Given that for the majority of car owners the purpose of the vehicle is to transport the driver ,passengers and possibly luggage from A to B under all circumstances then 4WD wins every time simply because its more efficient at translating motive power into forward movement. If on the other hand you regard the vehicle as merely a source of entertainment then other criteria take precedence and how the car drives becomes more important. Often in exchange for more driver feedback and what is termed entertaining handling vehicle stability has to be sacrificed to an extent. This places greater demands on driver skill and also may restrict both the condition and nature of the roads the car can cope with. A car that can achieve both is indeed a rarity to be treasured and if such cars exist then their quality of handling might be appreciated by more owners if their handling was not compromised by manufacturers continuing to fit unfeasably wide low profile tyres as standard fitment as mere fashion statements rather than for any handling reasons.
Efficiency is definitely a consideration, comparing 4WD to 2WD. Think of 4WD as carrying an additional four sacks of cement in the car for the lightest setups. Worse still, some of it is not sprung. Every time you accelerate, corner, stop or even maintain speed, this added weight makes itself felt.
Then add the friction losses and there is a significant penalty to carrying / turning all that hardware. Maintenance, packaging and complexity can also be an issue. 4WD is fine provided the benefits are real to you.
It's also a common misconception that the neutrality of a car that can be rotated using weight transfer, braking or with acceleration, is only be felt near 'the limit'. There is always an element of slip when cornering, even moderately. This is partly how the tyres chemically bond to the road providing grip.
Your backside is quite adept at feeling these nuances, which along uncorrupted steering and many other factors, can make a car feel engaging, fluid and enjoyable. Or dead to the world and lifeless, with only one predominate handling characteristic - a willingness to scrub wide everywhere.
I do agree that the steamroller sized tyres fitted on even some pretty mundane motors these days, can dull the experience somewhat The complete opposite to a GT86, which was just fantastic to drive and so willing to rotate, it's impossible not to become a hooligan
A few years ago, WRC cars were frequently outpaced on tarmac by two wheel drive cars such as the F2 306 Maxi. They did have a power / weight advantage, but were massively down on torque and electronic trickery. Obviously they stood no chance on anything loose.
It's great to have all these options out there. The more driver orientated cars on the market, the better
