Best RWD Cars

Many still believe that it is the same with cars - to go behind and change direction through the front, weighed down by the power plant. Economics and equipment have meant that rear-wheel drive cars have quickly become a minority in the affordable realm, at the expense of attractive road manners and driving dynamics.

How good is front wheel drive? Car companies like it because they can be made lighter (no driveshaft and rear differential), quieter (fewer moving parts under passengers for the same reason), and roomier for passengers. But the inherent balance and handling of a vehicle with rear wheel drive and front wheels associated only with steering has long been a desirable transmission layout.

Holden Commodore SS V Redline

Despite the clouds hanging over the local industry, the Holden team has built some of the funniest rear wheel drive cars of recent times, the latest being the $52,000 VF Commodore SS V Redline.

Choose your body style - sedan, station wagon or ute - and hit your favorite back road with electronic backup and a chassis that doesn't require it, barring some stupidity on the part of the driver. It's not the most powerful rear-wheel drive sedan - the endangered HSV or FPV models boast more power, and the latter more nasty moments - but Redline makes the most of its nonsense.

Honorable Mention also deserves Chrysler 300 SRT8 core, having recently driven the wet roads of Adelaide Hills at the Targa Adelaide event. It remained straight and true thanks to chassis dynamics that prevented unintentional lateral cornering despite the best efforts at 347kW and 631Nm.

Manual transmissions may well be on the list of dying cars, but rear-wheel drive cars aren't dead yet. Last incarnation Mazda MX-5 — a revolutionary two-seater convertible that arrived in 1989 for under $30,000 — has remained true to its predecessors' lightweight, balanced recipe, even if it's gotten a little more luxurious. The prices of some others have made the little Mazda a little rich, but it remains one of the truly great sports cars of the last century.

Toyota and Subaru joined forces (Toyota owns a significant stake in Subaru's parent company FHI) on a two-door coupe project that brought front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel drive entertainment back to the masses... or at least to those who were willing to wait months. for the privilege. That 86/BRZ (last year's Carsguide Car of the Year winners) is the 21st century corner cutter at a discounted price that blew Mazda's price point pedestal.

Flexible and enthusiastic, the boxer four-cylinder coupe resurrected the realm of affordable sports cars. That Subaru BRZ more sport-oriented, while the Toyota version offers a wider range of options, including options with an automatic transmission. “Driving pleasure again” was the mantra of Toyota marketing, and this time they didn’t shovel the final product.

USED

There are sports cars, muscle cars and supercars, and there are 911. Its rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive layout wouldn't be what you would call mainstream unless your last name was Porsche, but when it started, even the most optimistic family members wouldn't believe the 911's durability.

Traction was considerable given the rear-biased weight balancing, but the engineers' perseverance allowed it to not only survive, but thrive. Once slated for history books with the advent of the 928, the 911 has seen its intended replacement eat up the dust and its reign as an icon continues.

Nowadays, at a price slightly higher than that of the SS V Redline wagon, you can get your own specimen of the breed, and there's even a backseat... of sorts. The 996 series was launched in August 2001 and you can find 2002 Porsche 911 models priced between $59,000 and $65,000, some with less than 100,000 km on the clock.

Equipped with a six-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission, the 3.6-liter flat-six engine develops 235kW of power and 370Nm of torque, enough at production time to sprint to 100km/h in 6.2 seconds. Or, if you're feeling even more adventurous, there are a number of older options with similar price tags, including turbocharged options.