5 Cars That Should Be Rear-Wheel Drive CarBuzz News Features New Cars Used Cars Sell My Car Shopping Tools Car Reviews Car Finder Compare Cars Best Cars Car Dealerships Used Car Reviews Car Advice Home Features 5 Cars That Should Be Rear-Wheel Drive
5 Cars That Should Be Rear-Wheel Drive
Apr. 19, 2020 7:25 PM ET by Jared Rosenholtz Opinion / 15 Comments These cars deserve to do smokey burnouts. Ask any car enthusiast what their preferred drivetrain is and you will likely get rear-wheel-drive as a response. RWD is the ideal setup for sports cars because it frees up the front wheels to do the steering and the rear wheels to handle the power delivery. It also allows for smokey burnouts. The trouble is, RWD cars are more complex to produce and are therefore more expensive. This is why most practical economy cars like the 2020 Mazda6 sedan are front-wheel-drive. The Mazda6 is an interesting example because despite being FWD, it is pretty enjoyable to drive compared to its competitors. However, recent rumors suggest the next Mazda will move to a RWD platform, which got us thinking: What other cars would we like to see make the switch from FWD to RWD? Here are five cars we think should make the move. CarBuzz 1 Nissan Maxima
Long touted as a "four-door sports car," the Nissan Maxima possesses the styling you'd expect from a sporty sedan but not the drivetrain. The current Maxima sends 300 horsepower from a 3.5-liter V6 out to the front wheels through a continuously variable transmission (CVT). In an ideal world, we'd love to see Nissan grace the Maxima with Infiniti's 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 producing between 350 to 400 hp, sending power out to the rear wheels through a traditional automatic or, if we are truly dreaming, a six-speed manual. CarBuzz CarBuzz CarBuzz 2 Toyota Avalon
Once seen as a boring runabout for retirees in Boca Raton, the Toyota Avalon has been completely transformed in its latest generation. It's now a pretty hot looking sedan and there is even a sporty TRD variant with aggressive bodywork, handling improvements, and a cat-back exhaust. The current Avalon drives pretty well, especially in TRD trim, but we'd like to see Toyota build a full-on Kia Stinger competitor with RWD, much like the old Chaser that was only offered in Japan. CarBuzz CarBuzz CarBuzz 3 Chevrolet Blazer
We see the Chevrolet Blazer for what it is, a cool-looking crossover at a time when crossover sales are skyrocketing. Aside from the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota 4Runner, there aren't many mid-size body-on-frame vehicles left on the market. Ford is re-entering this segment with the upcoming Bronco, so we'd like to see Chevy do the same with a new model. Since the Blazer and Trailblazer names are already taken, GM might have to dig up another name from its illustrious past. Avalanche, perhaps? CarBuzz CarBuzz CarBuzz 4 Any Mini
RWD is preferred for most sports cars but FWD does have a valuable purpose for affordable hot hatchbacks. These cars are typically more practical than sports cars but are still fun to drive. Mini builds a large assortment of fun-to-drive hot hatches under its John Cooper Works performance division but the company has never dabbled with a RWD model. We would love to see Mini build a RWD coupe/convertible to rival the Mazda Miata. It would keep the classic Mini styling but offer its own unique driving experience. Mini Mini CarBuzz CarBuzz 5 Lincoln Continental
Along with the entire Ford car lineup, the Lincoln Continental will die off after its current generation. The Continental is a great value full-size luxury sedan but even a Coach Door special edition wasn't enough to save the car from rising SUV popularity. If Lincoln had made the Continental RWD, would it have sold in greater numbers? Probably not. But we still think a full-size sedan with a 400-hp twin-turbo V6, RWD, and coach doors would make for an impressive vehicle. Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Join The Discussion
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Toyota Avalon Nissan Maxima Chevrolet Blazer Lincoln Continental Jared Rosenholtz Editor-at-Large After graduating with an MBA, Jared pursued his love of cars by becoming an automotive journalist. An internship with CarBuzz grew into his current position as Editor At Large. Jared now spends most of his time evaluating new vehicles and chasing the latest news stories in the automotive industry. When he’s not attending Cars & Coffee events on the weekend, Jared loves to watch NFL football and cruise around with the top down in his German convertible. Contact Jared @Carsnbites @jar_rosenholtz LoginSign Up Home News Features Car Reviews Car Advice 2021 CarBuzz Awards New Cars Used Cars Future Cars Compare Cars Sell My Car Car Dealerships Buy Here Pay Here Used Car Reviews Popular Tags Cars # Video # TOP # Spy Shots # Reveal # Rumor # Auto Show # Supercar # Tuning # Car Culture # Industry News # Motorsport Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Make Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Car Type SUVs Crossovers Sedans Coupes Trucks Sports Cars Wagons Vans Hatchbacks Convertibles Small Cars Luxury Cars Electric Cars Hybrid Cars Future Cars By Price Up to $15K $15K - $25K $25K - $35K $35K - $45K $45K - $55K $55K - $75K $75K - $100K $100K - $200K $200K - $300K Above $300K Back To Top