How perilous is rear-wheel drive (RWD) in icy/snowy/rainy conditions?

March 4, 2020 6:27 PM

Is it just-drive-slow-and-be-extra-careful perilous, or just-not-a-good-idea perilous?

About year ago I asked this question about RWD vs FWD/AWD in high performance cars. At the time I was living in San Diego, where perfect year-round weather (no ice, snow, or rain) made RWD the far better choice.

Having since moved to northern Virginia, which has "real" winters with ice and snow, and gets plenty of rain year-round; and having put off buying a car because of said move, I'm back again for advice about RWD vs AWD in the Audi S5, BMW 440, and Lexus RC 350. All three are A LOT more fun to drive in RWD, but RWD is notoriously bad in bad conditions. The question is, how bad is "bad," and are there any workarounds? Thanks.

posted by BadgerDoctor to Travel & Transportation (17 answers total)

Well, I actually answered your last question since I'm originally from San Diego, but I also lived in Virginia, and took the Tacoma I mentioned in your last question to Wisconsin and Michigan. The Tacoma had 4WD, but not full time so most of the time I was driving with just RWD, even in winter. Since it was a pickup, I was probably at a bit of a disadvantage in slippery conditions because I didn't have much weight on my back tires compared to a passenger car or SUV, but I did get some sandbags for the back of the truck to remediate that a bit. So, rain in all locations was never a big deal for me with just RWD. In snow, it wasn't awful, but the standard advice for driving in snow no matter your drivetrain applies - just don't do anything too quickly. If things were plowed and iced and there was bare or wet pavement in snow country (i.e. not packed snow or ice) I'd just leave my truck in RWD and it wouldn't be that bad. The dangers are that you'll overpower your rear wheels and fishtail or have your rear end spin out, starting from a stop on snow or ice can be challenging, and going up an icy hill may be very difficult. I worked with a guy in Wisconsin who drove a RWD Cadillac and he did fine. A neighbor of mine now has a Dodge Charger with a hemi and he seems to do OK. It'll help to have some experience, and AWD or FWD would certainly be better, but RWD is not impossible.
posted by LionIndex at 6:43 PM on March 4, 2020

Up here in New England a lot of folks with high power RWD car will have a winter car in addition. My friend’s RX-8 was pretty undrivable one or two days a year in Massachusetts.

However I would think the milder winter in Virginia would probably be ok.
posted by creiszhanson at 6:44 PM on March 4, 2020

The only thing with Virginia is that they're not really set up for heavy snow like places further north are - I went to school in Charlottesville and would push a couple people out of the gutter every time there was snow just because they didn't have the plow and salt crews that places like Michigan have. Maybe NoVa is a bit different.
posted by LionIndex at 6:46 PM on March 4, 2020

RWD is notoriously bad fun in bad conditions

FTFY.

IMHO, if you know how to drive RWD enough that you find it preferable to FWD, then you'll do fine with RWD in bad conditions. FWD has many of the same problems, it's just that when they arise, you may have a bit more time before they spiral out of control. If you're paying attention, it's a wash.

I've actually had to drive FWD in reverse up snowy hills, because RWD is better in that situation. Neither will magically save you from ice.

If available, AWD is a good option, though typically with slightly lower efficiency and higher cost. I have a Lexus GS350AWD which has been solid through rain, sun and a bit of snow in Portland Oregon. Of your options, I would take the Lexus in a heartbeat. I bet an AWD RC would be fun, too. Maybe some year...

ETA: Whoa, they make an AWD RC! That's what I'd pick!
posted by spacewrench at 6:52 PM on March 4, 2020 [4 favorites]

Remember that for many many years all Volvos, a car originating in Sweden, were RWD. It's doable to drive in bad conditions, it just requires some practice.

As usual, the thing to remember about AWD in snow is the "fly yes, land no" rule: it only helps you go, not stop. For stopping you'll want snow tires.

Finally... I'm not sure how to put this, but... as someone who moved from Virginia to Maine: Virginia winters are extremely mild. And then when there's an actual snow event the entire region shuts down because they don't have good plowing and sanding. I wrote the first part of this assuming you were moving to Michigan or something.
posted by selfnoise at 7:03 PM on March 4, 2020 [5 favorites]

What do you think people in snow drove before FWD/AWD cars were a thing? If you're in the mountains or other hilly areas like the western part of Virginia then AWD can come in handy. If you're out where streets aren't likely to get plowed and you're going to go out anyway, AWD. For the most part RWD and snow tires would be what I grew up with. You just need a bit of practice.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:42 PM on March 4, 2020

It’s fine.

Winter driving 101: get winter tires. They make a FWD car handle better in snow and ice than any AWD on all season tires. Period. They make a RWD car at least equal to a FWD on all seasons.

My FWD Mazda on Blizzaks has never met a Massachusetts storm it couldn’t handle and my place is super rural and mountainous. It’s invincible. I laugh at people in Subarus but with shit tires creeping along.

I learned to drive on old RWD cars and trucks in New England before there were antilock brakes or traction control. As long as you had real snow tires you were always just fine.
posted by spitbull at 8:02 PM on March 4, 2020 [5 favorites]

I would dispute that AWD versions of the cars you listed, however, are so much less “fun” to drive in RWD. AWD is used in plenty of performance and sports cars to get power down to the ground with maximum efficiency. They aren’t 4WD. They have adaptive AWD with a RWD bias. They have better traction, so they’re harder to drift and slide, but then you aren’t drifting and sliding on public roads in Virginia, are you? Or even going very fast most of the time. Or have you not examined the state’s notoriously tough traffic laws and ticket-happy cops? It’s the worst.

Get the AWD and it will be plenty fun and safer. And then get snow tires. Laying rubber isn’t “fun” compared to owning corners in all weather.
posted by spitbull at 8:08 PM on March 4, 2020 [3 favorites]

Many luxury RWD sedans (like a CTS-V or a Tesla Model S), have enough instrumentation and sensors to provide throttle control to avoid torque steer even in icy conditions.
posted by nickggully at 8:12 PM on March 4, 2020 [3 favorites]

I'm from Michigan, and lived in the northern burbs of Chicago for several years, and I honestly wouldn't recommend RWD in winter. Of all the things I saw, the one that sticks out, all these years later, was being with my cousin (D3 offensive lineman) in his Blazer at a red light behind a BMW Z3. The intersection rose a bit in the middle of the crossing, and the curb/gutter was at the bottom of the slight slope. When the light turned green, the BMW's wheels started spinning and the car just started sliding, rear end first, down (and backwards) into the gutter. Before I could do anything, my cousin had already put his SUV into park, jumped out, and pushed the car back into the intersection where they were able to gain traction and move forward. He was so fast at it simply because he had a lot of practice with similar situations.

So, yeah, at least FWD, but 4WD is a lot better in the snow.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:24 PM on March 4, 2020 [1 favorite]

Many luxury RWD sedans (like a CTS-V or a Tesla Model S), have enough instrumentation and sensors to provide throttle control to avoid torque steer even in icy conditions.

Mmmmm. No, I wouldn't agree with that and I drive on snow a good chunk of the year. There are many situations where RWD sucks in the snow in a non-fixable way. Tires will help a bit but not that much. Starting from a stop on hills, deeper snow in intersections, unplowed side roads, unplowed parking spots etc don't benefit much from traction control. well maintained main roads are probably OK. but when you lose it in the snow in a RWD car you really lose it, it's an experience you'll remember.
posted by fshgrl at 9:12 PM on March 4, 2020

Speaking as an Oregon transplant that gets annoyed at California drivers who don't know how to drive in the rain, it's really not that hard to handle rain, and pretty much any vehicle will handle rain fine. There are a few main issues with the rain. First, (obviously) the roads are more slippery and so stopping distance increases (approximately by double is a good rule of thumb), and if it hasn't rained in a while the residual oil and dust on the road may make it a bit more slippery than that. Second, visibility decreases, either due to the rain itself, accompanying fog, or just because the other cars on the road are kicking up mist. The average California driver I have experience with either goes way too fast in the rain because they don't remember that you need a greater stopping distance, or drives slowly but erratically because they don't know how to handle the moisture falling from the sky, which in turn causes the people behind them to dangerously slam on their breaks or perform risky maneuvers to get around them.

My advice for rainy weather driving: make sure you have decent tread on your tires and replace your wipers if they're worn (you should generally replace them every year or two). When it's raining, turn on your headlights. Drive defensively and deliberately. While this is the case in any weather, rainy weather especially is not the time to be cutting people off or forgetting to use your turn signal. Accelerate smoothly, brake smoothly, don't let yourself be distracted by cellphones or whatever else. Keep more space than you'd think you need between you and the car in front of you, and avoid driving above the speed limit.

As for snow, the other answers have that covered, and I suspect that you probably won't be dealing with all that much snow anyway.
posted by Aleyn at 10:00 PM on March 4, 2020

RWD is notoriously bad fun in bad conditions

FTFY.

That's exactly what popped into my head too! Pleasant nostalgia for the days of RWD with no computerized traction control.

My strategy for driving any car in any slippery conditions is to always get a feel for it right at the start of every trip on a quiet side road / safe parking lot with no obstacles. Work yourself up to accelerating, braking, and turning fast to see how the car reacts and how you need to react to compensate. This gives you a much better sense of how much space you need to leave / what speed you need to limit yourself to on corners / etc once you get into traffic.
posted by fairmettle at 1:17 AM on March 5, 2020

I drove this in the snow in Vermont without many problems. It is a small pickup RWD so essentially the worst possible vehicle to drive in the snow. Dad was a Mazda salesman so we got a good deal on it. It really wasn't that bad in the snow given proper snow tires, but our FWD cars were noticeably better. I have driven it in proper snow storms and while it was a bit touchy I got home no problems. Be careful and it shouldn't be a big deal.
posted by koolkat at 4:17 AM on March 5, 2020

If your car happens to be a RWD EV, then the situation is a little different - see here for discussion. - briefly EVs tend to have more precise traction control and a more even weight distribution than their ICE counterparts. Drivers might want to lower the regen level of their breaking in snowy conditions to reduce the risk of it causing skids.
posted by rongorongo at 5:19 AM on March 5, 2020

Also gonna vote for the Lexus by the way. Although myself I’d take the S5.
posted by spitbull at 6:10 AM on March 5, 2020

Those luxury cars have traction control, which removes most of the FWD/RWD issues (still leaves turning, but at least taking off from a stop...)

I drove a 1970 Impala - rear wheel drive, no traction control, hell not even positraction, so only one back wheel would spin like crazy - as a daily driver for years. I would contend that if someone with FWD isn't driving with enough deliberation as they would with RWD, then they're driving too fast for the situation.
posted by notsnot at 8:25 AM on March 5, 2020