[newbos]

So just wanted to see what thoughts others have on xDrive? This is my 4th BMW, I currently have a F31 330D xDrive with stage 1 map and gearbox flash, I'd assume around 310bhp. My first xDrive.
Before this I had a non xDrive F30 320D and before that 2 E92 335D with 350bhp+.
Now I completely get the xDrive and it works very well, but I do think it has taken the fun away a little. I also know my F31 weighs more than my E92's. I'm not expecting 'sideways' action, but I just thought I'd have more fun with 310bhp.
I will just add before I get shot down, I'm 42 not a youth so I'm not bombing about and breaking laws. I just like a bit of feel when I drive.

[Ennoch]

Depends what you want really, an AWD car will always be less lively than a RWD one simply because it has traction going to all four corners. I wouldn't be in an F31 if it didn't have AWD simply because I spend too much time on roads in wintery conditions but I do find the X-Drive set up to be one of the more rear biased drive systems I've driven. It's less tail happy than a DCCD Impreza, and it understeers if you let it, but learn how to get the most from it and I find it to be a nice balance between the sure footedness of AWD while not being bland (albeit more competent) like a non S/RS Audi Quattro setup.

[SantaEugence]

Can turn the traction control off by holding the button long enough.
Also, there's a thing called xDelete which disables AWD and switches it to RWD if that's your thing. Think it's costs £1-200 for the app.

[WillLowe]

Originally Posted by SantaEugence

Can turn the traction control off by holding the button long enough.
Also, there's a thing called xDelete which disables AWD and switches it to RWD if that's your thing. Think it's costs £1-200 for the app.

Xdelete is the way to go if you miss the fun of a RWD.
Mine tends to stay in RWD from around June- September then Xdrive for the rest.

[G50]

I had a F31 330d xdrive, standard except eibach springs. At first i loved the traction, but after a while i found both the xdrive driving experience and the poor dampers made for a disappointing drive. That and a lack of decent options on my car(first BMW) made me change to a better optioned RWD F31 330d which i had mapped to 320bhp. With PS4S tyres i didn't miss the xdrive traction and i much preferred the way it drove, i found it more confidence inspiring to drive quickly which i guess will be counter intuitive to most, but i think the RWD cars have more "feel", all your inputs have a uniform reaction and i find it easier to feel the limits of traction, straight line or round bends. I think this is partially due to the better geo setup and suspension the RWD cars have, but also the fact that you can feel where the power is being sent.

I currently have an xdrive 540i, and would definitely have bought a RWD 540 if that was an option over here. It's better than my F31 xdrive was, with much better suspension, but I find it really hard to gauge the grip when exiting a corner. With the F31 RWD i felt like i could feed in the power intuitively to the limit of rear end grip, but with the xdrive it lulls you into a false sense of security, and it can come as a shock when the rear goes as there was very little to indicate it was about to happen. It's like you are never quite sure how much power is going to the rear, until it steps out, then you know it was too much.

I've also always got a worry in the back of my mind that the transfer box could be an issue at some point, and that's another reason I'd prefer RWD as a high mileage driver, i tend to buy my cars with around 50k on the clock and run them to over 100k.

RWD or Xdrive though, what i have recently realised is that only an M car is going to satisfy my expectations of how i want my BMW to drive, and I'm just going to have to suck up the cost of running an M3/M4 as a high mileage driver, or never be fully satisfied.

[MarkJS]

I’ve never felt the need for any more driven wheels than the current RWD with 326bhp - even on the universally hated Bridgestone S001’s.

Snow is another matter, but I’d still slide down the hill at the end of my street, even with X-Drive. I do have a set of winter tyres/wheels and the difference is astounding in snow/slush/ice, so still don’t feel the need for X-Drive even then.

[Ennoch]

My experience of driving some pretty high powered RWD cars and some very high powered AWD cars is that they definitely require a different driving style to get the most out of them. Both have their positives and negative; on smooth roads the RWD is king because it gives so much adjustability but on rough roads covered at speeds the AWD gives so much more...but only if you drive it right. I find that driven well it's entirely predicable; I've never had my 335d kick out unexpectedly despite pushing on in some pretty slick conditions. Sure, the back has stepped out and I've got the tail a bit happy but it just feels totally intuitive.

That said, even differing AWD systems need different styles. My Impreza originally needed heavy left foot braking to quell understeer but changed suspension and a set of heavy locking centre and rear LSD's and it became a tail happy monster despite it having 50/50 torque split, and of course that drives very different to the F31. I find when pushing on the F31 even with stock suspension can be good fun, although the proper M Sport suspension would definitely help. Then again I wouldn't own it if it did come with that suspension as I would be grounding it out constantly. Maybe I enjoy AWD performance cars because I've spent so much time pushing on hard in them, but to me they still feel engaging, and the practicality far outweighs their disadvantage. Would I have chosen AWD though if I lived somewhere down south with fewer hills and no desire to head out into the very worst road conditions I could find though? Probably not.

[g9icy]

The main reason I miss xDrive from the 435d is being able to dissapear from traffic lights.

I do find I enjoy the RWD 440i more on a spirited drive though, but I think that's mostly due to the sound.

My next car will probably be 4WD (but perhaps not a BMW, they so uggo now...).

[aquazi]

I had a f32 435d and then an f82….
In terms of straight line speed xdrive is a no brainer! But “fun” is subjective… a diesel with high torque get the power out so easily that its effortless and easy to hit 3 digit speeds without any drama.

If you want fun/ a bit of slip then a trick lsd makes all the difference… i have a b9 S5 with the (optional) lsd and makes a noticeable difference to getting power down on a corner… and gives a bit more sense of drama.

[jenshb]

I had a 320i xDrive, and I always thought it felt a little twitchy sometimes, and didn't give me a lot of confidence. 4WD helps with traction -no doubt about it. It has the ability to take you faster and further into the scene of the accident. If you want grip, then decent tyres for the conditions is the way to go - they help you steer and brake. Summer tyres on snow and ice and 4WD won't do a thing. RWD with winter tyres in the same conditions are far better. If you have steep hills to negotiate, then 4WD and good tyres will be better than RWD. My main concern with xDrive is the sensitivity of the transfer box to uneven tyre wear and having to maintain that close tolerance between front and rear axles. That can prove to be expensive in the long run with a puncture or tyre damage to a corner if the difference between the three worn tyres and the single new one exceed the tolerance...

[cio74]

I have had quite a few BMW's over the years, the last two of them a stage 1 335i manual and the current 435d stock auto. 435d comes always as auto gearbox awd in europe..

the 335i had the sound and somehow the fun on windy wet roads. Yes, you do lose the tail now and then and on snow its a terrible experience. Is it fun? I dont know if driving like you have a stick in your ass is what you would describe as ' fun' , a matter of personal preferences.

I then read these ' no fun awd' driving experiences and I somehow relate to them. Yes, you are safe most of the time and to push an xdrive over the limits requires some dumbness. Yet, its easy to do this, not adjust speed on wet roads or not change your tyres when you should, let them wear out badly and the awd will turn into somehow closer rwd experience that some are missing so badly.

To me the biggest difference is quite simple: I can point the 435xdrive to wherever direction and it will docile just do that; fast, slow, skidding, you name it, it will just do as told. The rwd it has its own mind and you will be surprised to find it doing things sometimes you do now expect, skidding, losing tail and the alike. Whenever this is classified as ' feeling alive' or not, its a matter of personal preferences but the xdrive it seems, to me, to be an exceptional well designed all drive system that seems to never let you down.

[HighlandPete]

I see it this way. xDrive in a 'like for like' situation adds to the safety factor, but that can dull the driving experience. Then safety requirements has done that anyway. Think of the weight penalty we all carry due to safety. Compared to much lighter cars of the past, our bloated and heavy vehicles will never be the nimble 'fun' cars of the past, even with RWD.

Add high performance, along with weight, and we really need the advanced and nanny systems to help us out. Whereas a light car could often be corrected quite easily, a heavy vehicle is harder to get back in control, the laws of physics not our friend.

I sense most drivers are safer with xDrive, particularly as performance levels increase.

[WillLowe]

I've never understood the relevance of bringing up the fact that 4WD on summers isn't as good as RWD on winters, surely that's obvious. Both cars on winter tyres however and 4WD will be far better at finding grip.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by WillLowe

I've never understood the relevance of bringing up the fact that 4WD on summers isn't as good as RWD on winters, surely that's obvious. Both cars on winter tyres however and 4WD will be far better at finding grip.

Not to a lot of folks, they have bought into AWD being better in winter, without any thought of tyres.

One of our leading UK motor mags published an article a few years back, on which were the best AWD vehicles for winter driving... never mentioned tyres at all, in the whole article. Most on the list would have come with summer tyres.

[aquazi]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

Not to a lot of folks, they have bought into AWD being better in winter, without any thought of tyres.

One of our leading UK motor mags published an article a few years back, on which were the best AWD vehicles for winter driving... never mentioned tyres at all, in the whole article. Most on the list would have come with summer tyres.

Yep! Along with the same folk that think as they have better traction with AWD in the snow on summer tyres can drive as fast as they want… with no consideration on stopping distances!

[Spangle]

I'm finding the x-drive AWD completely different to the ATTESA AWD system in my GT-R

The GT-R is very rear wheel drive biased while yes it can do a 50/50 torque split if it deems required you never really feel that unless launching

A quick query for everyone in my GT-R there is a needle showing you how much is being sent to the front axle is there a screen in iDrive showing how much is being sent to each wheel?

[WillLowe]

Well in that case those people are idiots. I use winter tyres on my 4wd as the difference Is huge on snow and ice in all aspects. I do often wonder how oblivious people actually are when you see RR Sports etc on 22inch summer tyres cruising along on cold icy roads at 100mph.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by WillLowe

Well in that case those people are idiots. I use winter tyres on my 4wd as the difference Is huge on snow and ice in all aspects. I do often wonder how oblivious people actually are when you see RR Sports etc on 22inch summer tyres cruising along on cold icy roads at 100mph.

They have got an AWD... invincible! No one told them it's all about tyres.

[cio74]

From someone living most of his life in a country where over winter -17 degrees was quite common I can put my life on tyre type and quality. Like no one ever even tried to run all season or summer tyres during winter That's being said, given the same tyre quality a rwd is a joke compared to a fwd or awd in such winter conditions. You must try to run a car in heavy snow when on a fwd by moving wheel you can (eventually) get the grip to carry on whilst on a rwd you are like in a toy car, just moving the wheel yet nothing happening. That;s off topic since such winters are not the norm in the UK.

Back on topic, awd is the safe option to handle some power and I fully agree with a previous comment where given more power awd is probably the best options to (properly) handle it.

Out of curiosity, apart from the current car I have on;y had and drove a Mazda cx7 awd car and it felt okay, nothing spectacular, how the other awd implementations are, is the merc and audi doing a better job? Im not talking stupid super dry launch control BS for teenagers thrill but real bad weather conditions where all you want is to get home one piece.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Spangle

I'm finding the x-drive AWD completely different to the ATTESA AWD system in my GT-R

The GT-R is very rear wheel drive biased while yes it can do a 50/50 torque split if it deems required you never really feel that unless launching

Latest xDrive systems are more rear wheel biased than the F series xDrive applications. Statements in the data such as:

The torque distribution towards the front wheels can be completely cut off in driving situations where all-wheel drive is not needed.

Efficiency Mode is always used when there is no all-wheel drive request from the DSC control unit and the multidisc clutch is therefore open.

For the M Performance models like the new F42 M240i:

The rear-wheel drive bias of BMW xDrive optimizes both the efficiency and the dynamic properties of the compact BMW M model. In driving situations where all-wheel drive is not necessary, the power from the inline 6-cylinder engine is sent to the rear wheels only.