In the past month, Karl has managed to sample the best examples from 2016 of front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. Read on to see which layout secures his vote…
The corner started to tighten dramatically. I had entered it at a certain speed, expecting the radius to be consistent. Silly move. There were two options. First, keep the power on, and hope that the tyres have enough grip left in them to keep me going through. Second, back off, but that risks the back end lifting off the deck as the weight transfer shifts forward. Considering this was a downhill run, the armco was centimetres away and the car I was driving was worth around $190,000 US Dollars, the second option wasn’t really an option.
This would be the true test of all-wheel-drive. In the good old days, that would mean all four wheels powering in unison, and understeer (plus a spectacular crash) would be the inevitable result. In this case, I was driving the new Audi R8 V10 Plus, which fires its 610bhp through all four wheels, but only when the electronic brain allows it to.
This car can vary its torque split from zero to 100 percent sent to either the front or rear axle, or indeed anywhere in between. And that knowledge was what I was relying on in that moment.
The foot went down further and, amazingly, the car knew exactly what I had in mind. It cut the torque to the front wheels and fired it out the back, turning the car in quickly, and it ended up oversteering very slightly out the other side. Yeah, look at me – I am invincible… or at least that’s what the car would have you believe.
It’s a brilliant machine and if I had applied myself at school and actually found a career that brought money in, I may have a chance at putting one in my driveway permanently. As it stands, on a motoring writer’s wage, I have as much chance as a snowball in the Sahara. But has it changed my position on all-wheel-drive?
Here’s where it gets interesting. After driving that monster machine, and having an absolute barrel of fun on those mountain roads, I’m becoming more convinced that it’s the safest option that also allows a bit of hilarity when required. But upon arriving home from the launch, my steed is the new BMW M2.
And, the week before, I was piloting the Renault Megane RS Cup – arguably the best handling front-wheel-drive car on sale. Within two weeks, therefore, I had sampled the best of each setup – and, straight away, I find myself planted firmly in the rear-wheel-drive camp.
The Megane was fun, but torque steer still feels weird – and you only have to look up Nurburgring fails on YouTube to see the Megane being over-represented in crashes, thanks to its lift-off oversteer. The Audi, and cars like the GT-R, Evo and others, all do a brilliant job in helping you to go quickly, but are ultimately just a little too safe.
The M2, on the other hand, is fast enough to be enjoyable, but with steering that’s uncorrupted by torque and a brilliant differential, allows you to be completely immersed in the action. Its progressive oversteer is easy to enjoy for novices, but can increase its challenge as the speed rises. It keeps you connected, and is one of the best cars of the year.
Yes, AWD is getting better and better, but the original layout is still king. As the old saying goes, two for turning and two for burning…
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