Front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout
The engine, which takes up a great deal of space, is packaged in a location passengers and luggage typically would not use.
[1] However, as the driven wheels have the additional demands of steering, if a vehicle accelerates quickly, less grip is available for cornering, which can result in understeer.
[2] High-performance vehicles rarely use the FWD layout because weight is transferred to the rear wheels under acceleration, while unloading the front wheels and sharply reducing their grip, effectively capping the amount of power which could realistically be utilized; in addition, the high power of high-performance cars can result in torque steer.
Early cars using the FWD layout include the 1925 Alvis, 1929 Cord L-29, 1931 DKW F1, the 1948 Citroën 2CV, 1949 Saab 92, the 1957 Trabant P50, and the 1959 Mini.
Most European and Japanese manufacturers switched to front wheel drive for the majority of their cars in the 1960s and 1970s, the last to change being VW, Ford of Europe, and General Motors (Vauxhall - UK and Opel - Germany).
BMW, focused on luxury vehicles, however retained the rear-wheel-drive layout in even their smaller cars,[4] though their MINI marque are FWD.
The 1934 Citroën Traction Avant solved the weight distribution issue by placing the transmission at the front of the car with the differential between it and the engine.
This became quite popular; cars using this layout included the German Ford Taunus 12M and the Lancia Flavia and Fulvia.
The Eagle Premier used a similar powertrain arrangement found in the Renault 21 and 25 – later becoming the basis for the Chrysler LH sedans produced until the 2004 model year.
Today, Audi is the most prominent user of this mechanical layout, having used it since the 1950s in its predecessor companies DKW and Auto Union, and it can be found in its larger models from the A4 upward.
The latest evolution of the format in Audi's MLB platform attempts to address the long-standing drawback of uneven weight distribution.
This is done by packaging the differential in front of the clutch, allowing the axle line to be further forward in relation to the rear face of the engine block.
Issigonis's Mini of 1959 and related cars such as the Maxi, Austin 1100/1300 and Allegro had the four-cylinder inline water-cooled engine transversely mounted.
Other models that used the "transmission-in-sump" layout included the Datsun 100A (Cherry) and various applications of the PSA-Renault X-Type engine such as the Peugeot 104 and Renault 14.
A ball, supported on needle roller bearings, is fitted to each post of the tripod, and these slide in a trunion inside the yoke.
The outer end of the intermediate shaft is supported by a bearing secured to the transaxle case and a universal joint assists with alignment.
