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Would a front wheel drive would handle better than a rear wheel drive? why?

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Question added by Alex Al Yazouri , General Manager , Al Mushref Cooperative Society
Date Posted: 2015/04/11
Wolf Klaas Kinsbergen
by Wolf Klaas Kinsbergen , Managing Director, Designer , ingenieursbureau KB International NV

A rear wheel drive would handle better up hill. When you drive up hill more weight is on the rear wheels and that provides more traction.

Vinod Jetley
by Vinod Jetley , Assistant General Manager , State Bank of India

Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel drive vehicles.

The vast majority of front-wheel-drive vehicles today use a transversely mounted engine with "end-on" mounted transmission, driving the front wheels via driveshafts linked via constant velocity (CV) joints. This configuration was made popular by the1966 Subaru1000,1967 Simca1100, and the1969 Fiat128. The1959 Mini, while a pioneering transverse front-wheel-drive vehicle, used a substantially different arrangement with the transmission in the sump.

Volvo Cars has switched its entire lineup after the900 series to front-wheel drive. Swedish engineers at the company have said that transversely mounted engines allow for more crumple zone area in a head on collision. American auto manufacturers are now shifting larger models (such as the Chrysler300 and most of the Cadillac lineup) back to rear-wheel drive. There were relatively few rear-wheel-drive cars marketed in North America by the early1990s; Chrysler's car line-up was entirely front-wheel drive by1990. GM followed suit in1996 where its B-body line was phased out, where its sports cars (Camaro, Firebird, Corvette) were the only RWDs marketed; by the early2000s, the Chevrolet Corvette and Cadillac Catera were the only RWD cars offered by General Motors until the introduction of the Sigma platform. After the phaseout of the Ford Panther platform (except for the Mustang), Ford automobiles (including the Transit Connect van) manufactured for the2012 model year to present are front wheel drive; its D3 platform (based on a Volvo platform) has optional all wheel drive.

Shiva Kant Tiwari
by Shiva Kant Tiwari , Auto-Mobile Engineer , Madhvani Group

In many cases we see power is given in front wheel drive like in forklifts,order pickers etc.

In these machine the load is on the front side so for quiker operation in load and better balancing,power is provided in front wheel and steering is provided on rear wheel

Kathy Mustafa
by Kathy Mustafa , Personal Assistant to CEO- Managing Sales and Marketing Departments , Saudi Kinda Real Estate

No but then again it depends on where you live and how weather is. For example in a country where snow is a problem it is recommended to have a4WD.. 

 

I always bought rear wheel drive and found it to be better than front wheel.. 

Alex Al Yazouri
by Alex Al Yazouri , General Manager , Al Mushref Cooperative Society

In a slippery, wet or snowing condition a front wheel drive would handle better specially with antilock break more than a rear wheel drive with traction control.

Elke Woofter
by Elke Woofter , Project Assistant , American Technical Associates

I agree with Mr. Kinsbergen's answer

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