What set of tires in a car the engine delivers power to matters a lot more than what the uninitiated might think. Car manufacturers and engineers spend a lot of time deciding where the engine will be placed in their car, and exactly what drivetrain the car would be equipped with. Not only is a vehicle's weight distribution dependent on the drivetrain, but even the handling and dimensions of the car itself. Whether a car is FWD, AWD, or RWD also decides a potential car's market position and pricing in a car brand's lineup.
While all-wheel or four-wheel drive layouts are usually suited for off-road vehicles, front-wheel drive is better suited for economic, everyday commuter cars. Rear-wheel drive, on the other hand, is usually reserved for sports cars, and while this allocation does tend to be the norm, there are way too many exceptions to the norms. That said, let's take a look at some FWD cars which really could've done a lot better and been so much more impressive had they been RWD.
10 Chevrolet Cobalt SS
Gearheads love and remember the Chevy Cobalt SS as one of the most underrated and underappreciated American performance cars ever. The Cobalt SS was an affordable sports compact car, and it came housing a 2.0-liter four-cylinder power unit that was turbocharged and cranked out 260 horsepower.
Despite being a great sleeper car that anybody would love to have, the Cobalt SS did have one thing missing, and that was rear-wheel drive. Despite being on the sporty side, Chevy had designed the Cobalt SS to be a budget car, and thus went the way of front-wheel drive, sadly leaving an RWD Cobalt SS nothing but a pipe dream.
9 Lincoln Continental
After several years of production, the last few of which were marred by declining sales, Lincoln put an end to the iconic Continental in 2002, much to the sadness of gearheads. However, when in 2017 the brand decided to bring the Continental nameplate back, it was one of the best decisions they could have made, period.
This here is a car with an incredible history and an equally impressive heritage, and the Lincoln Continental's quality and performance live up to its name. Sadly, the one decision from its makers we can't wrap our head around is not equipping the continental with RWD. While nobody buys the FWD version and people usually only go for the AWD variant, a rear-wheel drivetrain on the Lincoln Continental could have boosted the vehicle's image and prestige even further. Sadly, the Continental was discontinued yet again, two years ago.
8 Mini Cooper S
Ever since BMW took over the MINI brand, the English brand had churned out some of the most exhilarating small cars to ever grace the market. Mini Coopers are some of the most exciting small cars to drive, which makes them a prime (and obvious) example on this list.
The special John Cooper Works models that the brand churns out have the most horsepower, which makes it an even bigger shame that these cars don't come equipped with RWD. With such outstanding performance and an even more impressive power-to-weight ratio, the cars truly should come equipped with rear-wheel drive, and we would love to see one.
7 Oldsmobile Toronado
One of the most beautiful cars to ever have been adorned with the Oldsmobile badge was the first-generation Oldsmobile Toronado. Oldsmobile, back in its heyday, was truly a remarkable manufacturer, and easily one of America's most innovative car brands.
This is why they opted to use the FWD platform for the Toronado, which was, at the time, quite new and revolutionary. Sadly, however, the Toronado could have benefited from RWD, as gearheads and muscle car lovers alike never got to see the car's 425 cubic-inch Rocket V8 deliver all of its 385 horses to the rear wheels.
6 Volkswagen Arteon
The days of Volkswagen being known simply for making cheap and economical commuter cars were over several years ago, as the brand's lineup now has stylish sedans and SUVs that could give any competitor a run for their money. The German automobile titan had incredible success with the CC, and the Arteon succeeded the CC in 2019.
The Arteon is a fairly impressive four-door sedan. It is stylish, elegant, and packs enough punch to be impressive when pushed. Plush and loaded with tech on the inside, there isn't a lot to complain about when it comes to the Arteon, except the fact that Volkswagen didn't outfit it with an RWD drivetrain, and instead continues to offer it only in AWD or FWD formats.
5 Volvo S90
Here's another one of the most elegant and aesthetic four-door luxury sedans one could buy today. The Volvo S90 has only one petrol engine, which, while quite controversial in itself, still develops 247 horsepower on a 2.0-liter displacement.
However, there simply is no denying the fact that the brand could have done a lot better in the drivetrain aspect. Much like its predecessor the S80, the Volvo S90 is offered with FWD and AWD as the only layout options. After all, the S90 can churn out great performance when required and should have had an RWD layout available at the very least.
4 Chevrolet Impala
The Chevy Impala, over its long and storied career, has been at the top as well as the bottom of Chevrolet's lineup. However, the one thing that remained constant in the car was its RWD setup. Thus, when Chevy decided to switch the Impala to FWD-only in the new century, it eventually ended up spelling doom for the legendary car.
After all, the Impala stood as one of the icons of purebred American performance cars and turning it into FWD only made it more of a commuter, and even a basic, unexciting car for fleets and even the police departments. With its engine tuned for more performance and an RWD layout, we have no doubt that the Impala could have lived a lot longer and would also have been many gearheads' go-to sleeper cars.
3 BMW 1-Series
The BMW 1-Series has, for years now, been the most exciting hot hatches on the market. The Bavarians, too, have developed a bold reputation of being the stronghold of RWD. This made BMW's decision to switch from RWD to FWD for the 1-Series in 2019 all the more controversial and shocking.
For years, the 1-Series had been the only cool RWD hatchback to buy, yet that is no longer the case, which takes a certain fun factor away from the current generation's BMW 1-Series. The driving experience is simply not as thrilling or engaging as an RWD car.
2 Nissan Maxima
The 8th generation of the Maxima back in 2015 was a clear sign from Nissan that the Japanese car-makers were stepping their game up. The Maxima was no longer an unappealing family sedan and a commuter. Nissan improved the car's styling, which now became sporty and slightly aggressive, giving it a very modern look.
Even the performance went up a notch, with a 3.5-liter V6 engine that churned out a whopping 300 horsepower, propelling the new Maxima to the 60 mph mark in just under 6 seconds. In its 2022 version, the car is more powerful than ever. No longer a boring family sedan, it was such a shame that the Maxima didn't come with an RWD layout, as that could easily have made gearheads flock to the new avatar of the car, and opened up a whole new customer base for the Maxima.
1 Ford Taurus SHO
One of the best sleeper cars in American automotive history, the Ford Taurus SHO is a great choice even today if one is looking for a performance sedan that doesn't break the bank. The Taurus SHO's unassuming exterior housed a powerful 3.0-liter V6 sourced from Yamaha.
Even the modern variants of the Taurus were impressive, but sadly, the car was destined to remain a family sedan, and Ford outfitted it with front-wheel drive only throughout the production run which ended in 2019. Undoubtedly, the Taurus could have been considered in the territory of the ultimate performance sedans and sleeper cars had Ford chosen to offer it with an RWD layout.