wǒmen yào wǎng xī kāichē.

In this sentence, 要 is a modal verb placed before the action 往西开车.

It can suggest:

• going to
• want to
• need to / have to

So 我们要往西开车 most naturally means something like We’re going to drive west or We want to drive west, depending on context.

It depends on the situation.

Common possibilities:

• plan / near future: We’re going to drive west
• intention / desire: We want to drive west
• necessity: We need to drive west

Without more context, learners will often understand it as a plan or intention. That is usually the most natural reading here.

往 means toward or in the direction of.

So:

• 往西 = toward the west / westward

It introduces the direction of the action. In this sentence, it tells you the direction in which the driving happens.

You will often see 往 + direction/place + verb, for example:

• 往东走 = walk east
• 往南飞 = fly south
• 往前看 = look forward

西 by itself is perfectly normal after a directional word like 往.

So both of these are natural:

• 往西开车
• 往西边开车

The difference is small:

• 西 = west
• 西边 = the west side / western area

往西 sounds a bit more direct and compact, like westward.
往西边 can sound a little more concrete, like heading toward the western side/area.

In Mandarin, direction phrases like 往西 are very often placed before the main verb they modify.

So:

• 往西开车 = drive west

This is a very standard pattern:

• 往北走
• 往前跑
• 往里看

You may sometimes hear other word orders in speech, especially if extra verbs like 去 or 走 are added, but 往西开车 is a very normal basic structure.

Strictly speaking, 开车 means to drive a car—that is, to operate the vehicle.

So if you want to say someone is riding in a vehicle rather than driving it, Chinese usually uses something else, such as:

• 坐车 = ride in a vehicle

However, in casual conversation, people may sometimes use 开车 in a broader travel context when it is already understood that someone is driving. Still, the core meaning is drive.

Yes.

• 我们要往西开车 = We’re going to / want to drive west
• 我们往西开车 = We drive west / We’re driving west

Removing 要 makes the sentence more like a plain statement of action or direction, without the extra sense of intention, plan, or necessity.

Not directly, if you want the same structure and meaning.

往 marks direction:

• 往西开车 = drive west / drive toward the west

去 is a full verb meaning go:

• 去西边 = go to the western side

So 往西开车 focuses on the direction of driving.
If you use 去, you usually change the structure and often the nuance too.

For example:

• 我们开车去西边 = We drive/go by car to the western area

That sounds more like going to a place in the west, not simply driving westward.

It can, but not always.

我们 means we / us, but Mandarin does not grammatically force a distinction between:

• inclusive we = you and I
• exclusive we = I and someone else, not you

So whether the listener is included depends on context.

Yes, that is completely normal.

往西开车 only tells you which way the car is going, not where it will end up. English works the same way:

• We’re driving west

You do not need to name a destination if direction is all you want to say.

Yes, it is natural and grammatical.

It sounds like a straightforward statement about a plan, intention, or need:

• 我们要往西开车。

Depending on context, native speakers might also say slightly different versions, such as:

• 我们要往西边开。
• 我们要往西走。
• 我们要开车往西去。

But the original sentence is clear and idiomatic.

Yes, if the subject is already obvious from context.

For example, in conversation, someone might simply say:

• 要往西开车。

Mandarin often drops subjects when they are understood.
But including 我们 makes the sentence clearer, especially for learners or in standalone examples.