Quote:
Originally Posted by n55jb4
Hey 6IX I agree with you about RWD is more fun to drive on dry roads, but on anything other than dry (which for many is most of time) - I would choose AWD - it just has more grip during acceleration and driving it in wet/snow conditions is a blast! Every descent sports car has AWD option: Porsche, Ferrari, Lambo, Bugatti Veyron and so on - they are all AWD and I think they know a thing or two about fun
Also, I agree with Mike - BMW x-drive is one of the issue free systems out there. There is almost zero maintenance, except changing oil once in 100k miles - easy and cheap job. I've driven my x-drive hard and I'm on 78K km and still haven't even touched any maintenance on it. It's as good as it gets in AWD world. Yes, Subaru has constant AWD and Acura has more complex AWD system, but I bet x-drive can beat them all in terms of simplicity and issue free and low maintenance.
I was driving in NY during winter and going uphills with AWD was so easy, while some SUVs were spinning their wheels and sliding sideways down
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traction off the line is only an issue if you take off from the light like a moron. otherwise, ive never had an issue with RWD in the snow or rain. its actually particularly alot of fun.. even in the snow it wont over-steer unless you deliberately use too much throttle and even then its such a piece of cake to control.. alot of the stability you were talking about on the highway comes from the balanced chassis, Xdrive really isnt doing much for you at speed. i was going about 70mph through a snowy highway in my RWD 5er and it did not slip ONCE.. so stable. really alot of fun in any sort of driving conditions.
I'm saying this because lots of people feel like they NEED Xdrive and in turn are stuck with it year round... boring. with a good set of tires you will be just fine unless the snow is extremely deep, or perhaps if you live in a hilly area. traction off the line is surprisingly manageable if you are careful with the throttle and none of this is a problem at all in the rain.
one thing ive noticed is that the 35i guys seem to have some issue in the snow. I think it has to do with the very slighy turbo lag which diminishes into tons of torque when you get onto the throttle. the N52 is wonderfully linear, especially in the low end which makes smooth throttle application easy and fun.