What is the difference between front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, and four wheel drive? Which kind of drive do most cars today use?
Front wheel - engine causes front wheels to move in turn moving the vehicle Rear wheel - engine causes rear wheels to move in turn moving the vehicle Four wheel - a little more complicated, but engine causes all four wheels to move in turn moving the vehicle Most passenger cars have front wheel drive Most trucks have rear wheel drive (minus minivans and some small car-based SUVs) Four wheel drive can be found on many trucks and SUVs.
Front wheel drive: Power goes to the front wheels Rear Wheel Drive: Power goes to the rear wheels Four Wheel Drive: Power goes to the rear wheels unless you flip a switch or lock the hubs on the front wheels, then the power spreads evenly between all four wheels All Wheel Drive: Power constantly spreads between all four wheels. An exception to this is Nissan's ATTESA all-wheel-drive which drives the rear wheels unless it's absolutely necessary for all-wheel-drive to be activated, such as if traction is lost through the rear wheels or a slick surface is encountered. Most cars use rear-wheel-drive, however economy cars and hatchbacks use front-wheel-drive to cut costs. SUVs generally have an option you have to tick for four-wheel-drive, otherwise they usually use front-wheel-drive.
Rear wheel drive is where your rear wheels move your vehicle. Front wheel drive is where your front wheels move your vehicle. 4Wheel drive is where all four wheels move your vehicle. Which is better depends on the driver. There are arguments either way. The best way to determine for yourself is to test drive them. I'm happy with rear wheel drive, though tests have shown front wheel drive to be safer. If your tires are in good condition and not the problem you can still look into better tires that help prevent skiding. Here is pedia's technical description and link below: Front-wheel drive is the most common form of engine/transmission layout used in modern passenger cars, where the engine drives the front wheels. Most front-wheel drive vehicles today feature transverse engine mounting, where as in past decades engines were mostly positioned longitudinally instead. Rear-wheel drive was the traditional standard and is still widely used in luxury cars, most sport cars, and trucks. Four-wheel drive is also sometimes used. The vast majority of rear wheel drive vehicles use a longitudinally-mounted engine in the front of the vehicle, driving the rear wheels via a driveshaft linked via a differential between the rear axles. Some FR layout vehicles place the transmission at the rear, though most attach it to the engine at the front. Rear wheel drive has fallen out of favor in passenger cars since the 1980s[citation needed], due in part to higher manufacturing costs, and that front wheel drive is safer to drive[1], and that it performs better on slippery roads.[2][3] However, some automobile brands, including Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche continue to use rear wheel drive platforms. Rear wheel drive (or all-wheel drive) is still the preferred choice for high performance automobiles.[4]
