[KG3356MT]

Hello everyone. My girlfriend and I are looking into getting a M235i. I have an E90 M3 that i will primarily be daily driving. The M235i will be mostly used by my lady. Does anyone know of any comparions of the xdrive vs the rwd? We would love to get the xdrive one but not at a great expense to performance and handling . Thanks in advance for any help.

[bman6074]

Snow tires are the ultimate equalizer. i am sure your lady wouldn't walk outside in a foot of snow in heels she would wear boots. Same goes for a car. Wear the right tires for the climate.

[Sportstick]

Agree....instead, invest in a set of 17" rims with 215/50-17 Blizzak WS80 for the winter, and no need to carry around ALL YEAR LONG the cost, weight, performance/feel loss, maintenance of an all wheel drive system....unless she plans to take the car off-roading??? This advice comes from many years of midwest winter driving experience. (17 will even fit over the blue MSport calipers if you get the right wheel design. Check with tirerack.com)

[bman6074]

How much is xdrive? Figure a winter wheel and tire setup will cost about 1400.00. Should last at least 5 years if not longer. Then you just replace the tires at about 500.00.
Then you can enjoy the summer tires on spirited drives.

[Wheelwright]

XDrive car has better traction: it will push you into your seat when accelerating in the city which standard car won't (unless you have non-slippery asphalt but that's rare at least where I live). Otherwise the difference between XDrive and standard car in handling, "steering feel" etc: is probably negligible unless you frequent track-days or are willing to risk jail for street-racing. My opinion: XDrive is likely more fun daily-driver if you opt for 8-speed automatic.

[ska///235i]

Dont buy a RWD for the ladies...it will not work out for them

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by Wheelwright

XDrive car has better traction: it will push you into your seat when accelerating in the city which standard car won't (unless you have non-slippery asphalt but that's rare at least where I live).

Cars don't have traction. Tires have traction. Unless one is suggesting the 235 so overwhelms its tires' traction that there is an advantage to splitting the torque among four of them (does she go to WOT at each traffic light?) this is not an issue. Ask her to test drive a rear wheel drive 235 with aggressive acceleration and check for any incipient wheel spin.

There are weight and parasitic losses which deteriorate performance with an all wheel drive system, and she will visit the gas station more often.

[Cyberdemon]

Does she drive in serious snow?

If she does, then I can see a desire for X drive. But in reality after driving my 335i through snowpocalypse on performance snows (Sotozeros) I had no real issues. The traction and stability control are very aggressive in slippery conditions. Since you live in Queens and I'm on LI, I expect our commutes are similar.

NYC is generally flat, frequently plowed and salted. So the times when you'd really want AWD are very minimal especially if you get a good set of Blizzaks.

Personally it comes down to do you want to take the gas and weight penalty year round.

With that said, women are women and if she spins out slightly even once you'll never hear the end of it so get X drive and snow tires.

[Wheelwright]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

Cars don't have traction. Tires have traction. Unless one is suggesting the 235 so overwhelms its tires' traction that there is an advantage to splitting the torque among four of them (does she go to WOT at each traffic light?) this is not an issue.

That's what I meant: standard 235i can't put the power down cleanly the way XDrive can because it only has 2 driven wheels which get overwhelmed by all this torque. I know this from experience: I had X1 228i loaner which pushed me into seat the way my M235i couldn't because my car just ended up spinning its Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by Wheelwright

That's what I meant: standard 235i can't put the power down cleanly the way XDrive can because it only has 2 driven wheels which get overwhelmed by all this torque. I know this from experience: I had X1 228i loaner which pushed me into seat the way my M235i couldn't because my car just ended up spinning its Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires.

What was the ambient temperature when your wheels spun? Those tires are quite sensitive to climate. Were you in sport+ mode, as the traction control should have handled much of that quickly. For her usage in NYC, a rear wheel 228i might make most sense financially. I assume most time in the city would be in comfort or at most, sport, but not sport+.

[NY10]

I'd go with the xdrive I got it on my 228i cause New York has had some serious bad winters especially last winter was a killer. It's just easier for me to get the xdrive then have to ulternate my tires

[SmallTownBoy]

xdrive is not a substitute for proper tires. The right tires on a rwd will be better than all-seasons ("three-seasons") on an xdrive, especially in very cold weather. The xdrive really only helps when your foot's on the gas.

Instead of a/s, consider an "all-weather" tire like the Nokian WRG3, which is winter-rated but can be driven year round. Still a compromise over the ideal separate setups for winter and summer.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by NY10

I'd go with the xdrive I got it on my 228i cause New York has had some serious bad winters especially last winter was a killer. It's just easier for me to get the xdrive then have to ulternate my tires

But that's exactly the problem in the logic. All wheel drive is not a substitute for winter tires. It just means you are putting power to 4 low traction tires instead of two. AWD might help you get started from a stop a bit better with modulated throttle on snow, a nice convenience. But it does nothing if you need to quickly brake or turn. That's where the high snow traction of winter tires can be critical. Car and Driver has published this test more than once...RWD with winter tires clearly outperforms AWD on all-seasons on snow/ice. You may have been lucky enough not to have been in such a situation so far, but it's a high-risk plan.

[Jay H]

I had a series of Porsche Boxsters and a late model 911 before getting a 2012 BMW 328i xDrive. I used dedicated winter tires on all the Porsches for many winters and never had much of an issue here in Wisconsin. I'd fly by struggling SUV's on freeways and was able to stop / brake and turn on dry, cold pavement way better than most everything else on the road.

Then, I ordered the 2012 328 xDrive and kept the all season (no season) tires on it for one winter. I'd rather have been in the rear drive Porsche's with more power with winter tires than in the all wheel drive BMW. The traction difference was immense.

I distinctly remember taking one of the Boxsters in for service and received a Mercedes C300 all wheel drive sedan as a loaner during a late fall day. We received a 1/4" of ice in the hours before I had to take the loaner Mercedes back and retrieve my Boxster (which had winter tires mounted). I white knuckled the drive back to the dealership with the all wheel drive Mercedes as I went over ice covered bridges (salt trucks had not been out yet that year as this was the first freezing rain we received of the season). The Mercedes had terrible traction on ice with the all season Michelins it was equipped with. Back into the Boxster with Continental winter tires and I had zero issues. Again, immense difference in traction between all season tires and winter tires. You can stop, brake and accelerate faster with winter tires in all conditions as compared to all seasons. Keep in mind that even on cold, frozen but dry pavement, the winter tires have quite a bit more traction due to their soft compounds.

My wife has driven two wheel drive cars (including rear drive GM F-Body cars) most of her adult life in severe winters with Blizzaks and has had zero issues on normal plowed roads. I NEVER let her drive in winter without winter tires. I'm a cheap guy on many things, but refuse to skimp on tires. Down to 7/32nds on winter tires and I'm tossing 'em for a full set of 12/32nd depth winter tires. There is even a noticeable difference between a fresh, new set of winter tires and a 1/3 worn set of winter tires.

I have a 228i on order. Once it arrives in the next week or so, one of the first things I'll be doing is pushing the "order" button on a set of Blizzaks at The Tire Rack even though the 228i will arrive with all season tires.

Tires are everything. I'd pick the two wheel drive and swap out tires for winter.

[missxmelon]

Originally Posted by ska///235i

Dont buy a RWD for the ladies...it will not work out for them

Why?

[Arbitrage10k]

xDrive with all seasons < RWD with winters

It doesn't matter how many wheels are spinning if none of them are getting any traction. That being said, xDrive with winters is safest, here in Canada a lot of us swap for winters regardless of RWD or AWD.

[gulshan]

Originally Posted by missxmelon

Why?

Cause they don't like to be pushed around

[missxmelon]

Originally Posted by gulshan

Cause they don't like to be pushed around

[moldcad]

Well, after having made a mistake of buying the xDrive F10 (and just a 4-cylinder one, too), and now comparing it with my new AWD Golf R - I will tell you this:

AWD is only good (with really lots of power - indispensable) in what has been originally an FWD vehicle (like the R, all Audi Quattros etc.). In cars originally designed as RWD (like a BMW), it spoils all the fun; tires rules.

[ORIGIN M.]

Like most xDrive BMW's it appears to sit higher than the sDrive equivalent.

Love xDrive otherwise, like on the X3/4/5/6

[ska///235i]

Originally Posted by red-sauerkraut

Like most xDrive BMW's it appears to sit higher than the sDrive equivalent.

Love xDrive otherwise, like on the X3/4/5/6

Not on the m235 with adaptive susp

[williewonkerz]

Originally Posted by bman6074

Snow tires are the ultimate equalizer. i am sure your lady wouldn't walk outside in a foot of snow in heels she would wear boots. Same goes for a car. Wear the right tires for the climate.

OMG, I LOVE THIS, TOTALLY STEALING BEST COMMENT EVER.