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</p><p>Types of Drivetrains:</p><p>Sometimes looks can be deceptive and the same applies to names as well. Like in this case, the name Drivetrain which sounds familiar to a ‘train’ in fact has nothing to do with a train, quite literally, and is actually a mechanism which is responsible for transferring power onto the driving wheels of your car. Drivetrain makes use of a combination of components such as axles, propeller shafts, drive shafts, differential and clutch etc, depending on the type of drivetrain, which governs the transfer of power coming from the engine on to the wheels of the car for rotation. The engine however, is not a part of the Drivetrain but transmission/gear box do come under the same. In simple terms, one can treat a drivetrain as a complex unit, which is a combination of a lot of parts and mechanisms, responsible for the actual rotation of the car wheels once you put your foot down on the accelerator pedal. Now, it is not as simple as it sounds. With a variety of cars available in the market, the drivetrain also varies depending on the car type and the requirement of power on to the wheels of the car.</p><p>Drivetrains can be majorly classified into below categories: &nbsp;</p><p>Front Wheel Drive or FWD:</p><p>As the name suggests, Front Wheel Drive mechanism means that all the power generated from the Engine is directed onto the front two wheels of the car with the help of the drivetrain. This is one of the most common type of drivetrain mechanism used in mass market Indian cars and globally as well due to its easy operation and maintenance. In FWD setup, the front two wheels are responsible to rotate with power input while the rear set of wheels are only dragged along by the front wheels. As most the cars have a front engine layout, so transferring power on to the front wheels only, which are located quite near to the engine, becomes easy and cost effective. Interesting things are happening as manufacturers continue to evolve this type of drivetrain to make them more effective. VW offers electronically locking front differential on front wheel drive cars that immensely improves car’s dynamics as well as making the car better for harsh weather.</p><p>Pros:</p><ul><li><p>Easy to develop</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Low on maintenance & affordability</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Less weight which increases efficiency</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Uses less space which results in more cargo and passenger utility</p></li></ul><p>Cons:</p><ul><li><p>Understeer: due to non-aligned center of gravity</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Low traction: as weight is shifted more on the front rather than at the rear or center of the car</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>More wear and tear at constant intervals due to the build geometry</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Bigger turning radius due to drive shaft assembly &nbsp;</p></li></ul><p>Common examples of Cars using FWD mechanism:</p><p>Due to its simple mechanism and affordable operations, almost all of the hatchbacks, mid segment sedans and even compact crossover SUVs make use of the FWD mechanism. Some of cars that use FWD are Renault Kwid, Maruti Suzuki Swift, Chevrolet Beat, Honda City, Ford Ecosport, Toyota Corolla Altis and many more. &nbsp;</p><p>Rear-Wheel Drive or RWD:</p><p>Also known as an enthusiast drivetrain, Rear-Wheel Drive mechanism is the same as its name suggests. The power coming from the engine is transferred onto the rear wheels which are responsible for moving the car. In this case, the front wheels lay idle and are dragged along by the rear set of wheels of the car. The reason why it is termed as an enthusiast drivetrain is because auto lovers and drivers all over the world prefer this drive train for better traction and accurate wheel response along with a hint of oversteer which let’s them maneuver the car more swiftly (when compared to FWD). The most common type of Rear Wheel drive is a Front Engine RWD where the engine is usually placed at the front of the car. There are other types of setups also available from car manufacturers depending on the placement of the engine such as Front Mid engine RWD, Rear Mid Engine RWD and also a complete Rear Engine RWD. &nbsp;</p><p>Pros:</p><ul><li><p>Better Handling- a RWD setup helps improve cornering due to a more suitable and even layout of the drive mechanism which improves road grip</p></li><li><p>Even weight Transfer- &nbsp;this is especially when the car is accelerating heavily, when power is supplied to the rear wheels it makes way for better weight distribution and increases the traction of the car</p></li><li><p>Better Braking- Due to better weight transfer, even shifting of weights while breaking also prevents wheel lock/jam usually seen in a FWD setup</p></li><li><p>More rugged - Due to ample space available and a different geometry used for assembly such as universal joints (instead of CV joints used in FWD) the mechanism undergoes less wear and tear and lasts longer &nbsp; &nbsp;</p></li></ul><p>Cons:</p><ul><li><p>Less Interior space - The transmission tunnel used in the assembly of RWD drivetrain takes a lot of space which further is adjusted by reducing space on the inside of the car</p></li><li><p>High price - The cost of assembly and labor is too high when compared to FWD layout. That is one of the reason RWD mechanism is only limited to sports or luxury segment of cars and not at all on mass market cars</p></li><li><p>Low Mileage- The RWD layout is not only hard to implement but it also consumes a lot of power especially because of the transmission tunnel which further transfers power from the engine traveling all the way back to the rear wheels. All of this consumes more power and thus results in a cut down in overall mileage of the vehicle </p></li><li><p>Limited traction on non-tarmac terrains such as snow, gravel and sand as the front of the car looses out on weight for pulling the car more prominently</p></li></ul><p>Common examples of Cars using RWD mechanism:</p><p>The RWD mechanism as discussed is meant only for sports cars and luxury cars which makes driving ‘fun’ for auto enthusiasts. Thus, all mass market cars do not possess this drivetrain. One of the exception is Maruti Eeco (and also Omni) that offers rear wheel drive. Another exception that can be made in this geometry on Indian roads is the Tata Nano, which uses a Rear Engine RWD mechanism because of its engine which is placed on the rear instead of the front. However, some of the other cars in India which comes with a RWD setup are Toyota Innova, Chevrolet Tavera, Mahindra Scorpio (in 4X2 guise) and cars premium cars like Lamborghini Huracan LP580, Mercedes AMG GT S, BMW M6 Gran Coupe and so on.</p><p>All Wheel Drive/Four Wheel Drive or AWD/4WD:</p><p>All Wheel Drive drivetrain is also commonly known as AWD or 4WD and is mostly related to vehicles which can run easily on multiple terrains. Sticking to its name, this mechanism sends power to all the four wheels of the car which means each wheel gets an individual torque supplied to generate more grip and thus better handling. Now, AWD or 4WD is a full time drive mechanism powering the wheels. Gear ranges can also differ accordingly and with the use of a transfer case power supply can be varied on all the four wheels. In our country, the most common use of 4WD or AWD drivetrain can be seen is SUVs and off-roaders. However, most advanced supercars and luxury cars also make use of this drivetrain as it provides much superior grip than any drivetrain. Audi was one of the pioneers for all wheel drive system with with its drivetrain Quattro. Also, several cars which are sold in India as primarily two wheel drive have 4WD on offer in Europe. Eg. Maruti Suzuki Swift, S-Cross. This could be due to weather conditions prevailing in the continent.</p><p>Pros:</p><ul><li><p>Superb Traction – With power coming to all the wheels, road grip and stability increases </p></li><li><p>All terrain stability – Biggest benefit of AWD is that it can smoothly run through almost all type of terrains which majorly includes Sand, Snow, Gravel, Off-road and comfortably on Tarmac as well</p></li></ul><p>Cons:</p><ul><li><p>Excessive weight – All because of the complicated mechanism and assembly in place, it takes up a lot of weight and further increases overall vehicle weight </p></li><li><p>Costly to implement – The AWD mechanism require a lot of components and thus increases the overall cost of the vehicle</p></li><li><p>Decreased Mileage- As the drivetrain can’t run on air, it requires more input from the engine which in return sips more fuel making the fuel efficiency count to go down when compared to other drivetrain.</p></li></ul><p>Common examples of Cars using AWD / 4WD mechanism:</p><p>This mechanism is not really seen on mass market cars due to its implementation cost and performance orientation which is not required for such cars. Now, the cars that usually get this drivetrain are majorly SUVs, off-roader SUVs and high end cars such as Renault Duster AWD, Mahindra XUV 500 AWD, Mahindra Thar, Hyundai Santa Fe, Audi Q7, Audi A8L and so on.</p><p></p>