Four-wheel Drive? Who Cares?

[mystery machine]

Just asking because I've read so many posts from guys on here who've traded their Scoob for a Clio, Civic, Focus or similar and make no mention of the fact they've traded 4WD for front-wheel drive...

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the above-mentioned cars are necessarily bad cars just because they're front-wheel drive, or that you can't buy a good FWD performance car, but I thought it might be interesting to hear your opinions about what Scooby 4WD means to you

For me, it was one of the deciding factors when I bought my first Scoob (Hawkeye WRX). I was simply fed-up driving a hot-hatch that scrabbled for traction going up hills and understeered horribly on bends in the wet (despite any half-assed 'traction control'). The 4WD system was once again a deciding factor when I bought the current STI - being rear-biased it has most of the advantages of both 4WD and RWD. Cool!

This sort of stuff is important to me, and as long as I have a choice I won't buy another front-wheel drive car as my 'fun' car (I'd seriously consider RWD, though)

What's your take?

Edited August 3, 2010 by Mystery Machine

[bmwhere?]

AWD is a must for me for getting up snow covered alpine passes to my favourite ski resorts in the winter without having to faff around putting chains on!

[stum450n]

I love the way my scoob handles and it's one of the main reasons I still have her. I must admit though, I am tempted by RWD but if I did, I would stick with a scoob!

[terzo neil]

been in 4 wheel drive cars since 1996, starting with a 4 year old xr4x4, then onto a dohc turbo xr4i which was converted to 4wd, and now have 2 x sccobies

[mystery machine]

Good replies, folks.

I am tempted by RWD but if I did, I would stick with a scoob!

I take it that'd entail some kind of fancy RWD conversion?

Incidentally, I believe there are outfits in the States who convert Scoobies to RWD for competition driving where RWD is mandatory.

been in 4 wheel drive cars since 1996

Blimmin' 'eck Neil, yer legs must be aching!

Just kidding mate, all interesting stuff

[rig-pig]

must admit after years of FWD,RWD powerfull cars the AWD is defanatly the better out of the lot for the grip on out roads, had my 1st scoob at 23 that was 8 years ago and a lot of fast jap cars inbetween then and now both FWD and RWD as well as another scoob, wound never go back to either FWD or RWD in a performance car again, even the family car is AWD now a blobeye 2.0l sport wagon

[Joe G]

Manual DCCD and you have the best of both worlds!!

[scouk]

I must admit though, I am tempted by RWD but if I did, I would stick with a scoob!

Same here.. I quite fancy a wee roadster or somethign, maybe a MX5.. Even better a S2000

But the scoob is just soo much more planted.. What you can't do withe FWD which you can do with AWD and to a certain extent RWD is plant the throttle going round tight bends.. Scares the hell out of passengers who are FWD owners and you give it a welly mid way through a corner on a wet road

Manual DCCD and you have the best of both worlds!!

I want one of those...

[mystery machine]

Manual DCCD and you have the best of both worlds!!

YES

Roll it right back to the big O

Edited August 3, 2010 by Mystery Machine

[mystery machine]

Same here.. I quite fancy a wee roadster or somethign, maybe a MX5.. Even better a S2000

Both great cars, the former of which is often unfairly referred to as a "hairdresser's car"

The Nissan 350Z and 370Z are belters of coupes too

Must admit that if I could afford an M3 the same age and mileage as my Scoob I would have one of those in a shot. Having said that, the STI's rear-biased 4WD works well and I'd surely miss it in the wet!

[mystery machine]

What you can't do withe FWD which you can do with AWD and to a certain extent RWD is plant the throttle going round tight bends.

Indeed - and (in the rear-biased STI at least) it's a great cure for mild understeer.

[stum450n]

Good replies, folks.

I take it that'd entail some kind of fancy RWD conversion?

Incidentally, I believe there are outfits in the States who convert Scoobies to RWD for competition driving where RWD is mandatory.

Blimmin' 'eck Neil, yer legs must be aching!

Just kidding mate, all interesting stuff

Not really fancy IIRC, some diff welding is involved as is the removal of the front drive shafts. Was told when I did the drift day for TG but I've kinda forgotten now.

As a Sport owner, it's VERY tempting after driving their two Sports with RWD.

[mystery machine]

Not really fancy IIRC, some diff welding is involved as is the removal of the front drive shafts. Was told when I did the drift day for TG but I've kinda forgotten now.

As a Sport owner, it's VERY tempting after driving their two Sports with RWD.

What was the "TG drift day", mate? Sounds like fun.

[Phil MC]

Having just sold the scooby I was quick to replace it with another AWD car, so yes it is a characteristic I looked for when buying the scoob in the first place.

[JasonW]

The scoob is my first 4wd car, all others have been FWD. G/f has got a mx5 and RWD is great fun but investments in good tyres is a must, especially for the wet. This winter will be our first with 4wd and RWD so we shall see how we get on.

[mikeyb13]

Rear wheel drive all the way for me. AWD/FWD with all the diffs and electronic gubbins is so people who cant drive can own a fast car too. Admittedly my old Type R with the diff right back was a handfull

PS I couldnt drive either I only found this out when I bought a RWD

[stum450n]

What was the "TG drift day", mate? Sounds like fun.

Southwest, Sideways article in the latest True Grip. Went down to the Haynes Motor Museum for a day in their RWD Imprezas. Was incredible fun!!!

[boab type ra]

had a few high power fwd cars and they can`t go round corners as quick, can`t pull away from standing start as quick and can`t drift but my old impreza can do it all and more

[micra_wrc]

4WD gives me more confidence to drive in the wet and in the snow

[mystery machine]

Southwest, Sideways article in the latest True Grip. Went down to the Haynes Motor Museum for a day in their RWD Imprezas. Was incredible fun!!!

Ah, "True Grip"... when I read "TG" I thought for a minute you'd made a guest appearance alongside 'The Stig' et al

Sounds like enormous fun though! Is the Haynes Motor Museum worth a look-in then?

[stum450n]

Ah, "True Grip"... when I read "TG" I thought for a minute you'd made a guest appearance alongside 'The Stig' et al

Sounds like enormous fun though! Is the Haynes Motor Museum worth a look-in then?

Working on it! Clarkson only lives up the road so I 'popping in' to his local in the hope he's there and I can bend his ear!

Didn't actually get into the museum itself as I was busy taking pics when everyone else was having their turn but if the cars in the workshops are anything to go by, then holy mother of God yes! :lol:

Bit of drive for you guys though I would imagine! (Linkage)

[mystery machine]

Rear wheel drive all the way for me. AWD/FWD with all the diffs and electronic gubbins is so people who cant drive can own a fast car too. Admittedly my old Type R with the diff right back was a handfull

PS I couldnt drive either I only found this out when I bought a RWD

Whilst I don't have much experience with high-performance RWD cars, I do accept that generally more skill is required to drive one on the limit than with 4WD. So I agree with the general point you're making.

But regarding 'all the diffs' (by which I assume you mean the 'limited slip' variety) and electronic gubbins - such driver aids are hardly the preserve of the 4WD car. Most decent high-performance RWD cars will have an LSD (the standard Exige being an exception here), and many Scoobs don't even have a front LSD. Also, I personally tend to use the STI's centre diff in 'open' mode, which negates its function as a discrete driver aid. And when it comes to electronics gubbins... well, they're virtual ubiquitous on modern cars, and your average RWD BMW defaults to having a pretty interventionist traction control system (which can be disabled, to be fair).

But yeah - for the fundamental benefits of increased traction brought about by 4WD - high performance saloons like the Impreza and the EVO are essentially 'easy' cars to drive fast, which can be a good or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it... very safe when driven within reasonable limits, but dangerously confidence-inspiring for the less experienced driver!

Edited August 3, 2010 by Mystery Machine

[scouk]

But yeah - for the fundamental benefits of increased traction brought about by 4WD - high performance saloons like the Impreza and the EVO are essentially 'easy' cars to drive fast, which can be a good or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it... very safe when driven reasonably within reasonable limits, but dangerously confidence inspiring for the less-experienced driver!

Spot on there...

[st3ph3n]

I think the reason people swapped to other cars was nothing to do with the drive setup. People have been swapping to things that aren't as powerful/fun etc. For me it was simple - I'd had my fun and the running costs and future maintenance were outweighing the enjoyment by a large factor at the end.

The bad winter we had was one of the reason I would have stayed Subaru when I was weighing it up! I certainly didn't change because of 4wd.

[scooby222]

having had nothing but 4wd cars for over 10 years means i take the grip for granted - when my other half had her integra it was quite a shock having wheelspin accelerating out of wet corners or trying to go anywhere in the snow. same story with the 330d i had for a bit as a result even the daily runabout is 4wd now, an A3 2.0tdi quattro.

when the old boys x5 was in for a service last feb they gave him an alpina d3 coupe, gorgeous car veru quick,handled beautifully and utterly useless on an inch of snow