stanw

I am still trying to decide on a Q5 or A4, and I thought all Audis were Quattro, though I see that there is an option for FWD on the A4. I know very little about the pros/cons between AWD and FWD. Can someone give me a brief idea of how AWD is better, etc.?

Thanks.

markinarch

I have only had my A4 for a couple of months and I came from a rear wheel drive SUV. Immediately I can feel how sticky the tires are and how stable the AWD car is in wet conditions and hard turns. I could do things in this car I could never do before. My friend has a G35 and when ever we are riding together he is amazed with how fast and hard I am able to take turns. His G35 slides a lot more or would spin out if he were to try some of the things I do. AWD compared to FWD will be a little more sporty bc of the rear wheel torque bias (60% of the power going to the rear wheel and 40% to the front wheels). Front wheel drive cars are not as exciting to me as RWD or AWD. If you want great handling and don't want to worry about driving in the rain, go for AWD. If that sort of thing doesn't matter to you, the FWD will probably suffice and you will get a little better fuel economy. The automatic tranmissions are different in the two cars as well so check that out - AWD tiptronic vs. FWD Multitronic CVT.

fender4645

What markinarch said. I got my A4 Quattro in Feb of this year, the height of the rainy season here in the Bay Area. There is almost no difference between driving on wet roads vs. dry roads with the Audi. A far cry from my previous car, a V6 Accord. In the A4, I can take a 90 degree turn at 45mph and not one little screetch will come from tires. They just stick.

GR8-LIFE

not the 2 cars I drove. Huge diff between FWD and AWD. I took the same 2 cars on the same road. I think the salesman nearly pooped in his pants in the FWD. I could not break loose the QUATRO without possible legal repercussions

FWD sports sedsan Is really not even a german philosophy so i really dont get it. When i lived in Boston in the late 80's FWD was great in te snow, bec it pulls the car rather than pu****s not like RWD performance.

To illustrate my point, AUDI changed the ratio to favor the rear wheels (Its now 60/40) to make the car feel more like the traditional RWD but get a Quatro on a roadcourse and it will outhandle most RWD's. People just dont get how AWD actualy handes better. They think you only need them for rain and snow. Not true at all. For eample, The S4 with its standard AWD was much better than the 335i in the slalom

av_audi

AWD does not change the coefficient of friction of the tires. AWD has also no effect on hydroplaning. And my bet is that there were more important factors differentiating the handling between your A4 and SUV

Where AWD makes a difference is in transferring power to the pavement. On slippery surfaces, it allows you to accelerate harder, but you have to remember it won't help you brake any better. On curved trajectories, it does the same thing. You can accelerate harder out of curves before starting losing traction. FWD cars are the worst for this, as acceleration shifts weight to the rear, further reducing the friction threshold on tires that are already being taxed by both steering and traction forces. But if you break loose, you just slow down. With RWD, the weight shift and steering both work to your advantage. But if you apply too much power and your rear loses grip, you may lose control if you don't react very fast. AWD offers you the best of both worlds, but it comes with some penalties such as reduced efficiency (fuel consumption and reduced power to the wheels) and increased weight (reduces braking performance).

With the power levels the A4 has reached, AWD is probably worth it. A FWD A4 with a manual could offer great efficiency in a well handling package that would out-accelerate the AWD version when road curvature is not a factor. But in the US, we only get CVT, which I am not crazy about.

av_audi

The tighter a course, the more powering out of tight curves you do, so the more AWD becomes an advantage. A slalom is as tight of a course as you can imagine. On more open faster courses, the extra weight and extra transmission losses of AWD may hand over the advantage to RWD.

NickZag

I would agree with that. RWD would tend to understeer/oversteer when being pushed in a very tight cone coarse, especially while under throttle. The AWD will deffinetly understeed, but it's very predictable and forgiving when you start to lose traction and doesn't need to be settled as much as when you start to lose traction with a RWD system.

gunsmoker

Before I moved to the US some 10 years ago, I used to derive satisfaction from fast driving. By fast I mean 110-130mph, uninterrupted for 1-2 hours. The cars there weren't speed-limited electronically, the roads were not very busy, although not looking their best, the cops were corrupt and basically it was a race with myself to see how fast the car would go. The last car I had there was an Audi 80 B4 with a 2.0E 90hp engine and the best it could do was about 129mph. Drive at such speeds for an hour or so and you feel spent when you get out of the car from all the concentration, the adrenaline (it's public roads and highways after all)... Regardless of that I felt like I enjoyed it.

When I moved to Massachusetts, it was a bit of a disappointment - I got a car that was over 2x more powerful, but the roads were busy and not built for high speeds (I admire the American practicality, though), plus I was forced by law to drive half my top speed and couldn't risk to get arrested. Then I discovered the joy of driving on twisty roads. Driving fairly close to the speed limit could give me much more enjoyment, no physical exhaustion, and little risk of having a serious run-in with the law. That is where the AWD shines.

SFV A4

Depends what is important to you. Do you live in a wet and snowy climate? Do you drive at full speed around all your neighborhood street corners? Do you race your car? Do you value cost and sticker pricing? Are you trying to save money? Do you value better gas mileage? These are the factors to consider. There is no yes or no answer for all people to follow. It comes down to what you find important.

GR8-LIFE

This what I love about roadcourses. I have driven on 3 tracks (Sebring, homestead and Morosso). Whereas straights are nice for high HP Cars, the fun is in the tight turns and twisties. Straights get boring. I love the feeling of G's. It also increases driving skills and allows you to see what your car can really do.