FWD vs RWD winter time

Question

Background: All my life I drove FWD (Front Wheel Drive) cars. I drove FWD in different conditions with all-season tires and always got good and even predictable handling during winter periods. In short I would say that over steer is always cured by acceleration and under steer with a bit of braking and/or hand brake. Also never got stuck in snow and I drive manual gearbox.

Dilemma: Now I am thinking about buying RWD (rear wheel drive), however my friends keep telling me that I will have issues during winter. Getting stuck in snow, over steer, additional set of winter tires (requirement) and such. I google the topic and it seems that generally people agree with above mentioned issues.

Note: I do not intend to have RWD car as a weekend/fun drive. It must be a daily drive: go to work, shop and such in any weather conditions at any time. Also I don't have a garage and storage of winter/summer tire set will be an issue. Therefore I would like to be able to drive all-season tires. Also I am looking only at manual transmission if that makes any difference.

Questions:

1) How troublesome is it to have RWD with above mentioned conditions?

2) What will be safer: RWD vs FWD on dry pavement, gravel, snow, ice?

3) What generally has better handling and traction during bad weather: heavy rain, snow, ice?

4) Is it more expensive to own/maintain/drive RWD (given that RWD seems to always be more expensive vs FWD at a dealership)?

P.S: Please answer all of above questions and feel free to add your own experiences. I would like to get a feel of what it is like to have RWD before I buy it. I really don't want to make purchase and regrade it later.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Some of what your friends have told you is nonsense.

• You will possibly have less chance of getting stuck in the winter in a RWD car, as RWD gives you more grip when trying to accelerate forwards (as weight moves rearward). Whenever I have had to rescue friends in FWD cars, I usually need to use reverse to get grip.
• Additional set of winter tyres? Nope - only if you do that anyway for your current car.

Maintenance of a RWD car could be a little more expensive (as you have the extra transmission from the front of the car to the rear) but generally this isn't an issue.

A RWD car can be much safer than a FWD car, however it depends what you are used to. FWD is more forgiving in certain circumstances (eg when coming into a corner too fast it will gently understeer, which many feel is a safer way to have an accident than oversteer) but it is less controllable in general, so an experienced driver will find a RWD car safer.

I would always prefer a RWD car to a FWD car in any slidy conditions, as there is more you can do in an emergency, you can easily tailor the amount of over- and understeer using the accelerator, and the balance in a RWD car is usually better.

tl;dr - none of the issues listed should sway you much one way or the other unless you are an experienced driver, in which case RWD can be safer.

If you want a difference - get 4WD. Slightly higher maintenance costs, but much better grip than FWD or RWD!

Answer 2

1) How troublesome is it to have RWD with above mentioned conditions?

2) What will be safer: RWD vs FWD on dry pavement, gravel, snow, ice?

3) What generally has better handling and traction during bad weather: heavy rain, snow, ice?

With all do respect i have to disagree with Rory Alsop's asnwer. Please do the following:

a.) Look up advertisments for BMW and Mercedes Benz advertisments in the last 10 years. Many of them are based on the fact that the electronic driving assistance helps your RWD car to get out of snow or a muddy situation. Ever had to push out your uncle's bimmer from a snowy garden?

b.) Look for videos on youtube where people are sliding of their line in the city with their BMW or they can't drive up a small steep road.

c.) Try it yourself in course where they let you 'slide' with your car.

4) Is it more expensive to own/maintain/drive RWD (given that RWD seems to always be more expensive vs FWD at a dealership)? It has more parts. (GARD axis) More parts generally means more thing to go wrong. More to take care. (not taking into account the difference between makes obviously)

Disclaimer: I really don't want to make this a flame so this is not an answer against RWD. Just to make it clear: i love RWD cars. I was just trying to form my own opinion based on my experience.

Answer 3

I grew up in Finland, where winters are long and icy. Mostly drove RWD cars, but also, at times, owned FWD and AWD ones. If you look at all the nordic/scandinavian rally champions, they preferred front wheel drive, until the Audi Quattro changed rallying forever. But that is assuming you are a professional rally driver... :)

There is no clear answer - neither FWD or RWD is clearly better, as long as you have the skills to deal with their respective idiosyncratic traits/features. Do some practice on ice or slip track.

As to complexity/maintenance, the front suspension/steering system of a FWD car has to deal with transmitting torque through a joint, so the steering system is under much more strain - offsetting the added complexity of a drive shaft and rear diff in a RWD car.

Answer 4

I guess it depends on where you live. I've driven mostly RWD, with some FWD and AWD. The only car I've ever gotten stuck in snow was FWD (when strong gusty winds blew me sideways off an icy road and into a snowbank). We can get sizeable amounts of snow some years here in Ohio, and even when driving around on Summer tires in the Winter I didn't ever get my RWD stuck. However, it was close to being stuck a couple times (had to do a lot of wheel spinning to keep it moving). Notably though, in both those occasions the snow was so deep that the bottom of the car was riding on it (5.5" ground clearance). FWD isn't going to do any better in that circumstance. Winter tires are highly recommended for all though. Starting and turning aren't too bad on any old tire, but the decrease in stopping distance from Winter tires can save your life.