Most cars have engines in the front, so why not in the back?

The cooling of automobile engine is to expose the heat of engine to the air through radiator through coolant. When the car is running, the temperature of the radiator is lowered by the wind, and the engine is finally cooled, and the cooling effect is excellent. Since 1980s, the demand for miniaturization of vehicles has increased. Due to the structural reasons, the traditional front-mounted and rear-driven vehicles can not be used in small cars, so the front-mounted and front-driven vehicles appear. In this layout, the engine is placed horizontally in front, the gearbox and steering system are concentrated in the front, and the center of gravity of the car will be concentrated in the front.

On the one hand, we can make up for the pushing by oversteering; Furthermore, the throttle can be used to control the steering, and the steering wheel can be used to control the side slip angle of the front wheel, so as to achieve better turning effect under the simultaneous action of the lateral torque of the front and rear wheels. Nowadays, almost all buses have rear engines, which saves a long transmission shaft and frees up a huge space for the body. The vehicle chassis can also be made lower, the appearance of the vehicle is more beautiful, and the stability is also improved. Now buses with rear engines are beautiful, and it is much more convenient to get on and off.

The advantages of front and rear drive are better maneuverability, more dexterous turning control and greater power output, but there will be a transmission shaft running through the front and rear of the car body, which will occupy the interior space, increase the transmission distance of power, reduce the transmission efficiency and bring greater fuel consumption. Because cars are often running at high speed, safety is the first factor that vehicles and drivers should consider. Using the front of the engine is equivalent to setting a buffer device between the driver and the vehicle, which can play a powerful role in protecting the safety of drivers and passengers when the vehicle collides.

It's understandable if it's just too small. Most importantly, if the engine layout is at the rear, it can't adapt to more bodies such as hatchback and sedan, and the space layout of the third row of seats in the back row or the seat owner will also be limited, so the two positions can be switched.