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Yeah there would be some benefits to having 3 wheels (less rolling resistance too) but 4 wheels gives so much better stability it no wonder that the car has evolved that way. Also 4 wheels can be an advantage over 3 when off road or in deep snow. The front wheels plow the track for the back wheels to follow.
The numbers I have seen for rear differential were 3-4% so I can accept 5 as a good number but not all of that is lost to changing direction of the rotational torque. A normal gear will loose 1-2% in its operation so the rear diff is only loosing maybe 2% changing the direction of rotation. Thats pretty acceptable for me given the other benefits that 4 wheels brings to stability and safety.
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