfa that he intended to purchase. Not such an infrequent occurrence. Got me thinking. Without hijacking his topic completely, I thought we should put our respective views and experiences concerning front and rear wheel drive cars. Not so much as to develop a sheit fight about it but more as a resource for readers who may find themselves in similar circumstances in the future and want to research some candid opinions.

So here's my view for the rear wheel drive case:

Mercedes Benz has a firm policy. They don't build front wheel drive sports cars under 2L. There are no front wheel drive BMW's in Oz that I am aware of. Ferrari, Maserati, Lambos, and the majority of the exotics are rear wheel drive if not 4WD. Even a small car like Lotus or the larger Porsche are all rear wheel drive cars. Alfa's own flagship the 8c is a rear wheel drive transaxle. Is all this just pure chance or is it a design intention and if so what are the influential factors?

Balance, drive by throttle cornering, more even tyre stress and wear, steering feedback, and a good abilty to put power down on launches and cornering. So in summary its about the sporting qualities.

Now the case for the front wheel drive:

Good fuel efficiency from less transmission losses. More interior room. Economies in platfrom sharing. Compact designs easier to do. Cheaper production costs. In summary it's about the practicalities.

Others that may have a bias(like me) or passion in either camp may care to share their owns views.

[NigelC]

I think MD has summed it up well. 
If your primary criteria is performance/handling then you would design rear or all wheel drive. 
If your criteria is price, room and economy then front wheel drive it is.   

I own both (rear drive 79 GTV and front drive 159 2.2JTS) and I can tell you that the GTV is so much fun to drive that I wish they made the 159 RWD.  Having written that, the 159's handling and behaviour is impeccable.

Where I think Alfa didn't quite get it right is aimed for RWD performance from a FWD design.  As a result, the 159 is surefooted and drives very well, given the limitations of FWD, but hasn't delivered the benefits of more room – if you have ever looked at the lack of legroom in the rear you will know what I mean.

I live in hope that Alfa will, sometime in the future, produce a new affordable RWD.

[OzMidnight]

Read an interview given by Ed Ordynski a few years back (multiple Aussie rally champ for those who don't know).  In one rally, he drove his Group N Lancer in both awd, fwd and rwd form due to various breakages.  In order of ease to drive and stage times....awd, with fwd a close second and rwd a distant third.  That was on loose surfaces, of course. 

I guess RWD is easier to package with mid-engine mounting, in the case of the Lotus, etc.  Haven driven both, lke most people, for me it just seemed I had to think a different way for each when pushing hard - they both have their points and qualities, good or bad, i.e. leaning on the accelerator and not the brake when the rear gets light in a FWD at first felt strange.

[MD]

If we are to beleive ad slogans, race it Sunday and sell it Monday as some form of direct relationship of race cars to sports cars then we would also beleive the manufacturer's claims that the race tracks are the proving grounds for their cars.

It stands to reason then that a good race car is a good role model for a good sports car specification but watered down for road use. Certainly Holden and Ford would like us to think so.

In this context, enter the Maserati 250F. It has recently been voted the best race car in the world of all time. It is rear wheel drive. I hope that small claim has some bearing on your sports car choice.

Check out  the original article >

http://digiads.com.au/car-news/latest-RACING-news/1954_Maserati_250F_Voted_the_Greatest_Racing__200901.html

[lombardi]

Is it pure coincidence,but why when alfa went cheap on front wheel drive from rwd,out went chain driven engines and in came expensive belt driven motors,dont get me wrong,i absolutely love my 166,but tremble every 60k when i have to fork out 2k to change belts,tensioners,water pump-i remember with great joy my beautiful alfetta sportiva rear wheel drive chain driven and visrtually maintenance free apart from changing oil + filter every 10k--dont even start telling me how hard it is to remove oil filter from my 166- a b....y nightmare,if i wasnt such a bloody alfa nut id look elsewhere for wheels,ie a chain driven beema like the  e 46 with the beautifull oil filter cartridge on top of the engine bay- e 36 even easier.ciao

[NigelC]

My 159 2.2JTS engine has a chain so it appears Alfa went backward thank God!

[Doug Gould]

Who care? The one that drives best. Modern traction control basically denatures rear wheel drive and my old 156 would 4 wheel drift very nicely on dirt and lift-off oversteer on the sweeper at Winton. Forget about the drive and focus on the car's dynamics.

Doug