X Drive a waste of money on 3 & 4 Series?
Discussion
GTEYE said:
But a modern RWD BMW with the stability control on is actually a pretty forgiving thing to drive even on slippery wet roads.
"While the M engineers describe the M3/M4 as one of the easiest M models to drift, they also mention the danger that comes from a more powerful and lighter car than its predecessor.
The 2015 BMW M4 is powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six which makes 425 hp and 406 lb-ft. That’s barely up from the last-gen M3′s peak 414 hp, but up significantly in the torque department"
FGB said:
GTEYE said:
But a modern RWD BMW with the stability control on is actually a pretty forgiving thing to drive even on slippery wet roads.
"While the M engineers describe the M3/M4 as one of the easiest M models to drift, they also mention the danger that comes from a more powerful and lighter car than its predecessor.
The 2015 BMW M4 is powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six which makes 425 hp and 406 lb-ft. That’s barely up from the last-gen M3?s peak 414 hp, but up significantly in the torque department"
cerb4.5lee said:
The bottom line though is if you want a truely fun bmw you do have to go with the full fat M cars sadly.
I agree and would love to go for an M3/4. The problem is that Mrs BC and I like to take our bikes and use the excellent towball on the 335d with a bike rack.There's no towball option for the M cars.
I'm going to look at 'Sea Suckers' for the bikes.
Edited by bad company on Thursday 20th October 21:21
FGB said:
"While the M engineers describe the M3/M4 as one of the easiest M models to drift, they also mention the danger that comes from a more powerful and lighter car than its predecessor.
The 2015 BMW M4 is powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six which makes 425 hp and 406 lb-ft. That’s barely up from the last-gen M3?s peak 414 hp, but up significantly in the torque department"
I think with the M cars, part of the fun is that they are quite (actually, not 'quite', but HUGELY) mobile at the rear and have excellent diffs to take advantage of that. I wouldn't look twice at a 4WD M3/M4, but as it is I think the new M3 is about as good as modern fast saloons get and 4WD would certainly ruin it.
FGB said:
"While the M engineers describe the M3/M4 as one of the easiest M models to drift, they also mention the danger that comes from a more powerful and lighter car than its predecessor.
The 2015 BMW M4 is powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six which makes 425 hp and 406 lb-ft. That’s barely up from the last-gen M3?s peak 414 hp, but up significantly in the torque department"
oldmanbm said:
Just covered 50000 miles in my 2014 120D Sport X Drive. Yes 75% of the time not needed but the 25% when you are accelerating out of a greasy roundabout its ace. Very nippy wee car and bulletproof. Will miss it.
Going from an e92 M3 to a 435d I've found this thread really interesting. I think x drive does rob the car of a little balance and poise, but the sub M cars are robbed of that anyway with runflats, rubbish suspension and no LSD.
With the ACS springs and decent tyres and a remap the 435d is a real weapon. In the dry it feels similar to normal rear wheel drive and in the damp or wet you can continue to push it hard. I think the fun comes from adapting your driving style e.g there are some long sweepers coming off roundabouts on the way to work - the M3 I would hold perfectly balanced but very conscious not to push too hard. The 435 after a while (with dsc off) you can hammer along, get the back stepping out and keep your foot in as power is sent to the front, the front digs in and actually pulls you harder onto line (the opposite of an Audi under steering) and fires you down the road. It's really rewarding, albeit a different driving style than the M3.
For out and out thrills the m3 was desinately more fun - nothing beat that LSD locking up and the scream at 8000rpm or how it would be fun even at low speeds trundling around town. But if you're not going for a full fat M car anyway, there is a lot of fun to be had from x drive when the car has been tweaked a bit, and I personally think it adds to the driving enjoyment rather than detracting.
One point I would make is that if you don't push cars hard or are only looking at the lower power models then there is probably little benefit to x drive and I'd recommend just getting winters in bad weather. But if you're not getting a full fat M, but you are after a big diesel (so it's inherently compromised anyway) you might as well get x drive as it adds a further dynamic to the car if you enjoy driving and push it hard. I now very consciously change my driving style when getting into an RWD car, which is as it should be. Sadly, some people just get in and drive cars without thinking what they are doing.
In a perfect world I'd keep the 435 and get a manual RWD naturally aspirated toy for the weekends, that would be the best of both worlds then.
Vroomer said:
Wills2 said:
Vroomer said:
I didn't think there were 5 Series X cars???
They're loads of them 5er, 6er and 7er The 6er is the outlier as that's not available in the UK but is elsewhere.
Wills2 said:
BMW UK currently sell 21 models in 126 variants in the UK with Xdrive, you can order your G30 5er or G11 7er with xdrive.
The 6er is the outlier as that's not available in the UK but is elsewhere.
You can't order your G30 yet - F10 production hasn't stopped (Though its a matter of days away). So currently he's mostly right - no XDrive 5 or 6.The 6er is the outlier as that's not available in the UK but is elsewhere.
Vroomer said:
Autocar this week was very dismissive about the benefits of X Drive on a 3 Series, claiming that all it really did was add cost, weight and tax with an increase in fuel consumption. (This presumably would hit values in the more cost-concious secondhand market, adding another negative.)
Thoughts?
I've been running an LCI 335d from new for a year now and l certainly don't consider it a waste of money.Thoughts?
RWD BMW's offer extra driver excitement and they do sit 10mm lower but non of that makes the slightest bit of difference to why l bought my car. This is the first 4wd car l've run and l just love the instant, 'wheel spin' free acceleration that can be deployed in pretty much any situation, whether pulling out of junctions, overtaking or shooting out of a corner at speed.
As ever whether something is a waste of money is entirely subjective and depends on who is buying it and for what reasons.
larven said:
RWD BMW's offer extra driver excitement and they do sit 10mm lower but non of that makes the slightest bit of difference to why l bought my car. This is the first 4wd car l've run and l just love the instant, 'wheel spin' free acceleration that can be deployed in pretty much any situation, whether pulling out of junctions, overtaking or shooting out of a corner at speed.
You can also pretty much achieve this by buying good tyres.mike150 said:
Next year's M5 is going to be x-drive apparently, BMW have decided that 600hp is too much for a rear wheel drive front engined car.
isn't the current M5 about 560hp? so another 20hp/wheel isn't gonna make much difference. Think the real reason is stupid americans and their lawyers....ian in lancs said:
isn't the current M5 about 560hp? so another 20hp/wheel isn't gonna make much difference. Think the real reason is stupid americans and their lawyers....
That can't have anything to do with it as there's plenty of more powerful American made cars with rwd and less technology in traction control or stability.mike150 said:
ian in lancs said:
isn't the current M5 about 560hp? so another 20hp/wheel isn't gonna make much difference. Think the real reason is stupid americans and their lawyers....
That can't have anything to do with it as there's plenty of more powerful American made cars with rwd and less technology in traction control or stability.I'm interested to see what the M division can do with x-drive.
I find BMW's AWD pretty good, got me up a steep slope in snow with regular tyres where a Civic was stuck, also seems to be pretty good at knowing when to do what under different conditions etc. I wonder if the M version of it will be heavier biased towards RWD and more of a safety thing?
ds666 said:
It's not just about snow thou. Try booting a 535d off the line or out of a t junction in the wet without the traction control flashing like there's no tomorrow and curtailing progress . Never happens in a 335d x drive .
But surely that is more about driving style/ability - the accelerator isn't an on/off switch! Mr Tidy said:
ds666 said:
It's not just about snow thou. Try booting a 535d off the line or out of a t junction in the wet without the traction control flashing like there's no tomorrow and curtailing progress . Never happens in a 335d x drive .
But surely that is more about driving style/ability - the accelerator isn't an on/off switch! Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff