RWD vs AWD : pros and cons?

[DerekS]

So the quote below is not quite correct then

I don't know what to tell you.

The color bugged me over time, but I gained a ton of respect and confidence in the car, driving it 28K miles all over the place.

I'd been considering an upgrade to 4S and changing the color at the same time. I did title my purchase thread "Mistakes were made."

Did I need to upgrade? No.
Is the difference incremental? Yes. I would say the RWD is easily 90% the car the GTS is.
Am I happy? Yes.

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[f1eng]

I remember hearing that too Frank, though I thought it was an engineer rather than a test driver,

I think a lot of, probably the majority of, the test drivers are engineers.

 

[TAEKON]

Thanks to all! I was seriously lacking some important info; 4 vs 4S…..
Will have to give RWD closer consideration…..

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

Thanks to all! I was seriously lacking some important info; 4 vs 4S…..
Will have to give RWD closer consideration…..

The internet is an imperfect source of info for this class of decisions - it's great for research, and utterly flawed for testimonials/opinions.

I'd recommend starting from your intended usage, noting that <edit>in the US market</edit> the wagon body style is only available with AWD. (Same, I think, for the larger battery.) If you _need_ AWD/more range/more space etc. then it's easy; if not, then you're into "wants"/preferences, and those should be your own.

 

[FlyingPoint]

Now that they seem to be more available - test drive each. I absolutely disliked the 4S and ordered the RWD before any were in the US.
No regrets for my mission. I could care less about off the line speed. What turns me on about the RWD, is that I can power it through corners. Power is great (4S over RWD), however what you do with that power is an individual profile. Everyone is different! Test drive - Test drive - Test drive.

 

[TAEKON]

.....noting that the wagon body style is only available with AWD....

Well there you go.......I want (desperately neeeeeed) the TC, so I guess much of the decision is made for me..... Only a matter of checking how many of those endless Porsche options my little piggy bank is willing/able to fund.
Thanks all!

 

[tomtom901]

I'd recommend starting from your intended usage, noting that the wagon body style is only available with AWD.

Uh, no it isn't. The CT is only AWD + 93.4 kWh, but the regular Sport Turismo (ST) can be configured as RWD with both the smaller and bigger battery.

As far as driveability goes, I love the handling of the RWD, I'm all with @FlyingPoint on this. In fact, I said it earlier this week;

"it’s interesting to me as I think Porsche made the RWD so good, they had to limit the car in ways (i.e. horsepower, 0-60 feels limited while a rolling push feels way more powerfull) so that the rest of the gamma isn’t hurt by it."

 

[DerekS]

"it’s interesting to me as I think Porsche made the RWD so good, they had to limit the car in ways (i.e. horsepower, 0-60 feels limited while a rolling push feels way more powerfull) so that the rest of the gamma isn’t hurt by it."

I felt the same way. It seemed to have more power available than it would give up from a standing start.

 

[Archimedes]

RWD sticks to the ground like it is on rails. More a handling / speed argument. RWD better handing AWD more speed.

Thats why just about every high level professional race series banned AWD? Because it handled worse on the racetrack?

 

[whitex]

Uh, no it isn't. The CT is only AWD + 93.4 kWh, but the regular Sport Turismo (ST) can be configured as RWD with both the smaller and bigger battery.

Not in the US market. You can only get GTS ST here.

 

[tomtom901]

Not in the US market. You can only get GTS ST here.

Really? That suprises me, I stand corrected.

 

[whitex]

Really? That suprises me, I stand corrected.

I don’t know why they did that. The only thing I can think of is that they are not expecting to sell a lot of them, so save money on homologation and different ST trims manufacturing procedures.

 

[f1eng]

The internet is an imperfect source of info for this class of decisions - it's great for research, and utterly flawed for testimonials/opinions.

I'd recommend starting from your intended usage, noting that the wagon body style is only available with AWD. (Same, I think, for the larger battery.) If you _need_ AWD/more range/more space etc. then it's easy; if not, then you're into "wants"/preferences, and those should be your own.

It is only good for research if you are already quite knowledgeable. It is full of misinformation and propaganda on almost every subject.
Critical thinking required and checking source credibility IME.
It was pretty good 25 years ago on subjects I have experience in but had got worse with time and ease of access IME.

The Cross Turismo models are all AWD, the Sport Turismo base is also RWD and has the lighter battery.

 

[tigerbalm]

The extra weight really p*sses me off though.

What's your current thoughts on PDCC reducing the impact – or at least the feel of this – in everyday driving ?

 

[whitex]

The Cross Turismo models are all AWD, the Sport Turismo base is also RWD and has the lighter battery.

OP is in the US market where there is no base ST, or any other ST trim other than GTS. Not sure why Porsche added this limitation.

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