RWD vs. AWD

[city lights]

How safer is all wheel drive than rear wheel drive? Considering W 204 I see that there is C 200 CDI, considering performance it is quite good, but it is RWD and the only AWD model is W 204 C 320 CDI, if I was about to buy one which one would you reccomend?

Considering safety, is AWD better than RWD?

 

[wemorgan]

It all depends how you define safety.

 

[BTB 500]

Considering safety, is AWD better than RWD?

No.

AWD simply gives you better traction when applying power in less than perfect conditions.

It makes no difference if you approach a corner too fast.

And ESP on a modern RWD car will keep it under control if you apply too much power mid-bend.

 

[wemorgan]

Another angle to the safety debate is, as more safety features are added (seatbelts, air bags, abs/esp, crumple zones etc) some drivers continue to drive up to a perceived level of risk. This risk level rises with more safety features. So if you consider AWD a safety feature and if you think you drive up to a perceived level of risk then having AWD will increase your chances of having an accident.

 

[Paddcomp]

How safer is all wheel drive than rear wheel drive? Considering W 204 I see that there is C 200 CDI, considering performance it is quite good, but it is RWD and the only AWD model is W 204 C 320 CDI, if I was about to buy one which one would you reccomend?

Considering safety, is AWD better than RWD?

Is the W204 available with AWD where you are?

 

[city lights]

Yes, but only C 320 CDI and E 280 and E 280 CDI.

 

[recycled]

AWD is only better when there is less grip. good for leaves on the road/ water . e.t.c it gives your car a more planted feeling.
I would not say it makes it safer, but it helps as safety is combines with a lot of other factors, e.g ABS ,PSM traction e.t.c

 

[lynall]

Awd has got to be better, if i try even a moderatly fast launch in the wet/damp all i get is wheelspin, awd would be much much better.

Plus you will be able to get a nice 4 wheel drift around the roundabouts in complete comfort which will stop the mcdonalds coffee spilling

Bet it will lose you a couple of mpg though.



Lynall

 

[popuptoaster]

AWD being better depends a lot on how much power you have, i used to drive a lot of sierras and as they had a 4x4 version and no traction aids other than LSDs its quite easy to make direct comparisons, a 1600 RWD powered one with its puny power output is pretty safe even in the wet, and its is possible to get a 4x4 cossie sliding around if you try hard enough, but all the 4x4 versions feel MUCH more planted when the roads are damp or slippy, you can feel it even at low speeds even when the 4x4 system isn't really doing much.

 

[jeremytaylor]

Considering W 204 I see that there is C 200 CDI, considering performance it is quite good, but it is RWD and the only AWD model is W 204 C 320 CDI, if I was about to buy one which one would you reccomend?

Sod safety, look at the cubic inches - 320 every day

 

[BTB 500]

Awd has got to be better

The question was about being safer, not better (which plainly it is in some circumstances).

 

[st4]

I would not say it makes it safer, but it helps as safety is combines with a lot of other factors, e.g ABS ,PSM traction e.t.c

You can tell you drive a Porsche

Still wanting that lairy RWD vette?

 

[flango]

The question was about being safer, not better (which plainly it is in some circumstances).

BTB is correct, a RWD with ESP wll keep you out of trouble, get it wrong in a AWD car such as a Scooby Imprezza, Mitsi Evo or Porche 911 and there are not many people that can get it back under control if you lose the back end.

We do a lot of driver training with various outfits /forces teaching then to control a 4 wheel drive skid, it is not easy in a high powered car takes a lot of skill. you need to remain calm and do things that go against what you have been taught for FWD or RWD skid control.

So safer in the correct hand s Yes, but RWD with ESP probably safest for the average driver (BMW 5 series good example of this)

 

[city lights]

Is FWD always better than any other considering safety?

Come on people, say everything you know, I've been told that there's plenty of people here who can tell me much about Mercs

 

[Adam230K]

FWD is fine in a low powered car. But once u breach the 230ishbhp barrier (imo) you're asking the front wheels to do too much, and u get all sorts of fun things like hideous understeer and torque steer in a straight line.

 

[BTB 500]

Is FWD always better than any other considering safety?

Before ESP/ASR/etc., yes. As a youngster I had a RWD Vauxhall Viva which I spun twice (luckily without damage to the car or anything else) applying a touch too much power on slippery surfaces. A FWD car would just have given a bit of understeer in the same situation - much less dramatic.

But the electronics will typically not let you spin a modern RWD car (or even break traction), no matter how much power you use. ESP will even correct over/under steer in a way no human driver can ... because it is able to brake individual wheels to yaw the car. The laws of physics still apply though ... arrive at a corner way too fast and nothing will save you. There's only so much friction between tyres and road.

 

[crockers]

Do you get much snow in Montenegro? That may be a deciding factor...if you do then I would say AWD is best followed by FWD ...but if not then all the above posts make sense...

 

[lynall]

Better or safer awd is pretty bloody damn good and i would bet you can actually get up snowy hills whether thats safer or better you make your own mind up, i know what i would rather have.

Of the few mercs i have driven the larger the engine the more likely you are to curse the traction control as its a pain full stop, as even a very slightly spirited get away from the lights will result in the power being cut.

Mine comes on way to often, wifes is very similiar, strange thing is i dont remember it with her old 96 E320, mainly i guess as the older cars havent got so much torque or initial get up and go, ie old nails



Lynall

 

[fuzzer]

if you can afford the pennies go for the 320cdi , but if not skip the 200 and go for a 220

 

[popuptoaster]

FWD is the work of the devil and for shopping cars girls and grannies and is hugely dangerous to your manliness, any man driving anything wrong wheel drive is a disgrace to the rest of us and needs to have 10,000 volts stuck through his nipples everytime he thinks about driving whatever it is, however much its dressed up as a "sports" car, its always a shopping trolley.