“quattro” is Audi’s name for its all-wheel-drive system. It’s basically Audi saying, “our cars send power to all four wheels,” and it’s become a famous AWD label.
Rear-wheel drive means the engine’s power goes to the back wheels. The car uses a driveshaft and a rear differential to help the wheels turn at different speeds when you’re cornering.
Front-wheel drive means the front wheels get the engine’s power. The engine and transmission are packaged up front, and the power goes to the front axles.
Traction is the grip between tires and the road, which determines how effectively a car can accelerate and maintain control. Drivetrain layout affects traction because it changes where the vehicle’s weight sits and which tires receive torque.
Four-wheel drive means the car can send power to both the front and rear wheels. Many trucks and SUVs use a special box that can “split” power to the front when you need it.
The Ford Mustang is a sporty car made by Ford. It’s known for being rear-wheel drive, which means the back wheels do the work for moving the car. That’s one reason people talk about it when comparing driving styles.
The Honda Accord is a common, everyday sedan. The podcast mentions it as a front-wheel-drive car, which means the front wheels handle most of the driving. That can change how the car feels compared to rear-wheel-drive cars.
The Volvo V70 is a wagon, meaning it has extra space behind the seats for cargo. It’s mentioned because it can be equipped with all-wheel drive, which helps with traction. That makes it a practical choice for different road conditions.
Mid-engine means the engine sits closer to the middle of the car, not all the way in the front or back. That can help the car feel more balanced and easier to steer.
The Fiat X1/9 is a small Italian sports car. It’s famous for being mid-engine, which usually makes it handle differently than cars with the engine in the front.
BMW xDrive is BMW’s AWD system name, used across many models to manage traction by controlling how torque is sent to the front and rear axles. Different BMW models use different versions, but the goal is consistent grip and stability.
Subaru is a brand that’s famous for AWD. They’re saying Subaru’s system is excellent for everyday traction, but they personally like Audi’s more for fun driving.
A differential is a gearbox inside the drivetrain that lets wheels turn at slightly different speeds. That matters because wheels don’t all travel the same distance when you turn.
A locker is a mechanism that forces two wheels to spin together instead of letting one spin faster. It helps the car keep traction when one wheel would otherwise lose grip.
AWD means the car can send power to all four wheels. That helps the car grip better on slippery or uneven roads, so it feels more confident day to day.
Audi quattro is Audi’s famous all-wheel-drive system. The early versions were built with less electronics than today, so they can be simpler to deal with than newer AWD systems.
A manual transmission (stick shift) uses a clutch and driver-selected gear ratios instead of an automatic’s programmed shifting. The segment notes that 2018 was the last year for the A4’s manual, which is a big “buying/ownership” consideration for enthusiasts.
DSG is Volkswagen’s automatic transmission that shifts very quickly. It uses two clutches, so it can keep the car moving fast without a noticeable pause.
Motor Trend is a major automotive media publication that runs annual awards like “Car of the Year.” In this segment, it’s used to support the claim that the 2026 Golf R is highly regarded.
“Price/performance” means you’re looking for a car that feels fast and capable without costing way more than it should. It’s basically value for the money.
“4.2-liter V8” describes the engine size and layout. It means the engine has eight cylinders arranged in a V shape, and it’s known for feeling powerful and responsive.
“Five speed” means the car has a manual gearbox with five forward gears. More gears can change how the engine sounds and how smoothly it drives at different speeds.
Tire chains are metal links you put on your tires to help them grip better on snow or ice. They can make a big difference when roads get really slick.
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I think honestly, I think it's just because of the marketing part of it
I don't actually think it's like a great system. It's just like when I think all-wheel drive. I think quattro, right?
There's yeah, they really have just marketed so much that it's just like the authority on all-wheel drive
Hello life plus cars community and welcome back to the podcast after a little hiatus
We are here with a new episode this week all about some of our all-wheel drive
Favorites, so we're wrapping up winter here spring is on the way and so join us as me and Brendan talk about
Our favorites how all-wheel drive works and much more. So let's get into the episode
today's episode we
Are gonna take a bit of time with our tech tips. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. So we're gonna we're gonna talk
Right, we're gonna talk about the different drive systems on cars, you know, right for wheel drive blah blah blah
And yeah, we're gonna go into for our main topic. We're gonna talk about our favorite all-wheel drives, right?
That's right. This was all inspired as I said earlier
We've had a heck of a winter here in New Hampshire, New England and
All-wheel drive has been on my mind and got me thinking as we do with this segment
Hmm. What are some car components or?
Systems that I could learn more about and that the listener can follow along with to and it got me thinking about drive systems
and I mean, I know the basics between
Front-wheel rear-wheel four-wheel drive versus all-wheel drive
That said there's a lot more going on than just like which wheels are being driven
So I'm excited to get into it with you today, Brendan
Yeah, yeah, it is it's very exciting. So I mean, I guess you had a start out right with the tech tip
It's just the different types of drive. So
All different cars on the road have different styles of drive type. So when we say drive type
What we mean is
How the car is oriented to put power to the pavement, right? So
For example, like rear-wheel drive that was like the og
This is the original style and it's still around in super prevalent today, right?
So like rear-wheel drive when I say rear-wheel drive, it means you picture a car
You have an engine at the front of the vehicle and
Behind the engine comes out a transmission
Then there's a shaft that goes all the way to the back of the car the rear axle with a differential and it's driving
The rear differential to move the car forward. So that's rear-wheel drive. Yeah, and then the other most common is you have front-wheel drive and
Front-wheel drive is you take the same style car and engine, right? You turn the engine sideways
so it's called a transversely mounted engine and then you put a
Transmission and transfer case in one attach to the engine and then two axles come out of it and go to the front wheels
So it's all this compacted unit right over the front tires of the vehicle
And that's it out back behind the car. All you have are just two wheels that spin, right?
There's there's no axles
There's no driveling just bearings that help the wheels spin. Yeah
So front-wheel drive is there's one of the absolute most common in this country even to this day
And they're also some of the most versatile. They're easy to work on
They give you good traction because all the weight is directly over the front tires
and
Yeah, they're pretty reliable. I mean rear-wheel drive cars are very reliable as well and simple to work on
they just don't handle as well because I
Mean take a pickup truck for example if you have snowy conditions pickup truck
That's just rear-wheel drive you go around a corner or something your rear wheels are driving it
It's gonna slip slide all over the place. So right. Yeah, I mean we see the I mean
Rear-wheel drive being most prevalent now within sports cars and enthusiast cars where that that really gives you the most
Engaging driving experience with a real. Oh, yes. It's yeah without question
It is the most rewarding driving experiences a performance car rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. Yeah. Yeah
Yep, so then that gets into like so the next one. I'll talk about four-wheel drive
So you take like a pickup trucks a great example or a large SUV you take that rear-wheel drive platform
But the only difference is after the transmission, right?
So you go engine and it's a called longitudinally mounted when it's like a normal v8 in line with the car
so engine transmission then behind the transmission is a transfer case and
That transfer case has two drive shafts that come out of it one goes through your axle and one goes the front axle
And most of the time you're just driving around
It's driving that rear axle
But you'll have either a gear selector on the floor or push buttons and you put them four-wheel drive and
Engages that front drive shaft. So you're also spinning your front tires
So that's four-wheel drive in a nutshell. You have a transfer case for four-wheel drive
So yeah, literally transfer so that would be like my Chevy Silverado for front-wheel drive cars
Like I have my 2010 Honda cord. That's front-wheel drive rear-wheel drive would be like the 66 GTO the 66 Mustang
Right, right. That's rear-wheel drive and then
all-wheel drive
the difference there is
The reason Ian and I are gonna talk about our favorites is there are multiple different styles of
All-wheel drive systems and how they work
But essentially in a nutshell all-wheel drive is just all four tires have power
All the time just to go a little deeper into that like most
Average cars on the road that are all-wheel drive. So like you're not not to say the all-tracks average
But like your all-track your CRV your RAV4. I mean, yeah, even the Volvo v70
I've got for sale right like those all-wheel drive systems
The way they work is they have
The front axle or like the front-wheel drive part of it is what's driving the car
More than anything else like it's not sending power to the rear. No, but what happens is it has its computer controlled or it's
You know viscous coupler controlled or whatever. There's there's something that tells it if the front tire slip
It will automatically send power to the rear tires
So I mean what we're talking milliseconds like within milliseconds you have traction at all four wheels
So like, you know, even the all-track if you
Slippery day and you go to pull out of an intersection and you feel the front slip just the tiniest little bit
It's like it doesn't matter. It's like boom and you're just out of that
No problem because it it picks up immediately. Yeah, but even like
Here's another good example like all-wheel drive is like my dad had a 2010 Cadillac CTS
And that car was all-wheel drive
But if you looked it up in the owner's manual told you it was like the car is
90%
Re-wheel drive with like 10% in the front unless it had any slip like if the rear tires slipped at all
You know, it would do it in even 50-50 split if it had to so yeah, and that's yeah
That's actually I mean, that's how the all-track is in reverse to 90% of the front and then 10% in the back
And then it does the 50-50 split. So yeah, see there you go that. Yeah. Yeah
So that's cool because there are some I mean, I feel like that tends to be those the more
enthusiast or
Driving focused kind of all-wheel drive systems are rear-wheel drive base like I know like the Porsche
McCons and Brian and yeah, that make Mercedes BMWs. They are rear-wheel drive bias meeting
Yes, because well changes the feel of the car. Yes driving under normal conditions
It's not slippery you can tell the difference between a rear-wheel driver front-wheel drive just the way they handle around a corner, right?
Accelerate etc before before we go into more all-wheel drive stuff a couple other notes of like different drive types
I want to touch on is there's obviously we have to like mid-engine rear-wheel drive cars
Which is in that rear-wheel drive family, but it's different because they put the
Engine and transmission like basically right behind the driver and passenger seat
So think of like Ferraris the new Corvette, right?
Marguerites. Yeah, Lamborghinis right and those the reason that those are really kind of stuck to performance cars
Is because you're getting that all almost perfect weight distribution of just like 50 50
And when you put all that weight basically in the center of the car
It's just got that perfect center of gravity, right? It's gonna handle like a dream
So that's why we you see mid-engine rear-wheel drive is it's
The coup de gras it is the peak the pinnacle of an engineering standpoint of just like how do we make this car corner and handle?
The best possible way it's like that. That's where you want all your weight is right in the middle of it
So yes, yeah, I just carries it so evenly no matter what kind of corner or straight
Whatever you're doing. Yeah, yeah, and then my my personal favorite my absolute favorite engine layout is
rear engine rear-wheel drive, so you're into your Porsches your
Deloreans, you know things like that. So yeah, the 9-11 is the champion of that setup
Yes, that is to this day. That'll be just my favorite
Just you got you open up the like little hatch at the back and just boom. There's a boxer engine right over the rear axle
Yeah, I mean they have that that
Die hard following for a reason because I feel like yeah the 9-11 has just
Perfected that recipe and we'll just always be the yeah the textbook car for that that set up
I mean, it's really I mean the only what only
Set up they're currently available on on our for sale, right? I
Believe yeah, yeah, I mean there haven't been many other
Cars like it that are there have been attempts we can remember the Chevy Corvair being one of them
Yes, attempts as as they've been
Like the old
Beatles the yeah used to be over the rear tires. I mean that was just it just made sense
Yeah, it's something that is unusual yet is so revered like within the enthusiast's world
Yeah, honey, I care. Oh, yeah, that was another minute. Was that rear engine or mid-engine?
I think that was mid-engine. Yeah, that was mid-engined sort of mini little Ferrari looking thing. Oh, yeah
Yeah, but yeah, they were always quirky ones over the years. Yes. Yeah fiat x1 9
Another weird one. Oh, it's so many obscure cars. Oh, absolutely
But yeah, there's I mean, but you know the overall thing right there's multiple different drive systems
And then like, you know what you and I really gonna get into more like meat and potatoes with like the all-wheel drive thing is
You know all the different
manufacturers especially when it comes to all-wheel drive in some
four-wheel drive like Jeep comes to mind with like their quadra drive and quadra track
You know, they have their own patented style of like off-road things and the way their transfer cases work and this and that but
Almost all of them have their own brand of all-wheel drive, you know, Subaru's got the symmetrical all-wheel drive
You know in Volkswagen's the four-motion. Yes, and and Audi's got the quattro
You know and BMW was x drive. You know, it's like
There's so many different ones and they're they're all pretty much about the same
There's just slight differences. So I mean we can we'll talk into a little bit more about that, but
What about this Ian? Let me ask you this out of all of them. What is your favorite all-wheel drive?
system Wow, I mean this this is this is a question. That's literally just like a marketing standpoint for me
It's Audi's quattro
Same
Yeah, I think honestly, I think it's just because of the marketing part of it
I don't actually think I don't actually think it's like a great system. It's just like when I think all-wheel drive
I think quattro, right? I was
There's yeah, they they really have just marketed it so much that it's just like the authority on all-wheel drive is
Quattro, and I mean I do like Audi's a lot. I
Drove well our friend Colby. He was on the high-square-up. So his dad had an oh six s6 with the v10
And that was an incredible car. I got to drive that one time just a handful of experiences with Audi's quattro
and it just I think for me
Quattro stands out because it does have those sporting capabilities more so than
The commonplace Subaru, I mean if you were to ask me like, okay, who has like who has the best all-wheel drive system out there
I would say Subaru, but what is my personal favorite? I'd say quattro because I think it's just geared
That much more or I should say way more towards driving
enthusiasm and
Everyday fun as opposed to the I mean commonplace Subaru with their symmetrical system
Yes
Yeah, see that's funny because like I I agree with you
I think that Subaru probably does have the best system for an all-wheel drive for a car
But yeah, I my favorite is the quattro and I mean like the quattro like I mean doing like a little bit of research about it
Right. Yeah, the quattro started out as like back when Audi got into rally racing and stuff way
Yeah, it was actually started is they actually had a system that was a
Full mechanical system right because like now Audi uses what they call the Haldex system
Which is a lot of all-wheel-drive cars do this. Yes, and the way that works is it's front or rear-wheel drive and then it has a
Like electronically controlled hydraulic pump with a clutch and when it senses slip
It tells that clutch to engage to send power to the wheels slipping
So how he's adopted that now, but it started with they actually had like a v8 engine or a six-cylinder in a
Transmission in a transfer case and then it went into these two very special
Differentials that had
Mechanical lockers and it's just it was yeah, it was groundbreaking at the time and that's where the quattro started
Right with that with that group B rally racing, right with that. Yes. Yes. Yeah, absolutely
That's where the infamous I think the yellow red and white quattro that you see the race car that you see flying over the hills and
I mean it to the listener if you've ever watched group B or haven't I'd recommend it
I mean, it's insanity like it didn't only lasted a handful of years because of how dangerous
So it was but the quattro was one of these cars that came out and just put Audi on the map for for that system
Yes, and
Talking like mid-80s that this was was groundbreaking as you said Brendan
And so I don't know is whether I've ever even seen one of those Audi sport quattro cars in
Person they're very rare. They're very hard to find in good condition
And they didn't even make that many so
But that's where it began sort of almost I mean it almost sounds like a four-wheel drive system that they that they tweaked to operate
Like we now know of today's all-wheel drive
Yes. Yes. Well, that's just it. It's it was
Four-wheel drive system that they basically looked at like Humvees and off-road capable four-wheel drive vehicles
And they said how do we do that but make it fully automatic? Yes, like full-time four-wheel drive
But it's you can drive it on, you know, dry pavement without it being an issue type of thing
And they came up with this this differential
Basically that it was all mechanical but as soon as it sensed any slip it did just what the electric ones do
But it was all automatic and there's no way to turn it off or anything. It was just there
That was probably some of the first introduction that Americans had to the idea of all-wheel drive in a car
Because prior to that the only thing we did for saying trucks or SUVs and
Jeeps four-wheel drive. Yeah, you're you're absolutely right because all we had in America was just four-wheel drive
Yeah, if you wanted that and like if you're if you're looking for like I'm gonna drive over that mountaintop
Like you would you'd have a Humvee or you'd go get an international scout or you would get like a Jeep
You know grand wagon here. Sure, right because they all had you know quadri-drive or
four-wheel drive and
Those are excellent for off-road, but it's like as soon as you get on pavement
Hard surface you have to go back to two-wheel drive. So it's not automatic, right?
It's something that you actually have to control
So, you know, these all-wheel drive cars the whole premise behind it, right? It's just you have
Really good traction all the time and they just don't want you to have to worry about it
so yeah added so much more drivability because
Most people they I mean you drive one of those old scouts or jeeps not the best on-road experience and so the
Exactly these all-wheel drive cars
Really champion the idea that oh you could have an everyday car with this kind of traction
And not have to deal with the rough and tumble of
NSUV or truck it is yeah, those those early outies are very cool that I they are so hard to find I
Rarely see outies from the 80s or 90s for that matter like 80s or 90s outies
I mean I think in part because
They are notoriously difficult to work on just by hearing you describe that system of the original quattro
Like that must be a nightmare to work on I
Mean maybe but also maybe not that you know, that's pretty bulletproof. I mean although right steel
Well, right. Yeah, actually now you say that we're thinking talking to the 80s where this is I mean, it's probably not
Overrun with computers and all of that systems yet. Not like we have today. So by comparison, it's probably fairly simple
So it's true. That's true. Those early quattros probably are more
manageable than say
mid-2000s Audi
Yeah, yeah
Well, I mean, I think that's part part of the reason why I like Volkswagen so much too is they're for a motion because it's pretty much the same because Audi and
Volkswagen or I mean their sisters, right sister companies
Well, they they share pretty much the same
They just call it a little bit different and tweak it just a little bit different like you're all track
That's the same all-wheel-drive. You get like an Audi a4
That has quattro. It's just a little tiny bit different, you know, like their parameters for how it works
Or it's that all a four is more rear-wheel-drive than front-wheel-drive, right? It's tuned differently
Yeah, you maybe think be curious to drive an a4 like an Audi a4 from
2018-2019 just to see that how that how that compares to driving my all-track
That would be a fun. So don't don't do that because you'd come home in an Audi a4
Well
It was something I considered there for a bit before I brought the
Before I bought the all-track as much as I love I mean, I love
Wagons and unfortunately you can't get an Audi wagon anymore except for the RS6
But anyway
2018 was the last year for the manual transmission in the a4
So I have sometimes thought like huh if I go find like a 2018 a4 with a stick
It said they're out there. They're out there. Yep. Hey, I could get behind that. Yeah
They are cool cars. So
Yeah, I mean four motion
speaking of I mean that brings us to
our
Golf R, which is another car that we love here on lifeless cars. Oh
Yeah
You talk about all-wheel-drive, baby. That's it. That's where it belongs. Yes
Yeah, and I I hear people are read about how people like oh, what's the big deal?
It's like a more expensive GTI like on and on and like no, but it's a it's a different animal
I guess a different car like when you take the golf and
You throw a four-motion at it and you up the ante on everything else
Engine and drivetrain. So yeah
Golf R talks to me Brendan. I mean, I know you love this car that you talk about an all-wheel-drive car
Like if I could pick one today that yeah, that's gotta be it. I mean it checks all the boxes. It's not
Totally out of reach financially. It's got insane performance by today's standards
I mean, we're talking a zero to 60 and like isn't it like four seconds or like it's under
I mean, it's like it's saying it's got fast car
Well, it's got that amazing all-wheel-drive system that's sport tuned. Yeah, just for the golf R
It gives it like a constant almost constant like 50-50 split
And you can control it, you know has options for all that and I mean, let's be honest
It's a great looking car. Oh, I mean the mark seven just is so I saw one just today and that amazing blue
I'm like, oh my gosh. Yeah, well my only gripe with the golf art today is it's
They just I can't believe they don't have a manual anymore like I love the DSG
I think that transmission is amazing. I think it's absolutely amazing
But the fact that they don't have just a tried-and-true six-speed with that type of car
Especially considering it's Volkswagen. I mean, we're talking Volkswagen. They they built their company on manuals
Yeah, it just drives me crazy. I hate that but I mean, you know, no one that listens to the show
Like they they all understand that you and I are crazy manual people
But on that note, you know, I do want to give a big shout-out to Volkswagen because the 2026 Golf R is the car of the year
Motor trend so whoa, that's news to me
Wow, well the R and GTI, but yeah, they're car of the year. Yep. Gosh
Wow, that's quite the accolade
Man, okay. I think it's the second or third time that the golf is one car of the year. Yeah
They are
By all accounts
great cars
Except for the money. I mean if you if you think about it for $50,000 you were getting a
I mean, it's got better zero to 60 times than like my 2006 GTO with 400 horsepower. This thing's got 328
Yeah, and it's a hatch that you can just throw all your stuff in the back and
Take it on road trips and everything else
Yeah
Should buy a Golf R
But make sure you get a 2024 that's the last year of the manual
Ah, I know
I know
Gotta love their color options lap is blue. Oh lap is blue. That's the one
That would be the color to get it in. Yep mythos black graphite gray
So is that is that yours as well Ian? You know your all-wheel drive car pick are you on the poetry train?
Oh, interesting. Yeah, um, I mean so
Is it cars that like any all-wheel drive car or like a all-wheel drive dream car for us or
I mean honestly any like I mean like I said, well like oh, let me let me put this parameter on it
Okay, like the golf bar if you had to go buy a brand new
All-wheel drive car today
Right, what would you get like like I said for me would be the the golf bar just because I think it's the perfect combo of
price performance
You know, yes
Um all-wheel drive, um, I would go get a g.r. Corolla
Yeah
That's awesome, I love that
Mm-hmm. Yeah, you can you get that with a manual?
Yes. Yeah, that actually with the all-wheel drive though. Yeah. Well, it's the g.r. Is all-wheel drive only
Oh, we love that far as I know. Yeah, I think it's all-wheel drive only and when it first debuted it was
manual only they've only since
Recently like brought out an automatic for that car. Yeah, that would be that would be the pick again for that
You know similar kind of money
The thing is sounds like it's just a laugh riot this snorty little beast of a hatchback
Yep, it's just insane. I just love the fact that toyota is making that car
Is still making that car and just really making a statement was saying like yeah, we make hot little
Performance cars and the g.r. Corolla is one of them. I just I am so happy that car exists. So go toyota
Uh, that would be my pick
Yep, I think it's a great pick. It's uh, you know, what's amazing is I actually really
Like the look of the car except for the back of it. I don't know why but I just do not like the back end
Yeah, the back of it's not the best looking because it it almost reminds me of a matrix
The back of it is reminds me of a matrix, but it's just so far from that
Right, it's right. It is has that kind of the hatchback. I mean it is a hatchback, but yeah, it's true
It's harkening back to sort of that
The matrix image and no not the movie we're talking about the toyota matrix
Hatchback of the past
Yeah, the back's not the the greatest but uh, but yeah, that's uh, the thing is that thing is awesome
Oh my gosh, wait, it's a ridiculous car and I love that it exists
Yeah, I get it in that red. Oh that red is so nice. Yeah for sure in the red
So that's our that's our pick for
If we were to go and buy a brand new all wheel drive car. Do you have brendon?
A an all wheel drive car of the past or one that you can think of if you need more time. I do have one
Yeah, oh no, you go you go
Mm-hmm. Well, I guess well, of course I wrote a list of about 10 cars, but
If I had to pick I think it would be the outie rs4
from
That was like 2007 to 2008. I think it was two years two years only
It was the sedan they put in the big 4.2 liter v8
From the r8 into
Into the what it was the a4 big wide flared fenders. I've seen a couple of these
Ripping around the seacoast in the summertime and that thing is such an awesome car
I love the look on it. It has such good stance
And just this crazy powerful v8 all wheel drive sedan the thing is awesome
So that would be my pick of an all wheel drive legend from the past
There you go. I like it
Um
Okay, yeah, so for me boy, it's it's tough man. It's tough. So I have two
and
So the first one would be
a
bmw
Five series
wagon
Oh, I thought of with a with a five speed. They actually had those with all wheel drive early 2000s. Does that sound right?
Yeah, I think it was somewhere. Yeah, you're talking about the five series wagon
Yes, and yeah, I think that was somewhere around like mid 2000s. I think like 2005 to 2010 or
Yeah, somewhere in that range. Yes, at least I'm pretty I'm pretty sure that you could get that
With a manual maybe you couldn't you in the states?
But yeah, you yeah, they're out there if you look up on bring a trailer cars and bids you can find those five series
Yes, that that so that that five series of that era
With a manual and a wagon all wheel drive like oh, oh my god, just that's
Absolutely does it great choice. That was that was on my list too
Oh, good man. I mean, obviously, um, I'll talk about two more this next one just real briefly
v70 are but with a six speed manual
Absolutely
Heck, yeah
I don't know why I like them so much
But there's a couple different sobs that you could get like their x-drive
Yeah, the um
Turbo x or they call it the x for like they'd put that's what they they'd designate their all wheel drive cars with
That's a good one too. Would you go for like the turbo x models?
I mean not normally, but I I've always liked sobs. So I mean if I if I could find like a sob
Like wagon all wheel drive with a manual that was like low miles nice shape
Absolutely
Yeah
Yep, those hold up. Yeah, they
Another again, like the late 2000s was a very good time for cars despite us being on the verge of a recession
That yeah, you could get that
It was like I think a 2008 sob 93 sport combi turbo x
I think they made something. I think they only made 91 of them with a six speed manual
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Very very hard very limited production very limited. Yes
But I like the looks and I mean I've driven them. So I know what to expect and I fit in them. Well, oh, yeah
Very very good choices. Yeah, I had a bit of an odd bit of an oddball here
It's technically not an all wheel drive, but it is
It it's the essence of what like the all track is today or the I mean outie all road
um, and it was the
Toyota tercel
SR 5 wagon the one that had like the part time four wheel drive
um
This is great little wagons that it's they're so boxy and angular
Um, oh, yeah, I remember those. Yeah. Yes. Yeah
Ha ha very cool. Yes. So I've always loved these things. They're so 80s and so rad
And that's uh, that would be another honorable mention for me
Very nice very nice. I like that. Yeah, if I if I had an honorable mention on mine
I honestly I think it would probably be
Like a older Jeep grand wagon here with the quadra drive
Yes, the quadra track whatever they call it. I mean that it's a little different, right than an all wheel drive system because
I'm pretty sure it was selectable whether it was two wheel drive or four wheel drive or whatever
But in four wheel drive
It had this transfer case with a viscous coupler
Yeah
And that is a form of like, you know, a haldex, which is electronically controlled
But the difference with a viscous coupler is it's filled with like this
Jealous like silicone stuff and what it's supposed to do is if it senses that it's
uh slipping
Like what's coming out versus what's going into the rear diff?
It like locks itself to allow for that transfer of torque to go where it needs to go
So jeep kind of came out with that and uh, it's just an incredible four wheel drive system
I actually had a
2003 two or three grand Cherokee
I'm blanking on what they called that transfer case
But I knew that if you put it into four low like it was four wheel drive and if you put it into four low
It actually had a system that locked
The front and rear
Differentials together
So they were turning at the same speed. That's not generally
True for a lot of four wheel drive systems
But that did that with that vehicle
So now I remember testing that out and I was very impressed at how well that did off-road
but
That would be the honorable for me like an old grand wagon here like an 89 or something
Yeah, I mean you just climb anything with that. You take it on any back road
Fire road up a mountain that must just be
Like old mountain goat going up. Oh, yeah, especially when it's a giant 360 cubic inch, right
Yeah, you've got this this beast of an engine and then but it's so
Composed with that quadratech
system
Absolutely man. Well, there you have it. There's all wheel drive cars
Yeah, there you go folks. Did uh
Did we miss any? I'm sure we did and if you have any favorites
Let us know. Uh, there are so many out there. We just scratched the surface as far as all wheel drive legends
I mean, we even we even get to talking I mean you mentioned Porsche
I mean 9 11's with their their their all wheel drive system and the
I mean you got the Audi r8 another favorite of mine. Um, so
What what about you listener are we are we talking like supercar territory? Are you more so?
Every day kind of all wheel drive systems. What do you think or so?
Let us know
Oh
For the craigslist find of the week
Yeah, so we've got you know trying to keep it in the theme of all wheel drive
And then obviously manual because you and I both love manuals. So I found I had to I had to branch out of ways
But I found in mount vernin new york
2008
Audi a4 three two quattro six speed fast car handles great price to sell
$3,000
So we have a 2008 Audi a4. It's the six cylinder. It's manual. It's all wheel drive
It's got 230,000 miles on it
And wow, yeah, and I really admire the way that this gentleman has written this ad
This line right here
Handles well and runs just like a sports car should fast
Well said well said
All scheduled maintenance regular oil changes non-smoker
Yep, that is quite the find
Good actually the interior doesn't look bad on it, which is pretty impressive for 230,000 miles. Maybe it was a highwayway car
That's a good one. I mean those a4s those
Those are fun cars that I mean
Yeah, quattro. We got a stick shift. I mean just everyday fun get through any snowstorm
You're good to go
Oh, yeah, yep. So what do you got here? What's the one that you picked up? Well, I also did the all wheel drive
search and I came up with one that is
It's an automatic. So you'll have to you'll have to forgive it for that
That's okay. That's okay
That said as the listener knows I like quirky weird cars and I found a
2006 Honda element exp all wheel drive with only 105,000 miles one owner no rust
And this thing looks very clean and it that's pretty much unheard of with these Honda elements
Oh my god. Look at this beauty. This is a rare find. Oh six with 100,000 miles
11 grand and it looks phenomenal. I'll tell you I I will say that I'm really surprised that Honda doesn't make
These anymore. Yes, it's actually a manual. It's not a manual
No, they did offer these in manual. Um, those are even harder to find in this condition
I don't understand why they quit making them. Like they were I'll tell you right now like dog owners
Love these things. Yes, exactly all rubber in the back like you could literally just like hose it out basically
Yeah, I'm looking it has the rubberized floor and then it has the doors the rear doors that open
Open sideways
So yeah the barn doors the barn doors that can just the dog can just hop right in and out no problem
I mean, I would love to get somebody on the podcast who owns an element and if they have a dog
That's like even better because it's like you're so right. I mean, I feel like people with dogs
Are the animals just love the element for how versatile it is
Absolutely. Yeah
They have a wicked following too. I mean I talk to people all the time that are like if you find a clean element
You know
Yes, people are they're very loyal fans for this car because there's nothing else out there like it
It's yep, it's true that that's a great fine. That is a great all-wheel drive find right there
Yeah, well, there you go. There you go. Listen, we found some good craigslist finds out there
That's always fun to just see what's out there and if you're anything like us
We tend to just check out what's online for craigslist ebay
Bring a trailer cars and bids. It's just fun to daydream, right brendon
Always fun to daydream. Oh, yeah, always
Like oh, I didn't know those were that price
Yeah, exactly
But yes, thank you for sticking it out with us and looking at all these fun different drive types on cars and
Yeah
Yeah, we learned a lot here today covered the different drive systems our favorite all-wheel drive cars out there
And if you have any questions or you have all-wheel drive favorites that you want to share
Or maybe you have a super outback story or a honda element story or something else
Definitely honda element
Give us a call. Please talk to us. If you have a honda element, we would love to talk to you
I think that's a good goal for us to get a honda element owner on this podcast and tell us like
What is it about this car like please like we've I mean, I've never experienced one
I don't know about you brendon, but um, they do have
I've detailed a few of them. I've always been pretty impressed with them. Yeah
so
Right to us at life plus cars at gmail.com. That's where you can connect with us
And we look forward to sharing more
car conversations on the next episode
And as always brendon, thank you. It's a pleasure
Oh, the pleasure is all on this side and and yes, always wonderful. Thanks to the listeners. Thanks to you
Thanks to the car god. Yep, right. Yeah for blessing us with automotive greatness over the years. Oh
Yes, the best. Yes
Yeah, so so be safe out there
If you're gonna go off road and make sure you got an all-wheel drive or a four-wheel drive
Bring some tow straps. Right. Maybe some tire chains
Yeah, exactly. All right, everybody. We'll talk to you on the next episode
About this episode
Winter driving turns into a deep dive on how power gets to the pavement, starting with rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, and part-time four-wheel drive. The hosts then focus on all-wheel drive: how many systems are front-biased and instantly react to slip via clutches/viscous couplers, often within milliseconds. Favorites spark debate—Audi quattro wins for “enthusiast” feel despite Subaru’s reputation. They also trade stories and picks like the Golf R, GR Corolla, and classic AWD legends (RS4, Audi A4 quattro, Volvo V70, plus a Honda Element AWD find).
