Quote:
Originally Posted by SPACEMANRICK
Like you I have actually owned and extensively driven both a E90 2006 330i with snow tires and a E90 2008 335 Xdrive with all season tires and agree with your observations.
If you are going up a snow covered hill the Xdrive with all season tires blows the rear wheel drive with snow tires out of the water. Those with rear wheel drive and snow tires may make it up the same hill but not with the same control and confidence as those with Xdrive. When I lived on a street with a 20% incline with 2 sharp turns, on the rare occasion that it snowed here my 2006 330i with snow tires would make it up but with quite a bit of wheel spin. My 2008 335 Xdrive with all season tires would make it up with hardly any wheel spin at all. If you had rear wheel drive with all season tires going up this same hill you would be parked on the side of the road until the road was cleared.
Braking is improved in snow and ice with winter tires but if you use common sense and slow down and leave youself plenty of room you won't have a problem either with Xdrive with all season tires. Common sense and slowing down won't help you at all though going up a hill if you don't have proper traction.
Some people complain that the Xdrive is 150 pounds heavier and 1/2" higher than the rear wheel drive sedan. Unless you are pushing the car at 95% of it's limits (and who does that on public roads) I could never tell the difference in the loss of cornering ability. What I could tell on a daily basis was the improved traction when I accelerated hard in all conditions from dry roads to wet roads.
I first had a 2002 330xi and when I traded in my car in 2006 I read about the more fun rear wheel drive setup and thought I would try it out and I bought a 2006 330i (also the all wheel drive system in the E46 2002 330i was pretty crude). I had it for 2 years and just didn't like the lack of traction in the rain and when powering out of corners. When the N54 engine came out and I decided to upgrade in 2008 and I went back to the all wheel drive 2008 335xi and haven't looked back. The all wheel drive system in the 2008 335xi was much improved and much less intrusive than the 2002 330 xi all wheel drive system. I traded in my 2008 335xi 3 months ago and without hesitation went for the 2013 335 xdrive over the 2013 335i  If there was no difference, who wouldn't want to save $2,000 and skip the Xdrive, but besides the loss in traction you are going to lose more than the $2,000 difference when it comes time to sell or trade in your car. |
Real world experience. My buddy has AWD 328...mine RWD 328...same year. His all seasons...mine winter tires. Going over Loveland Pass (Colorado)...winter...snow, snow, snow. He followed me and was amazed at the traction/control I had.
One Advantage of AWD...you don't need to switch out your all seasons....and you may have a little better start-up from stop on slick roads. Negative...you are dragging 200 pounds around the other dry months...and your summer handling is compromised. Also...it is the 328i RWD that now gets Consumer Reports' highest reliability rating. Everything is a compromise.
Now I will tell you...my buddy would buy the X drive again. I see it as a nice feature in winter...but not necessary (I've driven 11 years....240,000 miles in Colorado with RWD 3 series. Stuck once...high centered.)
As a testimony to RWD cars. Colorado Highway Patrol drives FWD, RWD and AWD vehicles...mostly RWD...in the mountains in winter.
Good luck.