Bruce, I am not an engineer, but I am an avid driver. It seems to me that in AWD cars, those with a balanced front/rear power distribution have more torque steer than those with a weaker front/stronger rear distribution. Is torque steer more noticeable in an AWD or a FWD car? I think it really depends on all kinds of variables like weight distribution, dimensions of the vehicle, rolling momentum, tires/shafts/bunnies/ponies and things I can't explain in sufficient detail. I would just encourage you to try out the cars in question and see if you can feel it. If not, just disregard torque steer as one of your deciding parameters!
Rob, I drove my 85D for probably 17,000 miles and swore I had no torque steer ... until I drove the P85+. It was a world of difference. The human mind has the ability to adjust to things at a very subtle level without full awareness that we are doing it. I noticed that in the P85+, I was making minor corrections with my hands on the steering wheel as I accelerated ... but there was no need for such corrections. I was just used to it from muscle memory on the 85D.
- K
