[tjlees]

Originally Posted by Beowulf65

We have driven in serious Canadian winter weather for 47 years now and have never used winter tires. This will be our first AWD car...even the 1973 BMW 2002 sedan was fine. We did have to add some stage weights over the rear axle as that car was a bit light for snow. Neither of us has ever had an accident due to snow/ice...pretty careful I guess. Who knows...also lucky? A few times, a bit difficult to get up a steep, heavily snowed city street and I think xDrive will help with that situation. If we lived in Montréal, we probably would go for winter tires.

It's sooo much more fun with winters

I actually enjoy the snow rather than wondering when I'm going to become a 3500lb sledge!

With summer tyres (195/16s) I couldn't even get out the drive - I had to dig my way out five winters ago.

[335BOY]

Originally Posted by Beowulf65

We have driven in serious Canadian winter weather for 47 years now and have never used winter tires. This will be our first AWD car...even the 1973 BMW 2002 sedan was fine. We did have to add some stage weights over the rear axle as that car was a bit light for snow. Neither of us has ever had an accident due to snow/ice...pretty careful I guess. Who knows...also lucky? A few times, a bit difficult to get up a steep, heavily snowed city street and I think xDrive will help with that situation. If we lived in Montréal, we probably would go for winter tires.

its law in Quebec.....should be here. There is no comparison.
I'd guess youre a good conservative driver that doesnt drive a ton in the winter(especially on the highway )that has been lucky. Hope you enjoy your new car. Its April, snow is gone, golf courses are open and snow tire discussions are closed!

[tjlees]

Yep. Even the pistonhead.com winter tyre thread has stopped

[Beowulf65]

Originally Posted by 335BOY

its law in Quebec.....should be here. There is no comparison.
I'd guess youre a good conservative driver that doesnt drive a ton in the winter(especially on the highway )that has been lucky. Hope you enjoy your new car. Its April, snow is gone, golf courses are open and snow tire discussions are closed!

Righto...my rule on snow and ice: never do anything quickly and never put yourself in a situation where you might have to do so.

Now it's time to stop and have some summer fun...

[RJH]

Originally Posted by 335BOY

its law in Quebec.....should be here. There is no comparison.
I'd guess youre a good conservative driver that doesnt drive a ton in the winter(especially on the highway )that has been lucky. Hope you enjoy your new car. Its April, snow is gone, golf courses are open and snow tire discussions are closed!

NEVER use Quebec government as a reference or rationale for anything!! The crazy laws and rules that come out of that province are epic for their sheer stupidity...don't get me started;-)
But to the this point, they mandated snow tires the same time they cut back on road maintenance and plowing. So maybe you can make a case for AWD and snow tires here. Elsewhere, not so much.

[tjlees]

Originally Posted by RJH

NEVER use Quebec government as a reference or rationale for anything!! The crazy laws and rules that come out of that province are epic for their sheer stupidity...don't get me started;-)
But to the this point, they mandated snow tires the same time they cut back on road maintenance and plowing. So maybe you can make a case for AWD and snow tires here. Elsewhere, not so much.

....

[335BOY]

Originally Posted by RJH

NEVER use Quebec government as a reference or rationale for anything!! The crazy laws and rules that come out of that province are epic for their sheer stupidity...don't get me started;-)
But to the this point, they mandated snow tires the same time they cut back on road maintenance and plowing. So maybe you can make a case for AWD and snow tires here. Elsewhere, not so much.

Wow. What an uneducated post.

[casualDIYer]

XDrive BMW: A way overpriced luxury sedan
RWD BMW: Just an overpriced luxury sedan

I'm on my second BMW. Lusting . . ahhhh... I mean looking at lease end at the new LCI. If I could just get a car that drives like BMW but is rattle free like Lexus and has a Merc or Audi interior, sign me up!

The Blexamercdi!!

Don't fall X-Drive scams. For the 428 it's a $5000 delta between the 428 RWD and X-Drive models. On the 320 RWD vs 320 XDrive is a $4000 difference. But only $700 difference between RWD and XDrive 435s.

That's mighty fine profit skimming there. What a total scam! So XDrive in a a 320 is $1000 less than in a 428? And $4300 less in 435?

BMW has been making RWD 3-series for 40 years. 94% of them are RWD cars. This craze to get into AWD is great for making lots of money. They'd put it in t-shirts if they could.

If you want to do 'special stuff', off-roading, rally racing, find un-plowed patches of deep snowed covered road to drive on to, great. But AWD is an option totally wasted on roads build for the average street car and doesn't make sense on a vehicle with low ground clearance. Having AWD won't even prevent you from getting stuck. Get stuck and get your XDrive price delta back?

Remember this. When going to buy the car, try to get the salesman to tell you RWD and XDrive drive the same. When he does, then offer $4300 ($5000-700) less for the 428 XDrive. Why? Because it drives the same. Why would you pay $5000 more for the same thing?

I mean for $5000 you could buy a FWD winter beater with snow tires.

Whatever config you go for should make you feel comfortable. But $5k for XDrive? No freaking way

[casualDIYer]

Originally Posted by LagunaSecaBlue

.... some guy in California tell you "xDrive is for girls" . . . .

What? No, no. It's for girls AND old people. Jeez, don't leave out the old people.

[casualDIYer]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

The main cause of skids is that brakes put most of their effort into stopping the front wheels, causing the rear end to swing around. The key to preventing skids is to avoid the brakes entirely. That being the case, AWD works better than 2WD, especially with XDrive, which puts more of the braking power provided by the engine on the rear wheels than the front. Just as important is having the ability to go around other cars that have spun out or are stuck, rather than futilely trying to stop before you run into them. There also AWD wins.

Ahhh . . . it's called XDrive . . . not XBrake.

[casualDIYer]

Originally Posted by tex2670

According to AutoTrader, 55% of BMWs are sold with AWD:

http://www.philly.com/philly/classif..._security.html

Says "All-wheel-drive raises a vehicle’s cost and reduces fuel economy, usually 1 m.p.g. or less. It usually adds about $1,500 to a vehicle’s price."

$1500 for AWD, yeah, that's about right.

[WilliCO]

Originally Posted by menncars

But AWD is an option totally wasted on roads build for the average street car and doesn't make sense on a vehicle with low ground clearance. Having AWD won't even prevent you from getting stuck.

100% true on a flat road.

I don't like my xDrive F10 half as much as the RWD E60 I used to have - but I will admit that AWD provides a strong advantage going up a hill on a snowy road. You just can't get around the physics of pushing a heavy object, from behind, up a slippery slope.

I probably still agree with you that xDrive isn't worth the price premium, though.

[casualDIYer]

Originally Posted by WilliCO

100% true on a flat road.

I don't like my xDrive F10 half as much as the RWD E60 I used to have - but I will admit that AWD provides a strong advantage going up a hill on a snowy road. You just can't get around the physics of pushing a heavy object, from behind, up a slippery slope.

I probably still agree with you that xDrive isn't worth the price premium, though.

Even if you want xdrive use rwd to haggle on price. $700-$1500 ok. More than that BMW should eat the cost.

[tjlees]

Originally Posted by WilliCO

100% true on a flat road.

I don't like my xDrive F10 half as much as the RWD E60 I used to have - but I will admit that AWD provides a strong advantage going up a hill on a snowy road. You just can't get around the physics of pushing a heavy object, from behind, up a slippery slope.

I probably still agree with you that xDrive isn't worth the price premium, though.

Good for out accelerating at the light as well. Clearance is better for those off-road moments.

There is a premium but in the UK, there was a bigger discount on xdrive than sdrive for me. So more or less equal

If money wasn't a consideration I'd have a Aston Martin V12V...sorry.. I mean a Aplina 335i