How To Drive: Rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive cars

Most of us still love a good old-fashioned rear-wheel drive car, agreed? One with bags of power and torque so it can go sideways at the twitch of your right toe. Or, if not, maybe just a car whose steering remains uncorrupted by its driven wheels.

But how do you get the best out of a rear-wheel drive car? Is it all merely about managing the torque flow through the rear tyres, or are there some additional tricks you can deploy to unlock a bit more speed, balance and therefore fun from a rear-driver?

The answers, inevitably, are complex. What’s not in doubt is the one thing that will make the biggest difference of all to your enjoyment of an RWD car: driving it smoothly. Employ the age-old slow in, fast out technique and you will always end up in a better place in a rear-drive car, be it front-, mid- or rear-engined. And if you don’t – if you try to mess with this simplest of formulas – then best of luck. You’ll either need to be blessed by the gods in the talent department or very lucky indeed to get away with what happens next. It really is the only approach on which to base your moves in RWD cars and, as such, should never be forgotten about.