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Rear-wheel drive

Rear-wheel drive splits the jobs: the front wheels steer, the rear ones push. From that follow the qualities people choose it for — uncorrupted steering, often a tighter turning circle, and a weight shift under acceleration that works in your favour. In return there is a propshaft, a rear differential with oil of its own, and a tunnel through the cabin. In winter it is not dangerous but it forgives less: where a front-driven car pulls itself along, a rear-driven one has to push, and that asks for winter tyres on all four wheels and a lighter right foot.

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What matters

  • Extra parts mean extra sources of noise. The propshaft with its centre bearing and joints, plus the rear differential, are the usual suspects: a vibration that rises with speed and is independent of the gear selected almost always comes from there. Check it coasting at higher speed on the test drive, not under load.
  • The tyre bill looks different. Many rear-driven cars run wider tyres at the back; the wheels then cannot be rotated across the car, and the rear tyres come due noticeably sooner. Check the front and rear tyre sizes in the registration document before estimating running costs.
  • In winter the critical moment is pulling away on a gradient, not the driving itself. What helps is weight over the rear axle — on an estate that is the load that hurts a front-driven car. Winter tyres here are not a recommendation but the condition on which the layout is usable at all.
  • Many electric cars with a single motor drive the rear wheels. If you want rear drive for the way it handles, you get it there without a propshaft, without differential oil and without the efficiency cost those extra parts carry on a combustion car — the motor sits right at the axle.

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Common questions

Is rear-wheel drive a problem in snow?
With winter tyres on all four wheels and a working ESP, no. What changes is pulling away: on a slippery incline it takes a finer throttle, because the driven axle carries less weight than on a front-driven car. Two things reliably help — load in the boot and a driving mode that meters the power more gently. What does not help is power: a strong rear-driven car on all-season tyres is the worst of all combinations in snow.
Why is the turning circle often tighter on rear-wheel drive?
Because the front wheels do not have to transmit drive. On a front-driven car the driveshaft joints limit maximum steering lock — beyond a certain angle they no longer run smoothly. Without that constraint the wheels can turn further, and manoeuvring turns that into a noticeable difference which seems to contradict the rest of the layout: a larger car that fits a tighter space.

By drivetrain