You’ve probably heard the "Drive Wheel Hierarchy."
At the top is rear-wheel drive, much beloved for its balance. In this configuration, the front wheels only steer, while the rear wheels manage propulsion. This means the driver can rotate the car using throttle, producing natural cornering tendencies. And of course, it allows you to drift around to your heart’s content.
Down the hierarchy from rear-wheel drive is all-wheel drive. This one’s all about traction, making it a favorite in the loose-surface competition of rallying. Generally speaking, a car that drives all four wheels can put its power to the ground better and exit a corner with authority.
This brings us to front-wheel drive. Front-wheel drive is widely snubbed by driving enthusiasts for its tendency to understeer. Additionally, because the front wheels have to steer while transferring power to the road, it’s very easy to overwhelm them with wheel spin or torque steer. Neither of those are desirable when pushing the car hard in corners, especially for those accustomed to being fully sideways in a rear-wheel drive sports car. Torque steer and managing traction also makes it very difficult to run large amounts of horsepower through a front-wheel drive platform. As a result, front-wheel drive cars are often dismissed by the automotive community.
I generally agree with this hierarchy. My ideal car would definitely have its drive wheels at the back. However (and stay with me here) I believe front-wheel drive has a value most car enthusiasts don't realize: the very short-comings of front-wheel drive that many enthusiasts dislike will make you a better driver. Don’t believe me? Let me tell you a story.
My first car was an E39 BMW 540i M-Sport, most definitely not a front-wheel drive car. It had a naturally aspirated V8, and a six-speed manual transmission all clad in the best looking BMW design in the company’s history. Cars just aren’t made like this anymore. Owning this car I became very familiar with the smell of burnt oil, but despite that, this car taught me a great deal about driving. The real learning came when the roads were covered in snow. Rear-wheel drive in the snow demands quick counter steers and careful traction management in order to stay on the road. Every time it snowed, I gave the 540i a work out, sliding aroundmy neighborhood, spraying snow in every direction. I believe this provided me with a much more advanced car control education than most. Rear-drive, high power, loose surface... this was a great start in developing my driving skills.
But unfortunately, all good times come to an end. As with all aging BMWs, the car began to spend more time in the shop than on the road. My search began for a replacement daily driver. I was mulling over everything from used 987 Caymans and Boxsters to Fiesta STs. For six months I obsessively scoured CarGurus and Autotrader listings, and read every car review ever written in the history of automotive journalism. Although I really didn't want to give up rear-wheel drive, I eventually decided to go with a Fiesta ST for its practicality, reliability, cheap consumables, and value. (Seriously they are stupid cheap, go buy one!)
So you might be thinking that, as a car owner, I went from the top of the "drive-wheel hierarchy" to the bottom. But in my opinion, this certainly has not been the case. Seat time in front-wheel drive has exposed me to techniques I wouldn’t otherwise have learned. To get the most of my front-wheel drive experience, I decided to attend a five-day rally driving class at Team O'Neil Rally School in Dalton, New Hampshire. Team O'Neil is a great place to start your performance driving education because you will learn the fundamentals of car control in a wide variety of car configurations including front-wheel drive Ford Fiestas, all-wheel drive Subaru Imprezas, and rear-wheel drive BMW E30s. Of these cars, I found the E30s the most fun to drive, and the front-wheel Fiestas the most challenging. Many students find the rear-wheel drive E30s to be the most challenging to control because of their lively rear-end, demanding good throttle control and quick counter steers. The skills might be difficult to develop, but the concepts are very conventional to most people. Right foot down results in more oversteer, and lifting off reigns in the rear end. In front wheel drive, I learned it is the exact opposite. Matting the throttle causes understeer and lifting off causes the ass end to slide. To be properly fast, you need to use the brakes, which doesn't really make sense.
This is why at the rally school, left-foot braking is the foundation of the curriculum. Left-foot braking allows the driver to use the brake and the gas at the same time to more effectively manage weight transfer between the front and rear of the car. Left-foot braking is a high-level skill that is extremely useful when you need to push the limits of grip in front-wheel drive. Few things are as effective at teaching the fundamentals of this technique than driving a front-wheel drive on loose surface. This is a valuable skill, whether you are in a snowy parking lot or a rally stage at a rally sprint.
Because of rally school, I have more of an appreciation for my front-wheel drive Fiesta then I ever thought possible. Even something as mundane as driving to work in a snow storm allows me to practice these skills--rotating the car with the brakes, straightening the car by squeezing power, maintaining momentum for climbing hills--these are all vital tactics, even at low speeds. These skills really came in handy when I took the car to Lime Rock and Palmer Motorsports Park for track days. On the track, I utilized different breaking techniques to get the car around corners while maintaining momentum. Using the brakes sparingly but creatively meant I was chasing down Porsches and BMW M cars in a car with half the horsepower. I am not an overly experienced driver, but I learned it is possible to have great driving experiences in very normal cars.
So what is the point of my story? What all this means is that a front-wheel-drive driver has less tools to work with and therefore must use counter- intuitive skills to be fast. In addition, these skills can be applied when driving cars with different drivetrains in the hierarchy. If you have a front-wheel drive car, don't lament the fact it’s not as balanced as a Cayman or driftable as an M3. Go do a track day with an instructor, or spend thirty bucks to drive at an autocross. Hell, find a snowy parking lot and experiment. Embrace the dynamic shortcomings of your front-wheel-drive car and learn to work around them. This will serve you well when you move up to more serious performance machines. I have done all of the above in my Fiesta ST and each time I learn something that I wouldn't have learned in a rear-drive sports car. So next time you scoff at a car just because the half shafts are in the front, give it a second look and see what you learn and add to your driving quiver.
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