I'm looking to buy a new car in the next few months and I've narrowed it down to 3 cars: 2005 G35 Coupe 6MT, 2005/6 Mazda RX-8 6MT, and Acura RSX Type-S. I know that these are very different cars and I have different reasons for liking each one. One of the reasons that I like the Acura is because it's a front wheel drive and I wouldn't have to worry about buying a second set of rims/tires for winter (I live in Pittsburgh, PA). My question to you is: would a rear-wheel drive car like the G35 or RX-8 that is equipped with winter tires handle as good if not better than a front-wheel drive car like the RSX in snow and ice? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

front wheel drive will always be better than rwd... it's just the nature of physics. but i was quite pleased with the way my car drove last winter. i had winter tires on the car and it drove great. i only had 2 instances during the entire winter where the cars rear end broke away from the snow. technology has come a long way for vehicle stability control and winter tire compounds. it may not be the same but rwd can truly be tamed for the winter. if u really have your heart set on one car as opposed to another and swapping tires is not a problem then don't let the winter slush sway your vote.

 

I had an accord v6 coupe before i got my G. The honda had some all-seasons, dont remember the brand, for the G I got the blizzaks on 17" rims. I can say with full confidence that the G on blizzacks was way better than the accord with the all seasons. In my opinion tyres are 80% of winter traction.

Just wantede to add ... It seems that the G on blizzacks handled the snow better than most awd suv I have seen on the road (which I am sure had all season tyres). And I am not talking about some light snow, but the last NY winter and the one before that.

 

FWD and All weather...

 

I agree 100% with G35gnome. Tires are most of the battle.

I had my Acura CLS with all-seasons and that thing was a total pig in the snow! Having a front-heavy, front-wheel drive car is like having a snowplow!

Give me traction control, a well balanced car and a set of snow tires any day of any week.

 

Tires choice is 70% of the game. The 2nd most important thing is driver skillz. Of course AWD is better than 2WD. On FWD vs RWD on snow, I wouldn't say one is necessarily better than the other with good drivers. However, with less talented drivers, FWD might just be safer under all driving conditions.

 

right now i have a wrx and i go with the guys who say tires are most of the battle...you can have awd and bad tires and have a whole lot more trouble than any front or rear wheel drive. i had a rwd firebird before the wrx and it handled pretty good with even all seasons and v8 torque in the winter, i just used to have a few sandbags in the back when it was bad.