Motoring Discussion > Transmission tunnel in FWD cars Miscellaneous
Thread Author: movilogo Replies: 11
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New Mon 4 Apr 11 08:57 
 Transmission tunnel in FWD cars - movilogo
Why so many FWD cars have transmission tunnels inside them?

I understand some cars are sold as 4WD in some other countries. But many cars are not sold anywhere other than FWD yet they still have transmission tunnel hump inside them!
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New Mon 4 Apr 11 09:06 
 Transmission tunnel in FWD cars - Skoda
The Octy and the Golf both use their transmission tunnels for a haldex 4x4 system on certain models, even though in the Golf's case anyway, 4x4 sales must be around 0.000001% of overall sales.

Makes a handy place for the exhaust, probably cuts drag down in there too i imagine, that'll help the co2 emissions.
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New Mon 4 Apr 11 09:21 
 Transmission tunnel in FWD cars - Zero
and it strengthens the floor.
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New Mon 4 Apr 11 09:53 
 Transmission tunnel in FWD cars - movilogo
Then why not all cars have it? Some cars have perfectly flat floors!
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New Mon 4 Apr 11 10:08 
 Transmission tunnel in FWD cars - Zero
they strengthen it in other ways.
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New Mon 4 Apr 11 09:56 
 Transmission tunnel in FWD cars - Cliff Pope
Good question. When FWD cars first came in it was immediately spotted that the elimination of the propellor shaft and in-line gearbox meant there would then be a wide flat expanse of floor between the two front seats. Thus there was the potential for moving the handbrake and the gearlever as well, possibly permitting a genuine 3rd seat in the middle. Also easy access from either door.

However manufacturers quickly started to fill the space with clutter, and started calling the inside of the car the "cockpit" to emphasise its high-tec cramptness.
So whereas before the inside of the car was a comfortable carpetted room with easy chairs, now it's like a cross between a spitfire cockpit and a dentist's chair.
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New Mon 4 Apr 11 09:59 
 Transmission tunnel in FWD cars - Fenlander
>>> cross between a spitfire cockpit and a dentist's chair.

Currently I tend to think stealth bomber.

I've always liked the cockpit style... back in the old days I'd far rather the Rover/Triumph 2000 style than an Austin 1800.
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New Mon 4 Apr 11 10:11 
 Transmission tunnel in FWD cars - DP
The cockpit feel was the thing I loved most about my old Sierra.

The transmission tunnel came up to the level of the front seat squabs, and the centre of the dash angled towards the driver. It felt like you sat "in" it rather than "on" it.

You get the same feeling from BMWs too.
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New Mon 4 Apr 11 11:03 
 Transmission tunnel in FWD cars - Cliff Pope
>> >>> I'd far rather the
>> Rover/Triumph 2000 style than an Austin 1800.
>>
>>

The Triumph wasn't a cockpit style. Despite having a convention RWD layout and transmission tunnel, the gearbox was quite far forward so it was quite a low hump. There was carpetted space between the seats of about 6", and little people could easily walk from front to back between the seats. Even an adult could scramble into the back (not while moving obviously) to retrieve things from the back.
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New Mon 4 Apr 11 11:43 
 Transmission tunnel in FWD cars - Fenlander
>>>The Triumph wasn't a cockpit style.

It's what I'm calling cockpit style... compared with the Austin 1800 anyway. I know this is a mk.II 2500 (best pic I could find) but the earlier ones were very similar.

triumph2000register.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/t2500_Mk2_PI_Int_600.jpg

Austin 1800 a little less cluttered...

www.aronline.co.uk/images/1800_11.jpg
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New Mon 4 Apr 11 10:19 
 Transmission tunnel in FWD cars - oilburner
There are a handful of cars I can think of that have taken advantage of the extra floor space. The Honda FRV and the Fiat Multipla are two. Neither very successful mind.

The Citroën C4 Picasso has a wide flat floor space, which is quite nice, and yet strangely, in it's Peugeot twin they decided to have a built up centre console instead, thus filling in the nice open space with a useless lump of plastic.
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New Mon 4 Apr 11 10:53 
 Transmission tunnel in FWD cars - DP
The Grand Scenic we had was pretty good in this respect. The gear lever was mounted on the dash rather than the floor, and the lever for the electric parking brake was under the dash to the right of the steering column, completely freeing up the floor space between the front seats. It gave a lovely sensation of space. The floor was also completely flat throughout the car, with four generous underfloor storage bins provided.
Still only two front seats though. A friend has a Fiat Multipla which has three seats in the front. Incredibly useful.
Last edited by: DP on Mon 4 Apr 11 at 10:54
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