- [Tony Balde] If you live in a crowded city,
or you enjoy listening to drum and bass with a side of tea,
or you're on a budget,
front-wheel drive cars are designed specifically for you.
They have become icons of the younger generation,
and hold a special place in everyone's heart,
even if you hate them.
(turntable scratching music)
This week, I'm covering the bestest
front-wheel drive cars ever made.
The City II Turbo is a super-light,
super-compact, amazingly stylish front-wheel drive car
that came with its own foldable motorcycle
that neatly tucks away in its trunk.
The concept was created for crowded cities
like Tokyo, which have premium rates on parking.
So people could park as close as possible to work,
then ride the 50cc Motocompo the rest of the way.
The Honda City was an '80s hot hatch icon,
and not just because of the sweet little
motorcycle in the trunk, but because of an innovative
upright seating position that created more legroom.
The City was targeted at tall young men
because of all the legroom.
But the City II Turbo-
- [Commercial Announcer] Turbo II
- [Tony Balde] did not care how tall you were.
Because it was fast.
It was an early product of world-famous tuning house
and race car constructor Mugen.
Mugen was founded by Soichiro Honda's son-
- [Man] Hirotoshi
- That introduced a turbo for the car
that more than doubled the horsepower.
To match the power, the City II turbo
got a wider track and a wide body
made by Pininfarina, the same guys that
design Italian supercars.
The Bulldog, as it was nicknamed,
went on to have its own racing league,
and is an early example of a car that was designed and sold
as a lifestyle product for the younger generation.
With a car this good coming in at number 10,
you better believe this entire list is gonna be really good.
(turntable scratching music)
One front-wheel drive car
you may not have known is real good
is the Cobalt SS/TC coming in at number nine.
A highly underrated car
that set a front-wheel drive Nurburgring lap record
at eight minutes, twenty two seconds in 2008.
GM's performance division sorted out the Cobalt
to maximize its competitiveness on the track.
They swapped out the supercharger for a turbo,
giving it 260 horesepower, and a zero to 60 in 5.7 seconds,
and it can hit 160 miles an hour.
That's thanks to a taller gear ratio.
But on the track like the Nurb,
more power is not the only thing you need,
and like most Nurburgring record holders of any category,
its suspension was specifically developed to handle
the hilly, bumpy, and twisty nature of the course.
Which resulted in a suspension
that can mitigate afflictions like torque steer,
while still being soft enough to daily drive on the street.
The Cobalt SS/TC also comes with big Brembo brakes,
the ability to shift gears without lifting the throttle,
launch control, and a five-disc anthology of Linkin Park.
(turntable scratching music)
Get ready for this oddball: the 1970 Cadillac El Dorado.
The El Dorado got its power from an insanely large,
500 cubic inch, 8.2 liter V8,
the largest V8 ever put in a production car.
And trust me, it needed it.
When you think of front-wheel drive,
you think of tiny, two doors,
small engine, partying teenager.
But this colossus weighed in at nearly 5,000 pounds,
and measured in at over 18 feet long.
My dad's deep-sea fishing boat wasn't even that long.
No joke, I'm not quite sure who this thing was built for.
All I know is that he or she
probably drinks King Cobra out of a champagne glass.
The engine was good for 400 horsepower,
and rocketed the El Dorado to zero to 60 in 7.6 seconds.
A theoretical top speed of 126 mile per hour
while driving a horizontal skyscraper
is not only impressive, it's downright dangerous.
I don't even think a brick wall
would stand a chance against this thing.
It had an enormous sunroof, comfy-ass seats,
and like most Cadillacs, it completely ignored speed bumps.
Honestly, I want an El Dorado now,
and I also want platform shoes with fish inside
to go along with it.
(turntable scratching music)
The Clio RS 182 Trophy, coming in at number seven,
was one of the greatest hot hatches ever made.
The Clio itself is the world's all-time
bestselling French vehicle.
And this second generation Clio
was a limited performance edition that outshined the rest.
All 550 production units came in one color option,
Capsicum red, and they were initially only sold in the UK.
Priced at 15,500 Euros,
it was a serious bargain for performance.
Renault Sport hooked this car up
with some serious performance upgrades.
Remote reservoir dampers is a suspension component
that is more commonly used on racecars,
and is about 10 times more expensive
than standard struts offered on a base model.
That means this lightweight hatchback
is absolutely planted through the turns.
And the 16 valve, two liter engine
got the Renault Sport treatment as well,
giving it 182 horsepower that some claim
can give it a 0 to 60 time of six seconds.
It's one of the last lightweight hatchbacks
that is so hyper, it can turn drum and bass
into sensual R&B.
- Respect.
(turntable scratching music)
- This next car literally changed
the automotive landscape forever, and it's
the OG of all front-wheel drive cars.
The Mini MK1 influenced
hundreds of economy cars that followed
with its transverse-mounted engine.
Sure, other cars did it before, but the Mini actually sold,
proving that mounting the engine sideways
to power the front wheels could work.
It gained serious popularity after being featured
in one of the most popular car chases of all time:
the original Italian Job.
The movie showed how versatile the Mini is for city driving,
and sales went through the roof.
You can learn more about this movie
by watching my "Best 60s Car Chase" video later on.
Anyways, it's possible that without the Mini Cooper,
I might not be talking about any of the cars on this list.
Besides influencing car design,
and being perfect for crowded cities,
the Mini was also a great driver's car,
winning countless road races and rallies.
With a short wheel base and a low center of gravity,
the Mini had god-like maneuverability
and wasn't afraid to take on cars with way more horsepower.
The classic Mini design was so good,
they didn't stop building it until the year 2000,
selling over five and a half million Minis
over the course of its life.
It's the ultimate underdog,
and it's more than deserving to be on this list.
(turntable scratching music)
Do you want something that's loud,
Italian and allegedly gets you babes,
but you can't afford a supercar?
Well then the Fiat 500 Abarth
is one of the cutest little cars you can buy today.
But don't confuse cuteness for weakness,
because once you turn the key,
it becomes unmistakably badass.
The Abarth might be one of the
best-sounding cars on the road today,
and that's because it doesn't have a muffler.
That's right, the turbo cuts down so much noise
that Fiat didn't bother making the car any quieter.
That's the secret to its awesome exhaust note.
Besides the heavenly exhaust note,
the Fiat is actually super fun to drive.
I mean, it's practically the same size
as the OG Mini Cooper.
It's not the most powerful car around,
but the exhaust note alone
will make you feel like Giancarlo Fisichella
when you're bombing around downtown.
Plus, if you want more power, it's highly tuneable.
It can become a serious little beast.
The reason this car is so special
is while everyone else in the industry
is making their classic front-wheel drive cars much bigger,
Fiat went against the grain and stuck to their roots,
leaving the 500 to be a tiny little city-ripper we all love.
(turntable scratching music)
Megane RS has always been the go-to when talking
high-performance hatchbacks in the European Market.
The first two generations were highly praised,
each setting their own new lap records on the Nurburgring.
And right when it seemed like it couldn't get any better,
Renault released this third generation of Megane RS.
And yes, it too set its own record around the Green Hell
before the Civic Type R showed up.
But if you ever partake in the Touristenfahrten,
which is the last couple of hours of the Nurburgring
opens up its gates to anyone and everyone
who wants to drive it, you'll be completely swarmed
by these cars flying all over the track.
With a smaller, more potent 1.8 liter turbo,
and a whole bunch of technical suspension upgrades,
it's a serious driver's car.
On top of that sheer performance, I think this car
is the best-looking one on the list.
Even considering the god-like presence of the El Dorado.
But we can't buy the Megane RS in the U.S.,
so it's disqualified from winning anything.
(turntable scratching music)
The Civic Type R is the holy grail
of front-wheel drive cars here in the U.S.
because for the longest time, we never got it.
It took 20 years, but the Civic Type R finally landed
on American shores last year, and it's a show-stopper.
Currently the fastest front-wheel drive car
around the Nurburgring,
which means it's the fastest car you can drive
around any town with shitty roads.
To be totally honest, the car makes a major impression
when rolling up to boba shops.
But to me, it's a little bit all over the place.
It's super edgy, and therefore cool,
but you can spot it from a mile away.
Sort of like one of us Americans
walking around any foreign country.
And if you look at one of these things up close,
there's a lot of fake venting
that sort of breaks my heart a little bit.
But, that doesn't stop the Type R
from being an amazing hatchback that is also
one of the quickest out there.
It's currently the most hyped-up
front-wheel drive on the planet,
and I don't believe it should overshadow
the next two cars on this list.
(turntable scratching music)
The Golf GTI Mark 1 is without a doubt
one of the biggest hot hatch icons ever made.
But the new 2016 GTI Club Sport is a serious track weapon.
Created as a response to the latest
front-wheel drive Nurburgring record,
it was so close to taking the title.
No longer can VW's two liter engine
carry the nickname, "2.slow."
With a boost function that accesses a 10% increase in power
when the pedal hits the metal,
it's only 10 horsepower shy of 300.
With a brand-new aerodynamic body kit
that creates downforce where there was previously lift,
and an option for semi-slick tires,
this thing comes straight from the factory
ready to embarrass any of your friends at any track day.
And because of the Golf's rich history for being
one of the most popular hatchbacks for all auto enthusiasts,
you'll get the highest honors
in the world wide gang of devers.
Making this one of the most lusted-after
front-wheel drive hatchbacks ever made.
(turntable scratching music)
The Integra Type R is said by many, including Pumphrey,
to be the best front-wheel drive car ever made.
- [Pumphrey] It was the best, front-wheel drive,
naturally-aspirated car of all time.
- And after receiving an anonymous death threat-
- (yells loudly)
- from Pumphrey for trying to place it lower on the list,
I had to reconsider why it deserves to be number one.
After some deep thoughts in the shower,
I finally figured out why Integra fans
are so out-of-control passionate about this car.
Sometimes, it's not about being the fastest car ever made.
It's about creating an
all-around fantastic driving experience.
Accura did not cut any corners when developing this car.
There isn't anything on it
that takes away from its pure driving experience.
It doesn't have AC, or cruise control, or a sunroof,
or even a rear wiper.
Accura even stitch-welded the chassis
so that it doesn't flex under stress.
And the shape of the car is beautifully simplistic.
It's sort of like the Japanese road car version
of the iconically-shaped Lotus 56 Indy car.
Like I said, I was having
some really deep thoughts about this.
But the Type R's crown jewel is it's B18C5.
Which, simply put, is one of the best motors ever made.
Each one was hand-built by Honda's engine builders,
and they had a red line of 8300 RPM.
It was one of the highest-revving motors
you could buy at the time, and it blew everyone's mind.
Just like most of the cars on this list,
they are hard to find.
Because it's such a fun car to drive,
people rarely sell them, and when they do,
they ask the big bucks,
and deservedly so, because it's one of the greatest
front-wheel drive cars of all time.
Well, that's my list, and I'm forced to stick to it.
Let me know your favorite front-wheel drive cars.
Here's a little secret:
my favorite car isn't even on this list.
That's because it was the very first car I owned,
the Corrado VR6.
If you want to learn more about it,
check out this other video I made on the tuner cars
you can buy for under $10K.
Be sure to check out some of our merch
at http://shop.donut.media ,
go ahead and add me on IG, @secretskillz ,
and I'll see you next week.