Rear-wheel drive or front-wheel drive? Which car drive is better?

Which is better: full, front or rear drive? Why do such well-known firms as Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and Jaguar produce a car not with the front, but with the rear-wheel drive? What are the features of each type of drive control?

Initially, all cars had a rear-wheel drive. ICE in them stood longitudinally, then there was a checkpoint, a propshaft and a rear bridge. It was transmitted torque from the ICE through the cardan shaft. There was also a differential, first separating the torque, and then passing it through the semi-axle to the wheels of the car. The engine in vehicles with rear-wheel drive could be located either in front or behind (for example, in Zaporozhets the engine was located where the usual cars have a luggage compartment).

But the front-wheel drive cars appeared a little later. The first car with a front-wheel drive was created in Germany and began to be serially produced under the brand name "DKW" in 1931. With the transition to the production of such cars, their price significantly decreased, which increased the demand for cars among the population.

So, let's analyze the pros and cons of each drive separately.

Rear drive: features, disadvantages and advantages

Pluses:

• In the car almost no vibration is felt from the engine. And the reason for this is its longitudinal location on the softening elements. Especially it concerns modern cars of a representative class.

• A shorter gearshift and a more comfortable and easy gear shift.

• Absence of the mechanism of the link and the longitudinal arrangement of the ICE.

• Turn radius of rear-wheel drive cars is less. Therefore, provided enough good road conditions to enter the turn easier.

disadvantages

• More expensive in production, respectively, and the price of a car with a rear drive will be higher than a car with a front. Because of this, almost all machines of the middle price range are produced with a front-wheel drive.

• The cardan tunnel does a little less the area of the car interior.

Features in management

Skidding on a car with a rear drive is more predictable and is simply eliminated by turning the steering wheel of the car toward the skid and immediately dropping the gas. This is much more convenient, but only from the point of view that a man obeys a reflex when he drifts in - not to press, but to throw gas. On the front drive, dropping the gas will only lead to a worsening of the situation.

Front-wheel drive: features, disadvantages and advantages

Pluses:

• The production of such cars is simpler and cheaper. Accordingly, their market value will be lower.

• There is no cardan tunnel, because of what in the cabin a little more space.

Disadvantages:

• Vibration in the cabin is more noticeable than in a car with a rear-wheel drive.

• When pressing the gas, it is possible to transmit reactive forces to the steering wheel.

• Since the CV joint is connected to the steering mechanism , the front-wheel drive car has a larger turning radius. This should be remembered and do not put pressure on the accelerator pedal with all the wheels unscrewed, as the hinges can break down, which threatens the owner with expensive repairs.

Features in management

In winter, the front-drive car can be pulled out under almost every slippery hill by adding a force to the accelerator pedal. This is due to the fact that most of the car is on the front wheels. A car with a rear-wheel drive can simply be rotated 180 degrees with such a maneuver.

What is better on the road - the front or rear drive?

Which car drive is better for cross-country? It is believed that the front. However, this statement is of a private nature. In the mud you can sit on the rear and the front drive. The result will be the same: a call to a friend-tractor driver. And in general for off-road cars it is necessary not a back drive and not forward. We need a complete one. But about this in a separate article. Good luck!