While getting from point A to point B, your car, an SUV or any other four-wheeler, needs to power only two of the wheels, either front wheels or the rear ones. If the power is delivered to the wheels at the front then the car is a Front Wheel Drive (FWD), if the power is delivered to the rear then the car is a Rear Wheel Drive (RWD). FWD is the most common drive system today. The goal of the FWD vehicles is to max­imize efficiency by minimizing the weight of the vehicle. As the power is delivered to front wheels, which are close to the engine, it removes the need for many components that are otherwise needed to transfer the power to the rear of the vehicle. FWD vehicles also get a more spacious interior while RWD vehicles have to assign spaces under the passenger section to fit the components that power the rear wheels.

RWD vehicles on the other hand have a balanced weight distribution, which allows the system to handle heavier vehi­cles compared to a FWD. RWD vehicles can also handle more horsepower. FWD vehicles are front-heavy because of the addition of the transmission assembly for the wheels in the front of the car rather, rather than having the entire compo­nent at the rear like the RWD vehicles to even out the weight distribution. This means RWD vehicles are heavier compared to their FWD counterparts.

While heavier, RWD vehi­cles are also more balanced. As the weight distribution is more even on RWD vehicles, there is more traction on the road, especially while turning corners at high speeds. FWD, on the other hand, is front-heavy, which becomes clear while making a high-speed turn as the car will struggle for bal­ance and traction.

Another not-so-important but amazingly flashy differ­ence between the two drive systems is that the RWD vehi­cles can ‘drift’, while FWD simply cannot. Drifting is the act of driving while the rear wheels are sliding on the road, but controlling where you are going with the front wheels and the gas pedal. Imagine sliding around a corner with perfect control and high speed. This becomes impossible in a FWD vehicle as the front wheels are responsible for both power­ing the vehicle forwards and steering at the same time. On a RWD vehicle, the rear wheels power the vehicle and the front wheels steer it.

To summarize, FWD vehi­cles have power on the front wheels and RWD vehicles have power on the rear wheels. FWD are more spacious inside but heavy on the front. RWD are less spacious but the weight distribution is more balanced. FWD vehicles are more effi­cient while RWD vehicles are more powerful. We hope this helps you make a choice of drive system that is suited to your needs o