Originally posted by: Arkaign
Originally posted by: zerocool84
Originally posted by: kabob983
Originally posted by: zerocool84
What about cars like the MS3 or SRT-4??? It really depends what you mean by sports car cus some of those choices aren't sports cars.
Mazdaspeed 3 I'd include but the SRT-4...it's a flippin' Neon!!
So no Cobalt either? There is also a new SRT-4. I'm just trying to keep this poll fairly equal.
FWD can be fast, there's no denying that, your modded Neon SRT is proof positive of that. That said, however, I don't think a FWD vehicle really qualifies as a 'sports' car in the purer sense of the word. FWD vehicles are for general DD's, and the tuner versions (MazdaSpeed 3, SRT Neon, Civic Si, etc) of these are hopped up generic vehicles. Even powerhouses like Acura TL-S, Camry V6, Altima V6, with north of 270hp, just don't provide the kind of performance one would expect from a sports car.
There are some strange overlaps. I'd fully expect a decent FWD sports box to keep up with stuff like Challenger R/T, Pontiac G8 GT, Mustang GT, etc, but that's really just showing the weaknesses of the overweight vehicles and antiquated suspension setups than a positive mark for the FWD setup.
I'm not universally down on FWD, I think it has it's place, and 90+% of drivers should probably be driving FWD (unless it's a truck or van), as the advantage of RWD/AWD just doesn't make a difference under most conditions, particularly with 200 or less HP, or 100hp/ton or less. But high power (eg; 140hp/ton or more) FWD setups are just a recipe for a vicious combination of torque steer + understeer on curves if you apply throttle.