Are any FWD cars genuinely rowdy?

Shaun wrote: That is an awesome sleeper ute!

Vigo wrote: On the SRT4 thing, i own a FWD minivan with an SRT4 engine (<<<avatar pic) and i guess it's semi rowdy. This is before the paint and.. it's much louder now: burnout vid

More specs needed please.

The "rowdy" FWD car that keeps tugging at me is a Mk IV 1.8T GTI prepped for DSP (at the expense of DD friendliness). That engine is easily capable of more power than a set of 285 A6's can handle.

A warmed up R53 MINI can be a ton of fun as well.

As far as pure giggles-per-mile, a can't think of any FWD car that compares to a classic Mini.

I've driven a few of the rowdy FWD cars listed, and while they were fun on the street, I've just never been able to get over the driving dynamics for curvy road/autox/track driving. 90% of the cars I've owned have been RWD though, so maybe I just don't have the skills figured out yet. I guess my question is, if there were more RWD options out there in the rowdy small car category, would any of you jump for the FWD option instead?

So as to not totally thread jack, if I had to pick, I'd vote Fiat 500 Abarth with the newer seats that don't feel like sitting on a bucket. Short wheelbase and a remarkable engine result in a very fun package.

Ian F wrote: The "rowdy" FWD car that keeps tugging at me is a Mk IV 1.8T GTI prepped for DSP (at the expense of DD friendliness). That engine is easily capable of more power than a set of 285 A6's can handle. A warmed up R53 MINI can be a ton of fun as well. As far as pure giggles-per-mile, a can't think of any FWD car that compares to a classic Mini.

I think the closest that come to the classic Mini.. are the Mk 1 Golf/Rabbit and the Fiat 128

I guess my question is, if there were more RWD options out there in the rowdy small car category, would any of you jump for the FWD option instead?

For me that would mostly depend on stuff that most forum users act too cool to care about, like looks and packaging. Even when i'm hauling ass on the street i'm usually not doing much in a FWD that a RWD would do any better, other than hooking up at low speeds. In general i would think getting traction makes a car seem LESS rowdy.

gearheadE30 wrote: I've just never been able to get over the driving dynamics for curvy road/autox/track driving... So as to not totally thread jack, if I had to pick, I'd vote Fiat 500 Abarth with the newer seats that don't feel like sitting on a bucket. Short wheelbase and a remarkable engine result in a very fun package.

Same here. I kinda gave up on FWD for autocrossing. I got to take a G/S Fiat 500 Abarth for a hot lap at an autocross and I reeeeeeealllllllly wanted to like it. But the laggy powerband, weirdly weighted clutch and steering and the terminal understeer turned me off. And the car had just won the event, so clearly there is something there, but I couldn't like it.

gearheadE30 wrote: I guess my question is, if there were more RWD options out there in the rowdy small car category, would any of you jump for the FWD option instead?

I've been having this debate ever since I bought Sonic's old E30 and pretty much hated driving that car since the day I bought it. While I've owned a number of RWD/4WD trucks over the years, most of my cars have been FWD. Pretty much all of my "pushing it" driving has been with FWD. It's just what I'm used to.

This is why I lean towards a MkIV GTI 1.8T as my next performance project car. I have over 300K miles of experience behind the wheel of a MkIV (my '03 TDI). That car is like an extension of my body. I think it and it does it. I'm 46 years old and will probably be closer to 48 by the time any of this happens. And I have a number of other hobbies so no matter what, performance driving will never really get my full dedication. So for a car like this, I want to be able to just get in and drive comfortably at 80-90% and have fun.

Are there better and faster cars than a GTI? Absolutely. Are there better/faster cars for me? The answer to that question isn't quite as clear.

My Kia Rondo is pretty rowdy, in that, it never does what you want it to. About 80% of the weight is on the rear wheels when loaded, so the front wheels have only a tenuous connection to the pavement. Add to that, traction control that cuts 90% of the power at the drop of a hat. Makes pulling out on a wet surface with people in the car pretty interesting. You see a break in traffic, you gun it, you pull out a little bit, the wheels slip 1%, the engine dies, and you sit there watching a semi bear down on you while you wait for the electronics to wake up and let you move again. ROWDY!

Mazda 5 with the traction control off was fun

My dad had an HHR SS Panel, that thing was a hoot, torque steer even with the LSD and gobs of power in a light car. Sad that one got totaled, only 200 ish built.

In reply to pinchvalve:

I believe you are confusing rowdy with deadly. A black mamba is not rowdy.

<----This car was rowdy. I laugh when MS3 folks gripe about torque steer. With a few suspension mods it would pull a peeing dog and flat rotate. It also had a really good LSD that would allow you to catch the car with the throttle. Sadly, the inherent unreliability of the QR engine pretty much killed the fun for me.