Whats The Difference?

I want a car in a couple months(after I get my license ) but I have NO IDEA when Im looking at cars the difference between all-wheel drive, four-wheel drive and all the other stuff . And I want a SUV, but I just don't know what its talking about. Im looking to get either a hybrid Toyota Prius<-spelling, Lexus 400h, or a Audi Q7. But Im LOVINGGGGGGG hybrids right now!!

4wd usually has a 4-high setting for everyday use and 4-low (more torque) setting for off-road use. power is distributed evenly to all 4 wheels (25% per wheel).

awd systems usually are "smart," meaning that power to each wheel varies depending on traction demand (kind of like an LSD). the newer mitsubishi evos normally run in fwd, but when it detects slippage (during a hard turn, for instance) it will transfer some percentage of power to the rear wheels to maintain traction.

i can tell you fwd generally has understeer, rwd generally has oversteer, awd varies. fwd cars are usually more fuel efficient (because it has the shortest driveshaft from front engine to front wheels, making it lighter). fwd is more forgiving in handling because you can't swing the tail out as easily. rwd can be easy to fish tail at sudden turns of the steering wheel at high speeds. there's more i'm missing, but someone who knows better could tell you.

not sure if i'm entirely correct, but some of my info came from how i interpreted this article: http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/difference_4WD_awd.html

I want a car in a couple months(after I get my license ) but I have NO IDEA when Im looking at cars the difference between all-wheel drive, four-wheel drive and all the other stuff . And I want a SUV, but I just don't know what its talking about. Im looking to get either a hybrid Toyota Prius<-spelling, Lexus 400h, or a Audi Q7. But Im LOVINGGGGGGG hybrids right now!!

So you're just about to get your license and you want an SUV? lol

If you're ballin' outta control (looking at the choices you put - you or your parents probably are) or you live in the mountains then buy one.

If not, save your money. You won't be needing an SUV.

You'll be helping the environment and saving $$$

4WD= where the wheels are activated all the time. Eats up the most fuel because of all the driveshafts the power has to be distributed too

AWD= Like 4WD but the power is only put on when needed. So its usually a 2wd car unless one of the driving wheel loses grip

FWD=Front wheel drives the car

RWD=Rear Wheel drives the car

To clear something up, about under and oversteer.....

Oversteer is usually experienced in RWD(Rear wheel drive) cars. The rear wheels turn and push the car foward. When you turn into a corner, sometimes the car will turn "more than you think" this is what understeer is. Also, in the snow it is a pain in the butt to drive, more than fwd (although this depends on your driving skills and experience)

Understeer is usually experienced in FWD(Front wheel drive) cars. When you turn into a corner, the front wheels pull the car as well as direct the car into the direction you want it to. Sometimes, the car might not have enough traction from both movements and you will head off into a straight line tangent to the curve/corner. You will have to either 1. Slow down, or 2. turn the steering wheel more assuming you haven't turned it all the way.

FWD cars usually drink less gas, better traction in bad conditions (however could be offset with better tires and experienced driving)

RWD, imo would be more fun, is the true performance track option oriented car.

I think you have funny tastes. You want a prius, econobox/hybrid and then you want a Lexus 400h which is a fullout luxury sedan yacht of a car, and then the Audi Q7 which is another large luxury car, but SUV form. Why dont you think about what you need your car to do for you and then narrow it down. For example, if you need to JUST get you from point A to point B, then get the Hybrid. You get good gas, and it does the job of basic transport. If you need to show off to all your friends, need a big car, like spending lots of money on gas, maintenance and insurance get the SUV or the flagship sedan. I think the Q7 would be safer, generally SUV's are safer, just dont roll it over =D

To clear something up, about under and oversteer.....

Understeer is usually experienced in RWD(Rear wheel drive) cars. The rear wheels turn and push the car foward. When you turn into a corner, sometimes the car will turn "more than you think" this is what understeer is. Also, in the snow it is a pain in the butt to drive, more than fwd (although this depends on your driving skills and experience)

Oversteer is usually experienced in FWD(Front wheel drive) cars. When you turn into a corner, the front wheels pull the car as well as direct the car into the direction you want it to. Sometimes, the car might not have enough traction from both movements and you will head off into a straight line tangent to the curve/corner. You will have to either 1. Slow down, or 2. turn the steering wheel more assuming you haven't turned it all the way.

you have things switched. It's oversteer tendency in rwd and understeer tendency in fwd.

you have things switched. It's oversteer tendency in rwd and understeer tendency in fwd.

You're right, thanks. I fixed it. *Wheres that coffee?

just to add... you could think of rear wheel drive as pushing a shopping cart from its handles. you can really turn it sharply, and, if you turn it quickly enough, its momentum will cause it go loose into the turn to the point where you'd have to hold it straight to prevent it from wobbling (countersteer). whereas if you pull the shopping cart from its front while turning it into an aisle, its steering is very precise to where you direct it, it won't go out of control, but it can't turn as sharply as when you push it from behind. that is analagous to front wheel drive.

your cars of interest have websites where you can research their drive layout. read up on all the different features each vehicle has so you can get a feel for what you want. that's how i did it when i was 16. one thing to note about big vehicles like SUVs is they feel unstable with a high center of gravity (like walking on stilts), and are harder to maneuver (like at low speeds into parking spaces). the SUV was an american fad, today's SUVs are becoming more car-like. if you've got the money, get the 400h and be done with it. you'll be happy and i'll hate you.

just to add... you could think of rear wheel drive as pushing a shopping cart from its handles. you can really turn it sharply, and, if you turn it quickly enough, its momentum will cause it go loose into the turn to the point where you'd have to hold it straight to prevent it from wobbling (countersteer). whereas if you pull the shopping cart from its front while turning it into an aisle, its steering is very precise to where you direct it, it won't go out of control, but it can't turn as sharply as when you push it from behind. that is analagous to front wheel drive.

sorry but thats a pretty bad analagy. for instance if you turn a car quickly (any drive train) its momentum will not "cause it go loose into the turn to the point where you'd have to hold it straight to prevent it from wobbling (countersteer)". if you turn a car quickly you will overload the front tires an cause understeer. now if you lift off the throttle while turning sharply that can cause oversteer if you do it right with either fwd, rwd, or awd.

its steering is very precise to where you direct it, it won't go out of control, but it can't turn as sharply as when you push it from behind. that is analagous to front wheel drive.

rwd is just as precise as fwd to where you are directing it. fwd can also go out of control for all the same reasons as rwd except one, which is power oversteer (rwd can also power understeer just like fwd). also fwd can turn just as sharply as rwd you just cant use as much throttle in a turn because the front wheels have to turn and power the car.

rwd can be easy to fish tail at sudden turns of the steering wheel at high speeds

any car could be easy to fishtail in that situation depending on the suspension settings and alignment. also depending on the suspension setting and alignment it might also understeer a lot. drive train doesnt have much to do with that.

take the integra type r for example. it will oversteer a lot. sure its fwd but that doesnt really matter.if you trail brake or lift thorttle the car can and will rotate. infact the itr is more prone to oversteer than many rwd cars (stock for stock). oversteer has a lot to do with suspension and alignment. yes rwd is easier to oversteer with because if you mash the gas at the right time in a corner the rear will swing out (assuming you have an lsd otherwise not too much happens usually). also rwd cars tend to be more sporty so they are set up to understeer less than say a civic.

^^i agree, the shopping cart analogy was bad in that a shopping cart's physics isn't exactly the same as a car's physics for obvious reasons, i.e. lack of an engine, transmission, suspension, etc. but as an oversimplified model, i think it just maybe illustrates some basic concepts of push vs. pull? but i'm not a mechanical engineer, i'm a different type of engineer so what do i know? i do agree, output power, damping compensations, stiffness, rigidity, alignment, driving techniques, etc. are all key parameters that can be adjusted to make a car with any drivetrain behave as you would want.

to reiterate what i interpreted from azn akira, it's invalid to associate fwd cars with understeer and rwd cars with oversteer. a much more appropriate way to compare cars would be on an individual make and model basis, such as looking at the entire itr package versus the entire toyota supra package, for instance. generalizing handling characteristics based on drivetrain should be thrown out the window, right? i really don't know, so i'm asking. like i said, someone who knows better could tell you. thanks for clearing stuff up, azn akira.

for my personal knowledge, say in a controlled experiment you drove an itr through a corner and noted the path it took on the road. then you take that exact same itr and only re-engineer (in the most efficiently designed manner) its drivetrain to rwd (nothing else is changed), and drive it through the same corner in exactly the same manner (speed, angle of entry, steering, throttle engagement, angular accelerations, timing of everything, etc.), would it end up taking the same line as it did in the first case? i wouldn't know, but i'd like to hear an honest opinion.

if u did everything the same, then no. u cant drive an FWD like a RWD. azn akira already said that.

if u did everything the same, then no. u cant drive an FWD like a RWD. azn akira already said that.

would it oversteer or understeer after the change?

4WD= where the wheels are activated all the time. Eats up the most fuel because of all the driveshafts the power has to be distributed too

AWD= Like 4WD but the power is only put on when needed. So its usually a 2wd car unless one of the driving wheel loses grip

FWD=Front wheel drives the car

RWD=Rear Wheel drives the car

^ Okayyyyyyyyy oversteer and understeer??? I mean like this is like learning a WHOLE new language!! haha jk

Okay so basically 4 wheel drive uses all the wheels and more power, so its burning more gas or battery/energy life??

But all wheel drive sounds nice, like all four wheels aren't in use until you activate them or something??

But just curious and may sound like a dumb question but bare with me I have no idea how cars function really, but why are they all priced differently?? Like I think the cars I looked at like one cars(the Lexus 400h) had both all wheel drive and four wheel drive, but the all wheel driver cost like a thousand to two thousand more than the four wheel drive. Which is FWD right???

So you're just about to get your license and you want an SUV? lol

If you're ballin' outta control (looking at the choices you put - you or your parents probably are) or you live in the mountains then buy one.

If not, save your money. You won't be needing an SUV.

You'll be helping the environment and saving $$$

And NO Im not ballin' lol so I think the audi is out b/c its toooooo expensive but had really nice features and stuff. and fell in LOVE with the car after watching "Lovers" ahahah

But Im REALLY hoping for the Lexus, but If things don't go well.............goodbye

But the Prius is kinda small for me but love it anyway

i'm with you. i don't have a strong grasp on this "new language" either. i think the awd version requires computer intelligence and more sophisticated mechanisms to modulate however much power to put to which wheel(s), whereas the 4wd doesn't need the extra control system since it mindlessly puts even power to all 4 wheels. i think that should make up the difference in cost.

^ oh thanks now thats in a "language" I can understand but all wheel drive seems the best so far

ever play gran turismo? despite it being a game, it can teach you about understeer and oversteer...(can't believe i even posted this. oh well.)

would it end up taking the same line as it did in the first case?

it depends....probably not the answer you are looking for. it depends on how you took the corner in the first place. fwd and rwd require different driving techniques. with fwd you are going to trail brake more to get the car to rotate more since you cant use the gas pedal to to rotate the car. left foot braking is another predominantly fwd technique that may have been used in taking the corner in question. etc.

however if you werent pushing the car to or beyond its limits it would probably take the corner pretty much the same. though you would have to change the spring rates and shock dampening because the weight distribution would be different than in its fwd form.

everyone (inlcuding me) should go to southern california and take some driving/handling lessons from azn akira.

i dislike fwd...well because it's fwd. the motor uses the front wheels and you got front brakes, both of which needs the rubber to meet the requirements of stopping and going. on the other case, rwd uses the rear tires to go and front brakes uses the front tires to stop. just get yourself an mr2? midship layout ftw (j/k)

Sorry I had the 400h wrong, its Lexus's new SUV. Imo, I think its ugly looking.

Just get the AWD, You arent going offroading or stuff like that. It saves you gas and gives you the basic needs. Works well in the snow, the sand, dirt, pretty much everywhere, I think of it as the more civil 4WD.

It's your first car, chances are you are going to dent, crash, scratch, something bad to you car. So why dont you be good to your mommy and daddy and just drive whatever they have and wait a year or two so you can rack up the driving experience. Besides...... all the HOT girls I know drive beaters. They use the money other stuffs =D Oh, if you have a boyfriend, he can give you rides. Hello? Personal choiffer?