Matteeboy

I don't find RWD traction an issue unless I'm in evil driving mode. That's with a fair wad of torque and fairly skinny rubber. Not heard much about BMs AWD system in their cars but they are all on stilts and weigh more than the moon. Doesn't appeal to me; I love RWD!

Dingdongler

Every bm and merc I have had has been useless in the snow. Actually not useless but downright dangerous despite VERY careful driving by me. I've been sliding all over the place whilst fwd Ford cars have calmly gone about their business.

A 330dXdrive touring would make a compelling family car, I'd buy one

Matteeboy

Snow down here is incredibly rare and our "other" vehicle will always be AWD from now on. And we don't commute so journeys are rarely "essential."

I think AWD would harm the car's dynamics - although it does work well on the X5 (not driven an X1, 3 or 6!).

richs2891

I like AWD for exactly what Ali-B comments about that the fact that can plant it out of a junction and it just goes. And its really helpful when it snows here and trying to get up the hill to my house. OK I can use the Shogun and one of us stays at home !
But I do feel they can make you a bit of a lazy - less observant of road conditions as AWD tends to hide damp / ice patches etc. I (re) learnt more in the last 12 months driving my BMW than in 10 years of having AWD Subaru's and Audi's !
Saying that the 2 choices next are both AWD, the BMW X1 or the new AMG version of the merc A class. And yeah I know 2 quite different types of cars
Richard

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I agree it does make you lazy; If it was weekend car I'd forgive it. All my weekender cars have been RWD; NSX, Monaro, Jag etc.

But with a daily driver, its nice to have a car that is still a good driver's car that can also allow me to switch off my brain yet also allows me to be pushy in busy traffic...For example the one junction by me is a 50mph road and has a constant flow of traffic one car length apart....if I see a gap that is 4 car lengths I can go for it...3000rpm launch out the junction and hit I'll 50mph before the driver behind has any chance to react or complain. Sometimes people intentionaly close the gap to try and make a point - apart from I launch and accelarate so hard they can't catch up and I'm already tailgating the car infront anyway. If I don't do this, its a 5+ minute wait for a big enough gap; I know, as thats what I have to do in FWD/RWD cars as I know I just can't pull away quickly reliably, so its just too risky.

I've used RWD cars as daily drivers, but I really do miss the AWD. The Monaro was an eye-opener during Autumn as I was using it as a daily driver and in the damp with less than half a tank of fuel (or no passengers), it was positively evil getting it moving. Even pulling away in second gear would cause the back end to scrabble about. But in dry it was like a limpet on the back roads. I never got as far as winter driving in it, thankfully.

NSX was just as bad when the temps dropped as the tyres were Bridgestones specific NSX tyres, and they don't work below 10 degrees C. Even in the dry it'd be squirming around all over the place when just tottering about until the tyres had warmed up, which 10miles at 80mph on the motorway would usually be enough to get some heat in so they'd grip. Not exactly practical.

325 Touring was good, but it didn't have much torque, actually it was pretty gutless for 190bhp, combined with a good set of Michelins Primacys it was pretty much unstickable in the wet.
530 Was dodgy in the wet, probably due to the huge M5 wheels.
The 530d GT however is pretty damn good; its amazing how such a barge does put so much power and torque down so cleanly, but then it has lit up the rears in 3rd/4th gear in the damp, so it still has limitations. Its also worked better than I thought in heavy snow...on summer tyres. Put it this way I was gently passing stuck cars wondering what all the big fuss was about.

So all in all; I've done my learning. And I'll prefer save the RWD for the weekend when its a bit warmer/drier

Matteeboy

I've timed how long my traction light has stayed on from standstill to high speeds on the A30 (off a slip) - not far off 10 seconds. Great fun!

Our camper van is AWD but not exactly a drivers car! Never slips or spins it's wheels though.

Luan Pra bang

I sold my old A6 quattro and now use my 330 alot more often and the lack of grip is pissing me off, the back wheels just don't want to grip in the wet and not sure I can put up with it for too long.