RWD vs AWD on Premium trim - which has overall best range?

gnaark

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Hey guys,

First time posting here and if it's not the right category, apologies and point me to the right category.

I been looking at the Mach-E hard lately and will go to my local dealer on Saturday to look at the colors/finishes in real life then make my choice and order one.

When looking at overall range and battery performance is RWD with 300mi of range the clear winner or is there a way the 270mi AWD could perform better in real life situation?
I been told that the advantages of AWD is that you get to regenerate twice as much while breaking: would that further extend the range?

Price is really not a factor for me here.

Please let me know!
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machefan

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If you want more torque AWD, if you want more range RWD.

If you want more range - extended
If you want less cost - Standard
If you want even faster and less range - GT

Welcome!
 

mixduptransistor

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I been told that the advantages of AWD is that you get to regenerate twice as much while breaking: would that further extend the range?
But you are spending more power during driving because there's two motors. The additional regen is not enough to overcome the additional power spent on two motors and the additional power spent propelling the heavier vehicle, because the second motor is several hundred pounds

For the same battery, AWD will always be worse range wise than RWD
 


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gnaark

gnaark

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sooo what does AWD give me on top of
- better 0-60
- better traction in snow/mud/rain

Am I missing anything going RWD then?
I don't care about better acceleration and I live in TX so weather isn't an issue.
 

mixduptransistor

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sooo what does AWD give me on top of
- better 0-60
- better traction in snow/mud/rain

Am I missing anything going RWD then?
I don't care about better acceleration and I live in TX so weather isn't an issue.
that's about it. it's not for everyone. sometimes just because a thing is expensive doesn't mean it's automatically better
 

Badger_Prof

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sooo what does AWD give me on top of
- better 0-60
- better traction in snow/mud/rain

Am I missing anything going RWD then?
I don't care about better acceleration and I live in TX so weather isn't an issue.
Some folks might like the handling of AWD better than RWD on dry or wet pavement while others might like the RWD. I love the AWD for our Wisconsin snow (it does great in it, by the way) but I also like the way on both wet and dry pavement the front drive portion of AWD can pull the car through a rear wheel slide (if one were so inclined to push the car to that point).
 

mkhuffman

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I agree with all the others who have provided feedback. Personally, I rate the acceleration and performance aspects higher than range when the difference is only 30 miles. However, I have never owned a EV and EV owners have posted here about how important range is. So if you really don't care about the increase in the fun factor, go for range. And RWD is cheaper. While that is not important for you, the money you save could be spent on something else you appreciate more than performance.

By the way, I am very skeptical that AWD means much even when the weather is really bad. RWD and FWD cars have been driving in bad weather since the car was invented. I took my son's FWD Jetta out in a snowstorm with several inches on snow on the road and it did great. I think (others may disagree) bad weather performance is very dependent on tires. Of course AWD helps, but you can get around with RWD if you have appropriate tires.
 

sockmeister

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sooo what does AWD give me on top of
- better 0-60
- better traction in snow/mud/rain

Am I missing anything going RWD then?
I don't care about better acceleration and I live in TX so weather isn't an issue.
AWD is a bit hyped if you don't care about the extra acceleration. This car will perfectly suit your needs in RWD form, plus you'll definitely get more range. Go with RWD! Also, it's cheaper, and that's a big boon.
 

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I been told that the advantages of AWD is that you get to regenerate twice as much while breaking: would that further extend the range?
There is only so much energy available for harvesting via regeneration. Given enough time, the RWD motor is able to harvest 100% of that potential amount. Shorter distances might exceed the harvesting capability of the rear motor so the friction brakes might get blended in sooner than an AWD vehicle for those same braking conditions.

sooo what does AWD give me on top of
- better 0-60
- better traction in snow/mud/rain

Am I missing anything going RWD then?
I don't care about better acceleration and I live in TX so weather isn't an issue.
Not just quicker 0-60. Quicker acceleration across the mph range 0-115 mph or any segment therein.
Better traction in inclement weather.
Potential to harvest more energy via regeneration (this is driving style dependent of course...)

Yeah, if you don't need AWD then save a bit of money and gain some extra range. ?
 

rgparham

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sooo what does AWD give me on top of
- better 0-60
- better traction in snow/mud/rain

Am I missing anything going RWD then?
I don't care about better acceleration and I live in TX so weather isn't an issue.
no not really. My dealer has a premium red sr rwd available. Autonation Fort Worth southwest
 

Garbone

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Eh, I have a RWD Select, when I give it all the onions pulling out into morning traffic from a dead stop I can get the rear loose, the traction control kicks in to keep it planted but it starts to let loose. No problem filling that small gap in the 35mph traffic pattern. I also like the feel of RWD push and it seems just fine for my daily. I am sure AWD would do it a little easier but RWD is pretty fun and can feel old school rear biased muscle when flogged.
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