[Transfer]

I've had my new car for a couple of weeks but hadn't really pushed any limits until this morning. I took it out to see if there really is any dreaded understeer in aggressive street driving. I'm happy to say this car is very balanced and the rear biased xDrive really does feel rear biased. I drove some normal accelerating turns and fairly easily stepped out the rear end with control. I also ran a few sweeper on ramps at speed and felt no twinge of understeer - only a delicate balance of throttle control.

Call me impressed!! This is not your neighbors 335xi AWD and suspension. The M235i xDrive delivers a supple ride while retaining a sporting character in sport settings. In sport+ it allows the tail to wag but still grip tenaciously in the corners. If you like the RWD version, I really don't see a reason why anyone wouldn't like the AWD version at least as much, if not more. What a car!

Note: I have staggered OEM Michelin Pilot Super Sports.

[bimmercar]

Originally Posted by Transfer

I've had my new car for a couple of weeks but hadn't really pushed any limits until this morning. I took it out to see if there really is any dreaded understeer in aggressive street driving. I'm happy to say this car is very balanced and the rear biased xDrive really does feel rear biased. I drove some normal accelerating turns and fairly easily stepped out the rear end with control. I also ran a few sweeper on ramps at speed and felt no twinge of understeer - only a delicate balance of throttle control.

Call me impressed!! This is not your neighbors 335xi AWD and suspension. The M235i xDrive delivers a supple ride while retaining a sporting character in sport settings. In sport+ it allows the tail to wag but still grip tenaciously in the corners. If you like the RWD version, I really don't see a reason why anyone wouldn't like the AWD version at least as much, if not more. What a car!

Note: I have staggered OEM Michelin Pilot Super Sports.

congrats! yeah! x-drive m235i is awesome!

[Steve80bk]

Glad to see BMW got their x-drive sport suspension issues solved after I abandoned the x-drive lol. Just couldn't find one to test drive so I couldn't take the chance on it being like my 2012 335i xdrive m sport, which was horrible. Happy to hear it is up to par with the RWD according to some. Enjoy the car, its friggin awesome.

[casper83]

Haven't you heard what overweight, slow, understeering, terrible cars the Xdrive’s have to be? Oh nevermind, you actually drove one ;-)

Welcome to the club. Enjoy!

[grc]

The only negative I see is that it adds another 200 lbs in the M235 so braking will be slightly affected and the car might not be as nimble for autocrossing. But for daily driving I believe AWD is superior to RWD
I owned a Audi S4 and I liked Quattro a lot, so I assume the x-drive would be equally good. I wanted to buy an x-drive M235i, but none was available in local dealers, so I ended up with RWD. Either way, m235i is fun to drive.

[mblaucoupe135]

I couldn't agree more. I've had my m235i xdrive for a few weeks after having owned rear wheel drive bimmers the past ten years and the car is so fun to drive, I can't say I miss rear wheel drive. Plus it will be much better in the winter here in Colorado. In my mind, this car is about perfect and I don't have to sacrifice peace of mind in the winter for fun in the summer!

[Batman33]

I seem to recall that the m235i(s) used by BMW in the car control clinic portion of this year's Ultimate Driving Experience were AWD. The instructor's demonstrated how to "drive 'em like we stole 'em" on the autocross circuit and expected us (students) to do the same. I certainly don't recall thinking "gee, this would have been way more fun with RWD". Then again, that could have been because I'm a hack driver. Naaaaaaah.