Ice Driving! Which engine layout is best?

I have been driving in New England winter for 40 years now and have had lots of experience with both RWD, FWD and 4WD. Each has their own handling pecularities.

Typically RWD cars don't have as much weight over the rear wheels as the front wheels so the back end will break loose and come around quite easily. If only your back wheels are sliding and you still have traction with the front wheels it is pretty easy to steer out of that kind of slide. You can make a RWD work very well in the slippery conditions adding ballast over the rear wheels. Back when there really weren't any FWD and 4WD was rare and expensive everyone mounted up studded snow tires (or had tire changes in the trunk) in the winter and put ballast in the trunk or the bed. When I was younger the plows didn't even go out until there was 4" of snow on the roads and people didn't have issues getting around because they did what was necessary to make there vehicles work.

With FWD you now have the majority of the vehicles weight over the front wheels which gives you an advantage with traction compared to a non ballasted RWD. BUT, if you get the front wheels sliding you have lost all control of the car and are just along for the ride at that point. With the front wheels driving the car as well as steering you will loose control of the front end at a lower speed than with RWD. These days the roads are plowed much better and you almost never see more than an inch or so build up on main roads but I see more people spun out and stuck than when I was younger and most folks had RWD. I think most of that has to do with almost no one uses dedicated snow tires these days or studs and I doubt you could even mount tire chains plus a very large precentage of vehicles these days come with 60 series or wider profile tires which are the worest thing in the snow.

4WD and especially the AWD vehicles that have a center differential are definately the best for traction. You can have the front or the back break loose ans still have some control that will allow you to drive out of the slide. BUT, folks tend to drive much faster than they should in the slippery conditions and I see alot of 4WD and AWD a stuck along way off the road or upside down off the road.

I personally have been able to deal with slippery conditions with all three types but feel much more secure in my 4WD pick-up with some ballast in the back. One observation I can make is the police in my area are out driving in the worest of conditions all the time and always have been. I am not aware of any departments that don't use RWD Crown Vics or Chargers and I never see them stuck. That has to tell you something!!