Quote:
Originally Posted by msej449
I swapped a 330d Touring xDrive for a RWD M235i - we take our car to the Alps for skiing (us, not the car) a couple of times each year. I had the exact same concern as you, but in the UK, we don't get M-Lites in xDrive format, so had to bite the bullet and live with RWD.
To date, I've driven the M235i in snow, slush and some steep standing-starts in the snow and not needed to resort to chains. So I'm quite pleased.
It's shod with snow-biased Pirelli Winter Sottozero S3 tyres. The previous car had the more performance-biased Sottozero Serie-II but I decided to trade a bit of wet handling for better snow performance on the S3. It is noisier than the S-II and doesn't quite handle as well in warmer, non-snow conditions, but I'm OK with that. You can see how the tread pattern is pretty 'chunky' for a performance winter:
And I did the recommended 'square' setup of 7.5J x 17 all-'round with 225/45 R 17 94V XL, I have also been impressed by how good these tyres have been in heavy rain and standing water. I never seem to get traction control engaging. |
Thanks for your feedback...I currently run the Pirelli Sottozero 3 as my MINI Roadster's winter setup and have been quite pleased with their dry winter driving capabilities. The MINI is still fun to drive in the winter and the Sottoszero 3's provide me needed winter snow traction too.
The economic consideration - For the U.S. $2k cost of the xDrive option, one can buy a very nice set of winter wheels and dedicated winter tires... and avoid the potential additional maintenance costs of xDrive and its uneven tire wear multiple tire replacement issues....