mobilezen

I apologize if this has been discussed before. I was trying to find a thread about it but couldn't pick up and pertinant information. why did Honda go with FWD? The only answer I could find is that FWD is more suited for the general public whereas RWD would have more trouble in snow covered areas or slick roads. I have been looking at a plethora of cars. Ideally I want Manual Tranny, HID, RWD or AWD, Sporty, fun factor. Please discuss.

caball88

besides the nsx and s2000 when has honda made a rwd car? fwd is safer in weather, all previous generations of the TL are fwd. its built on a shared platform that the accord uses as well. they also share the same engine for the most part. hondas have always made front wheel drive cars.

mobilezen

Is it the J32A?

caball88

i believe it is the j32a but tuned up from the last gen TL-S.

adam209

you're talking about either the s2k or the nsx if that's what you want. maybe the 05 rl if it comes in awd

mobilezen

...Ideally RWD/AWD...just trying to everybody's point of view, be it aesthetics/technical/religous?

caball88

or an MDX but it will not handle like a sports car at all.

adam209

i wouldn't consider to mdx to be sporty of have much of a fun factor

rets

I worry if 05RL comes with VTM-4 system instead of real AWD.

It's FWD plus 4-wheel-drive...

UminChu

If you're asking why Honda designed a FWD Gen3 TL to compete in a market niche consisting of mostly RWD products, the answer is simple economics. The TL shares platform and major powertrain components with a V6 Accord. The Accord is Honda's cash cow, so the TL is adapted from Accord underpinnings, rather than vice versa.

This is purely speculation on my part, but I would guess that you are far more likely to see an AWD TL adaptation of a FWD Accord layout, just as the MDX is an AWD variant of the FWD Odyssey platform, produced in the same factory.

The Accord is a FWD car and will remain so. It competes exclusively with FWD offerings. To design and build a RWD TL would require an entirely new chassis design from the ground up, as well as separate manufacturing facilities, tooling, staffing and support. How is Nissan able to build and sell a RWD model? G35s are adaptations of the Skyline platform, an already existing RWD model previously offered exclusively to the Japanese market. They build G35 variants in the same factory, and market them as Infinitis. Honda has no midsize RWD model in any market to compete with the Skyline. Instead, they create an upscale vehicle from Accord roots to compete within the entry level luxo sport sedan segment.

catsailr

One of the main points of FWD is space efficiency. This is the main reason manufacturers went to FWD. A car would have more interior space without the drive shaft and rear differental. Another benefit is better traction in rain and snow.

RWD is better suited for 'performance' driving, but most people don't drive this way. The majority of people don't know anything about cars and probably don't even know the difference between FWD and RWD, and probably don't know which their car has.

daven8844x

Maybe I'm just a little inexperienced because this is the first CAR I've ever owned (always been a truck/SUV/Jeep man), but my 6spd is fast as crap and handles great. I'd say you could use this car for performance driving. I love when I shift in to 2nd and I just let it open up, the acceleration blows me away. Then taking 90 degree turns at speeds that would easily flip an SUV (all in the safety of well known roads with good site of course). This car will not dissapoint you.

JPTLS03

From what I've read, Acura might go to the AWD Hybrid. Rear wheels to be driven by an electric motor charged by the engine. I guess we will see April 9th at the NYI Auto Show.

EZZ

The good thing about the G35x is that the car is essentially RWD until traction is lost. The car then becomes AWD by distributing the power to the front wheels. Most performance enthusiasts don't just get RWD because it has higher limits but it feels "better" driving normally. You don't get that incessant plowing through corners and with a 50/50 balance, the car handles transitions much more confidently. I would hope that the AWD hybrid can at least mimic the handling of the RWD car but will it give the TL a better weight balance and feel?

Ken1997TL

99% of drivers will never know the difference. And 0.5% will notice the the difference and probably shouldn't have a license.

The remaining 0.5% buy hard core products, such as S2000's or BMW's M3/M5's.

daviddww

I would have gone with the G35x if I could have gotten in with a manual. The ugliness of the car (interior and exterior) would be negligable compared to the advantage of AWD

Edward'TLS

No, you don't have to suffer with the (interior/exterior) ugliness of the G35. Nowadays there are more and more AWD cars to choose from : Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes, Subaru, Volvo, etc...

Zuubah

UminChu is entirely correct on why FWD.
Most consumers cannot understand why something is or isnt the way they want it to be, simply because they are thinking about it from a consumer's point of view. The car companies think about it from a $$$ point of view. And from Honda's point, why not take a mass produced vehicle, slap some nice interior touches into it with an upgraded front and rear, then sell it for 5-10 grand more? It is a no brainer, as to why the TL is FWD. And, coincidentally, it is a no brainer why we all want it to be AWD.

~Z

EZZ

I agree 99% of ALL drivers would not know the difference but the TL TARGET audience would know the difference. They are catering to sports enthusiasts and upscale car buyers and many are auto enthusiasts who are more knowledgable than the typical buyer. My older supra still feels great compared to most of my friends FWD (even including the integra) and still feels very much like an IS300 (which is a great handler).

1SICKLEX

Word. And if you can't tell the difference between FWD and RWD (not enthusiast), you have never owned both.

daviddww

True, but I keep my cars until 200K, so you will never see me in a German car, and the Subaru isn't "upscale" enough for my 35,000 miles/year. Got to be Japanese!

webster

" Carmakers usher in return of the Hump" from National Post in Canada...Rear - Wheel drive back in vogue: Big Tree gear up with new drivetrains.

Here is what the big three are saying now..." Front wheel drive was not introduced because the technology was better. It came to dominate the lower-price levels of the automotive industry during the 1980's because it eliminated weight, and the hump- and it freed up interior space in smaller cars, which suddenly became necessary after oil crisis.
Front wheel drive was introduced because it is cheaper to manufacture. In the 1980's some car companies admitted that installing the engine and tranny as one assembly unit saved them as much as $1,500 per car.
While the savings were the reason front wheel drive was introduced, the new drivetrains certainly did not help drivers because insurance rates rocketed.
Repair costs turned out to be much higher then the when front wheel cars were involved in front - end accidents....as much as 3 to 4 times higher than a rear wheel drive.
In Canada and USA, front wheel drive has always been sold as better to drive in the snow. But experienced drivers often disagree with that assessment, much referring the oversteer of rear wheel drive cars in the snow to the undrsteer inherent front wheel drive.
Simply put it is easier to control a rear wheel drive skid than a front wheel skid.
Despite this, manufacturers have their work cut out for them convincing their customers they were wrong about preferring front wheel drive all these years."

Edward'TLS

I guess only a handful of hardcore performance-seeking drivers and car-magazine editors would prefer the performance of RWD over FWD. The majority of car buyers look for 0-60 numbers, value, feature, price, etc. This is evident from the sales figure of the TL.

The 2nd generation FWD TL had been the best selling sport sedan in its class (RWD and AWD included) ever since its introduction. The current TL is selling strong. All these buyers don't seem to care much about the performance edge of RWD over FWD. Otherwise, they would be flocking over to buy RWD cars.

Meanwhile, hardcore drivers complain, car mag. editors complain, but the TL is still flying off the dealerships' car lots. Would RWD matters ? The sales figure tells all.

caball88

whoever said rwd is easier to control in the snow compared to a fwd has never driven one in the snow? what the hell are they snorting and how much did they snort? my last 2 cars were rear wheel drive cars and it fish tails in about 1 inch of snow. i almost died this year because i spun out along with another car(who was also rwd) on the highway. when it snows hard i resort to this old beatup camry with fwd. i have driven that in snow storms and managed to get home safely (slowly but safely). if rwd was actually decent in snow i might have gotten a g35 coupe or 350z. the fwd of the TL was actually one of the selling points that made me purchase the car. i dun care about torque steer, i drive like a normal person.

1SICKLEX

Uhh, cause the TL was the cheapest. A TL-P was a 27k car and a TL-S was 31k.

webster

I think they are referring to :

"Simply put it is easier to control a rear wheel drive skid than a front wheel skid."

I agree with you that it is easier to get the rear wheel drive into a skid situation however once you get the front wheel drive into a skid look out !