There is a wide variety of FWD Toyotas/Lexus' with Traction Control unless you look into cars which are on the cheaper end of the spectrum.

But since you're asking FWD w/o vs RWD w/ Traction Control, i'd say RWD with Traction Control is better but if both had traction control, FWD would be better controlled vs RWD

EDIT, took me awhile to think lol, now that i think about it, FWD w/o traction control is better, pulling > pushing

 

um, fwd>rwd for bad weather. there's no question about it. traction control helps, but doesn't change the fact the understeer is easier to correct than oversteer. trucks fair well, but that's because of their weight. i would say a very heavy car may do well also. that being said, i drive a 95 corolla (curb weight of >2400 lbs) for pizza delivery. i have driven in the worst STL can muster for 3 winters now, which is some of the worst i've seen in my life for this area. i've driven through ice storms, hail, sleet and snow. i've been on some steep slopes in this same weather. i don't have much problems, until the snow gets ~6" deep or more. just not enough clearence. it's a 5 speed, so i can control gearing, which helps out alot. i think knowing how to drive through the weather, avoiding bad slopes/road angles and avoiding driving are the main issues. nothing is good on ice. there isn't traction to be had. also, a heavier car will keep traction longer, but will also be harder to stop/control when it does slide. this is why suvs/trucks are in the ditch alot in bad weather. people get over confident and go too fast.

take your time, learn your car and avoid problem areas. you should be able to drive anything (except maybe an mr2 ) through bad weather.

 

I'm looking for a safer car ever since my rollovers.

Story to come later...

I'm waiting to hear it. It should prove an interesting read....

TrailDust

 

I'd still say FWD.

 

for adverse weather conditions, definitely FWD.

 

RWD with proper tires can do the same as FWD, so I'd say they are even from experience. It all depends on your driving skill.

 

what about if the tires were the same on both vehicles??? which would be better?

 

also remember front wheel drive vehicles have the weight of the engine, benefiting traction. RWD does not have this luxury.

 

But once you push a vehicle beyond its limits having more weight forward can make recovery more difficult. A simple analogy would be the difference in pulling a wagon versus pushing it. I'd rather have more even weight distribution or even slightly more over rear drive wheels.

TrailDust

 

Well Technology has pretty much advance. Traction Control is more towards performance than for safty. The word usage is the thing of what its marketed for.

1.The Driver is the most important. Putting that aside. How you drive a FWD is different with
RWD ether way.

2. The laws of phyics. Weight on the RWD really does make a differences with snow tires or good traction.
MR layout.........sort of good with the right tires and weight locations for the front wheels.

3. Tires is what is touching the surface. yeah I think you know already.

4. The more advance of todays cars. have this future. with is ESC.

I think your looking for the usage of Electronic stability control (ESC). But its pretty close/same with Traction control. But ESC more works with the ABS, Wheel sensor,etc.

But its only works well with the right tires such as the stock tires or Snow tires. The better equipment. the better the computer system can help you with good feedback.

-------------------
From Wikipedia
ESC incorporates yaw rate control into the anti-lock braking system (ABS). Yaw is rotation around the vertical axis; i.e. spinning left or right. Anti-lock brakes enable ESC to brake individual wheels. Many ESC systems also incorporate a traction control system (TCS or ASR), which senses drive-wheel slip under acceleration and individually brakes the slipping wheel or wheels and/or reduces excess engine power until control is regained. However, ESC achieves a different purpose than ABS or Traction Control.[4]

For more info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_stability_control
----------------

I know ESC have different names with different auto car makers. But they are more common in high end cars than most standard cars.

 

i've made it through everything with a RWD w/o TCS ABS and SRSab with a 4spd auto in a pickup?

 

i have owned 5 FWD vehicles (none with traction control) and 4 RWD and only one with traction control. hands down the FWD vehicles do better in snow and rain.

 

I'd say FWD deff for bad weather and traction. You probably had a bad experience with that car cuz having a V6 might actually work against you in bad weather. Too much power to fast will break the wheels free and spin much easier than a smaller engine car.

Honestly speaking though, after driving AWD in this snow I think its the best thing since sliced bread & would recommend it to everyone.

 

i dd a 2wd 5sp 22re pick up i don't put sand in the bed the tire's are blad no name pos tire's i have NO PROBLEMS in the snow and rain. that's because i don't drive like an ass on the road oh and that was thro 6-8" of snow.

 

once again

awd>fwd>rwd for bad weather. even 2wd trucks aren't bad in snow. their heavy weight and large tires help get traction. my mr2 however, is terrible. why? it's rear weight bias w/gobs of tq for a small car make it prone to snap the rear out when you lose traction.

i drive for a living. i have 2 driving jobs. one, i drive a 95 corolla and the other is a dually rwd box truck (sometimes a van or nissan titan 4wd).

i'm sorry to hear about you're rolling accident. i'm glad you're OK! i think the v6's tq coupled with an automatic may have cause you to lose traction, but with more experience and better knowledge you should be perfectly fine in an ES300. i drove my mr2 turbo swap for the first time in 4" of slush. it's all about keeping the right speed and knowing what roads you are capable of driving. i may only be 24, but i've driven over 40K the last 3 years! not to mention i've been a car enthusiast since i learned to drive (14 yrs old)!!!

 

once again

awd>fwd>rwd for bad weather.

4X4 full size truck>awd>fwd>rwd

 

ok ok ok... time for some more Toyota Pickup education...



they are light trucks, lighter than S10's and Sonoma's.... and it does well in snow somehow... wanna see a vid of my truck drifting? haha


but i have to say it's all driver

 

For a guy who just rolled his sedan over.... I dunno about going into a truck....

 

^^^ Maybe we can camber his wheels out for him...help keep him upright in those turns....

BTW, still waiting to hear the story about how the big nasty happened...do tell....

-

 

Isn't it really hard to roll over a car?

 

yeah

 

Don't blame the car. You either had bad luck hitting black ice on the road or you can't drive/you can't afford snow tires/fail to do proper maintenance. Being fwd/rwd/awd has nothing to do with rolling it over.