[Hulkin2332]

Hello brand new to the forum, getting ready to pull the trigger on an 08 or 09 335i or a 335xi , my question is to all those with either car, can you do just fine with a 335 or do you need an xdrive in co. with our normal snow here for a couple days and gone tomorrow, not the 4' blizzard conditions. I am a native and grew up with a 68 chevelle with posi. and never had traction control or let alone all wheel drive. The new BMW with be my DD. Any and all opionions welcome. Thanks in advance!

[Carl Morris]

I bought an XI because I like to be able to put a lot of power down at low speeds and the additional performance in snow when running all seasons year-round is a bonus. I have a friend with a 335i that puts snow tires on his in the winter and has no complaints. I think the traction control is really good on these cars. You should probably go with whatever fits your needs 90% of the time, but if that's RWD figure on swapping tires between summer and winter if it's your only car.

[IN54NITY]

My brother used to own a '70 Chevelle SS 454. He never lost a drag race... Awesome car.

I don't mind the xi, though I absolutely hated the suspension. Coilovers fixed that. To tell the truth RWD springs and struts were not much better (my experience driving RWD 335). 4WD is a decent substitute for lack of LSD - when my rear diff wears out, I'm planning on getting LSD anyways. With dedicated snow tires, car is terrific in snow, as long as depth isn't an issue. With dedicated summer tires car feels great in summer too and is acceptable at the track even.

If I were you, I would make sport package, miles, and price determine the choice, not xi vs i, though RWD will probably be cheaper.

[richpike]

I've had three rear drive 3-series (1-E46 and 2-E90s) and I've never had an issue, but I run snows during the winter. I also have a couple other things going for me:

1. I believe we get less snow in the Springs than Denver. There are only about 4-days a year that snow is on the roads.
2. I can always take my wife's car if it is really bad. The snows are more if I get caught somewhere.

In general, I like the looks of the RWD sport package better, it comes with more aluminum suspension parts and I like to fish tail when the mood strikes me. If I were pushing tons more torque and/or going up to the mountains every weekend during the winter (and didn't have another car), I'd probably look at the Xi.

A couple other things to consider:

1. Non x-drive will have lower resale in CO (when you go to sell) and are harder to find here (when you go to buy).
2. If the snow is really deep, even x-drive isn't going to help much.

-Rich

[King mode]

I ski every weekend in the winter and drive back and forth from DTC and Cherry Creek to downtown multiple times per day while working. I would like to be able to have a rwd car but it simply isn't logical if you go to the mountains and drive it every day in Colorado. It's not just snow, it's ice throughout the winter months too.

It's also fun running quick times at the track on street tires vs spinning the first 60'.

[Hulkin2332]

Hey all thank you so much for your insight.... now just have to find the one I want... I look forward to getting to know you guys better and learn more as this will be my first BMW.

[SAM67]

Welcome to Colorado and good luck with your car search. I also live in Highlands Ranch and have a rear drive 335i. It's my daily driver and I use dedicated snow tires on 17" rims in the winter. I completely agree with what the others have said -- nothing new to add. If you are having trouble finding a rear drive 335i to test drive, let me know. I also have a manual transmission, which is even harder to find in the used market!

-Scott

[Hulkin2332]

Well I pick her up on tuesday.... thanks again for all the input, it was greatly appreciated. Ill post pics and stats up a little later.

[WilliamS]

What did you end up with?

[Hulkin2332]

Well I finally had some time to get her all cleaned up after our little rain storm the other day. Here she is 2009 335xi CPO with 22,000 miles on her. Black Saphire with black interior. sport package and cold packeage. ( still learning the lingo with BMW) my first one. I love this car I thought my mustang and my old chevelle was fast and fun but nothing compared to this fun!!!! Let the modding begin.

[richpike]

Beauty! Congrats!

-Rich