[chrisiden]

i happened to be thinking of why Merc doesnt have rear wheel drive for CLA and then i came across this 4matic vid i thought to share with you here...

did this vid change anyones mind on the 4matic vs front wheel drive
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[rosspat75]

If it didnt have to wait until 2014 to get a 4MATIC it would have.

 

[TheStig]

i happened to be thinking of why Merc doesnt have rear wheel drive for CLA and then i came across this 4matic vid i thought to share with you here...

did this vid change anyones mind on the 4matic vs front wheel drive?

Nope not at all...plus I attended a BMW driving event this pas summer that showed the opposite how BMW is better than 4matic and Quattro..
It's all marketing and the setup is biased to show off in the favor of whoever is putting it on display

 

[osiris_x11]

Some CLA 4Matic food-for-thought...

- weight-difference
- drive-train power loss
- fuel-economy difference
- tread-wear difference

I supposed it also depends, is the new'ish MB 4Matic (particularly for the CLA) meant for increased traction/grip & year-round drive'ability for those in snow-belt regions or it's a performance-oriented AWD system meant for actual performance/handling benefits in GT & track settings! There are really only two AWD systems that are meant for performance, Audi's Quattro & Acura's SH-AWD. Well, other than Porsche Carrera 4 / Turbo & Nissan GT-R systems. Ditto for certain Subaru & Mitsu applications. Generally speaking, the rest of the available AWD systems on the market are just full-time traction control systems seemingly.

On the flip'side, quite a few out there whom I know in-person are bummed-out that the CLA is FWD. I don't think it'll be that much of a big-deal to me, to be rather honest. What I'm more inquisitive about is the small-displacement 4-banger w/ a turbo! Any small displacement platforms that I've had in the past have been NA & high-revving. This is gonna be interesting...

 

[Mike T]

The 250 has monster torque from 1200 RPM, it's very un-4 cylinder like in that respect. Rev it to over 5000 and it sounds like what it is though.

 

[mrjad20]

Hey, if 4Matic is some thing you want go for it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There is certainly value in it for geo areas of snow and such. I just don't see it's value, for the dinero, in non-snow regions.

 

[ZILLA]

If it didnt have to wait until 2014 to get a 4MATIC it would have.

...
+ 1

 

[Mike T]

Compared to the Merc in the video above, the 4MATIC in the A, B and CLA will be quite different. The torque split is around 50-50% by default in the bigger Mercedes, and 4MATIC adjusts power to the front and rear from that basic setting.

In the A, B and CLA, the torque split default is 100% front and 0% rear, and the torque only begins to be applied to the rear wheels if the fronts have begun to slip. This is the so-called Haldex system.

The resulting handling characteristics will be quite different, especially when driving fast on compact snow, where the handling limits of the Haldex cars will be lower.

 

[benz newbie]

I really have no choice. Can't drive stick