What is the difference between Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive and Audi's Quattro all-wheel drive?
Both Quattro and Super Handling All-Wheel Drive are all-time, all-wheel drive systems that automatically transfer power between the front and rear wheels, as well as side to side, when necessary to maintain traction. The systems differ in how they split power, however, and Acura’s SH-AWD has a nifty feature that tackles understeer — or the plowing of the front tires — during hard cornering. Similar all-wheel-drive systems include BMW’s xDrive and Mercedes-Benz’s 4MATIC.
Between the Acura and Audi, though, Acura’s SH-AWD is primarily front-wheel drive, and during regular driving torque will split more toward the front wheels, maintaining the feel of a front-wheel-drive vehicle. On the Acura RL sedan, the default torque split is 70 percent to the front wheels and 30 percent to the rears, but torque split will differ depending on the vehicle; SH-AWD is also available on the MDX and RDX. As for Audi’s Quattro, the older — but still in use — default torque split is 50/50 to the front and rear wheels, while newer systems can have as much as 85/15 front/rear torque split; it all depends on the type of Quattro and what model car you’re talking about. There are currently two types of Quattro on the road in new Audis.
One of the unique features of Acura’s SH-AWD is its ability to make the outer rear wheel spin faster than the front wheels in hard cornering on dry roads, which is called overdriving the wheel. Overdriving the outer rear wheel helps reduce understeer, and up to 100 percent of the engine’s torque can be sent to that outer real wheel in the right circumstance. While you probably won’t notice this feature while driving casually through town, a few of us have thrown an SH-AWD-equipped Acura around corners, and here’s what our reviewers have to say:
Kelsey Mays: “Works like a charm in the RDX – the car never lost grip in a slalom, nor did it understeer all that much. Compared to the X3 (with more conventional AWD), it felt more connected.”
Joe Wiesenfelder: “You can go into a turn and stand on it and it sticks like glue.”
Learn more
I swear I saw Acura advertise their AWD system defaults 30:70 F:R. But I just can't find it now.
Thanks,many thanks on your site.
No,thanks.
See if your question has already been asked and answered
Your question has been successfully submitted to Ask.cars.com. It will now be reviewed by our editors and we'll answer it soon if we think it's a useful question. You will be notified via e-mail when the answer is posted. Ask.cars.com tackles your questions about new cars and the car-buying process. Unfortunately we can't answer questions regarding:
Have our experts answer any of your questions about new cars.
Don't worry — we won't publish your last name or email.
i have a subaru wrx. i've driven 20,000 miles in this car. previously, i've driven fwd cars.
all wheel drive is most useful in snow, rain, even wind. but during regular driving with good weather, i hate to admit it, but all wheel drive just means you're spending more gas money. all wheel drive definitely helps you drive out if you're snowed in a parking spot, but it costs more to buy, fuel, and fix. and with more technology in an awd car, that is just one (or more - since awd has lots of parts) thing that can go wrong/have to pay to fix.