Why we love rear-wheel drive

Three different cars, one reason to love them all (and it's got nothing to do with going sideways)

Let's be clear. There are plenty of front-wheel drive cars we love. We're pretty keen on some four-wheel drive ones as well. No 'wrong-wheel drive' prejudice here.

Boards ready just in case

But rear-wheel drive retains a certain mystique and sense of wonder among folks like us and here, with three very different rear-wheel drive cars, we'll try and explain a little more about our fixation. Without resorting to lurid drifts and lots of tyre smoke. Good reasons for that too; first, as you'll see from the pics, it was raining pretty hard when we visited Brands Hatch for this shoot. Second, it was a public track day and much as we're all driving gods who drive everywhere on the lock stops (honest) track days aren't really the place to do it. If it's dry the tyre squeal upsets the neighbours. And in the wet the marshals are, frankly, doing a commendable job of saving us from ourselves.

So here three members of the PH team pick a defining example of modern rear-wheel drive machinery and explain why their choice symbolises all that's wonderful about the genre. Without going sideways. Honest.

BMW M4
With xDrive variants and Mini-platformed MPVs like the heinous 2 Series Active Whatnot BMW has somewhat diluted its traditional RWD bloodline. Arguably the M4 attempts to compensate single-handedly by being the MOST rear-driven BMW ever built.

Work with it and the M4 is a delight

Now, if you've been reading my PH Fleet reports you'll know this has been a voyage of discovery from fear and trepidation to full-on love. And a few laps of a sodden Brands Hatch illustrate why. Indeed, this session in the M4 was the one where I finally bonded with the car, despite setting off up the pit lane wondering if I'd make it past Druids before it tried to kill me.

If you want an easy introduction to the subtle pleasures of rear-wheel drive the M4 ain't the car. Because once those two turbos spool up you get a very quick lesson in how the steering wheel plays a mere bit-part in controlling its direction of travel. The lack of understeer means the M4's rotation comes on very quickly, especially if you've been a bit clod footed. Until you learn to meter the throttle effectively you'll be a mess of frantic corrections and/or DSC interventions. Get it right and the sensation of turning into a corner, feeding in the power and feeling the wheel straighten in your hands as the car rotates into the apex before the diff hooks up and slingshots you through the exit is just sublime. Sure, with space, denial and someone else footing the bill for tyres you can be more lurid. But the best moments in the M4 aren't the dramatic ones. It's that sense of transition flowing from foot, to hands and then seat of the pants as the infinite adjustments to the car's attitude run between engine, driver and rear axle.

It seems incredible in this safety-obsessed modern age a car as rear-biased as the M4 could be sold as a mainstream product. When it's wild it's really wild. If you're clumsy it'll bite, hard. But when you face your fears, take control and work with it the sense of excitement stays with you long after the drive has ended. That's why, for me, it's one of the definitive rear-driven cars on the market today.

Toyota GT86 - Matt Bird
Hands up, the Toyota wasn't at its best at Brands Hatch. But that was more to do with the wet weather ability of the Yokohama tyres than any fundamental issues with the car. Because the GT86 is ruddy great.

Not the fastest, but still huge fun

It's the balance that's so enthralling. That boxer engine sits low and far back, with weight distribution split 53:47 front to rear. So it means every time you brake, accelerate and turn, the car responds exactly as you would hope and all of the weight feels perfectly controlled around you. Even beyond the limit, there's no unsightly lurching our rolling around; always there's the sense that it's been honed to deliver a brilliant front-engined, rear-wheel drive experience.

Helping you get the best from the Toyota's layout are some finely harmonised controls. With a revvy engine, strong brakes and sweet gearbox, everything is there to keep you right at the centre of the action. The GT86 is not some powersliding lunatic like the M4 or the Caterham, but it never lets you forget its rear-driven nature - even at road speeds it can be felt tightening its line under power and steering without any torque corruption.

They're lovely sensations, ones that aren't really available in many other places brand new for less than £25K. And it does them better than the MX-5 for me.

What's most exciting (or should that be frustrating?) about the GT86 is the sense that it could be so easily improved. With some better tyres and a smidge more power to exploit its talents at more modest commitment levels, it could be one of the rear-drive greats. For now it remains 'just' very good. But a car that I'm completely enamoured with.

Caterham 360R - Ben Lowden
On a wet and cold day at Brands you might have thought I'd pulled the short straw with an exposed Seven 360R, but there's nothing else I'd rather have been in. It's fair to say I'm pretty used to being in a Caterham too, having built my own 270R last year. I'd argue that with all the technology and driver assists in most modern cars the machine is driving you, not the other way around. In a Seven you feel plumbed into every control.

Maybe we went a little sideways...

The steering is point and shoot, with the slightest adjustment being sent directly to the front wheels. Crucially for this celebration of rear-wheel drive you're practically sat on the back axle, so you can feel every nuance of the tyres' response to the accelerator. The tiny pedal box is the perfect place to learn the art of heel and toeing, with every gear change and adjustment on the brakes or throttle feeling so precise and controllable. The Seven fills you with assurance to push harder through each corner, without giving in to the slippery surface beneath.

Let's not forget the 360R is a smidge over 500kg, a third of the weight of Dan's M4. You brake later and harder into Paddock Hill, blipping the throttle as you shift down. Back on the power and your heart's in your mouth as you hurtle down the hill towards Druids, the car responding to your every input as you catapult out towards the short Cooper Straight. There's something so rewarding about connecting up the corners in a Seven (even more so when a bit sideways) that you just don't get from other cars. Even if you do decide to leave a corner with a bit of opposite lock, it's just so controllable and easily corrected. I've never driven such a rewarding car that instils so much confidence which is why, for me, it perfectly encapsulates all that's great about rear-wheel drive.

BMW M4
Engine: 2,979cc 6-cyl twin-turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual/7-speed dual-clutch auto (M DCT), rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 431@5,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 406@1,850-5,500rpm
0-62mph: 4.3 sec/4.1 sec M DCT
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 1,572kg/1,612kg M DCT (EU, with driver)
MPG: 32.1mpg/34mpg M DCT (NEDC combined)
CO2: 204g/km/194g/km M DCT
Price: £56,635 (Basic OTR)

Search for BMW M3s and M4s in the PH classifieds

TOYOTA GT86 PRIMO
Engine: 1,998cc boxer four-cylinder
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 200@7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 151@6,400-6,600rpm
0-62mph: 7.7sec
Top speed: 140mph
Weight: 1,275kg
MPG: 36.2 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 180g/km
Price: £22,700

Search for Toyota GT86s in the PH classifieds

CATERHAM SEVEN 360R
Engine: 1,999cc 4-cyl
Transmission: 5-speed manual (6-speed as tested), rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 180@7,300rpm
Torque (lb ft): 143@6,100rpm
0-62mph: 4.8sec
Top speed: 130mph
Weight: 560kg
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Price: £27,990 inc. VAT (360 kit at £23,990 plus £3,995 upgrade to R spec; factory build an additional £3,000; OTR package additional to factory build, including IVA, registration, one-year road fund licence and delivery to Caterham South £800; 6-speed gearbox £2,495)