Am trying to decide whether to buy a 330I or 330xI.

Live in Northern Virginia. Get some snow and ice but not an overwhelming ammount. But we do get our share of rainy slushy days.

Have a 325eS which is an absolute pig in the snow and ice. So bad, I routinely load 300 pounds of sand bags in the trunk in November and dump them out in March.

So, you 330I owners: what has been your experience in sloppy conditions? Is the traction assist and DSP up to the job or do you have problems? Are there times you wish you had all wheel drive?

And you 330xI drivers: what has been your experience? Glad you've got the AWD? Is it worth the acceleration and milage trade offs?

If I get a 330I, it will not have the sports package with Summer tires.

Appreciate any responses.

I'd say xi if you have some snow & ice where you live... not worth chancing it with only RWD

cassidym,

Although i have the 325xi, my reasons for buying it are the same as if it were the 330xi. While I can't make a recommendation for or against the 330xi vs the 330i, I can tell you the tradeoffs. First, the 330i, aside from the M3, there simply is no other car out there that can outperform it, in the same class size and price range. Especially with the sport package, which tightens the suspension and gives you larger wheels with lower profile tires, which adds to the performance. Of course, the tradeoff is performance in wet and slippery conditions (rain, wet leaves, snow).

With the 330xi, again, you'd be hard-pressed to find another vehicle that can out perform this as an all-wheel drive vehicle: Audi 3.0? No way. Good car, but not up to the 330xi standards. Jaguar x-type? Subaru? Not quite. The trade off with the 330xi is the weight, which affect acceleration, and the added height to allow for ground clearance (typical of all wheel drive vehicles), which affects the performance. Keep in mind that even if you add the sport package to the XI, the only change is the wheels (different spokes), the addition of the sport seats, and the sport steering wheel. There is no change in the suspension.

The reason why I chose the 325xi is to have the added safety while maintaining a high level of performance. While it won't quite handle like the non-xi, I'm much happier during the winter and rainy months. The 3-series XIs are one the most sure-footed all wheel drive vehicles on the road that have a nice balance luxury, safety, and performance.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Dave

Dave, thank you very much for your very comprehensive response. Wish that BMW would offer xDrive with the 330 although I don't know how much difference that would be over the AWD now available on the 330xI.

I commute 50 miles round trip every day and we do get wintery conditions here and the added safety of AWD is hard to ignore.

Thanks again

AWD vehicles are not safer! They will help you to accelerate faster in slippery conditions, but that is all. AWD will not improve braking. AWD cars even with the 33/66 power split from front and rear wheels still handle like a front wheel drive car. You can not have 100% traction while turning (lateral force) and 100% traction for acceleration at the same time, one will suffer. Ever driven a FWD in the snow? -not the same but similar physics.
If you try to accelerate around a corner with FWD or AWD and have a greater chance of your front wheels to loose traction and the car will push forward.
I live in Maine, owned an 89 325ix. I loved it, but thought it oly benifitted me 5% of the year (in snow or ice) I now enjoy an 87 325is, no traction control, it does have limited slip. Great fun 100% of the year. As with any car good snow tires is all you need. With the RWD I can go to autocross and driving schools in the warmer months with the summer wheels and ice racing in the winter.
Next time it snows observe how many four wheel or AWD vehicles are on the side of the road!

You are certainly right about which cars you usually see in the ditches. Often they are AWD/4WD SUVs and the like at least here in Virginia. I've always assumed that's because they make the owners feel invulnerable when, as you point out, you cannot repeal the laws of physics.

I always thought the main advantage of AWD was that it gave you traction in slippery conditions. But I thought it also give you more stability when cornering especially with DSC on each wheel. Consequently, I thought an AWD BMW would be a little safer.

But you're saying that is not the case. I gather then that, given the choice, you would opt for the 330I over the 330xI. Correct?

I currently have a 1986 325eS in which I load 300 pounds of sand bags in the trunck every winter. And, with only a few exceptions, have managed not to get stuck or spin out.

And the 330I does have traction assist and DSC plus the weight ratio is much more balanced than in the 86 325 which is very light in the rear end.

Sigh. What do to?

Last winter, here in Boston, was a record setting year in terms of snow fall. I drove 30 miles each way to work in my 325xi and never once spun out or anything of the like. It's true that quite often you see SUVs and other AWD vehicles spun out, however, 99% of the time it's because those drivers feel that because they drive an AWD vehicle, they are invincible on the road. While no car will provide 100% traction no matter what the weather (regardless of the type of tire), in wet and/or snowy conditions, I would take a 3-series XI over the non-XI.

Here's a quote about the 325xi wagon from NewCarTestDrive.com:

"The 325xi sport wagon we drove was equipped with all-wheel drive. The car felt like it was on rails on dry pavement. The all-wheel-drive system on 325xi and 330xi models uses a planetary center differential to split drive torque 38/62 percent front/rear, preserving the rear-wheel-drive feel that BMW enthusiasts demand. All-Season Traction Control (AST) and a specially calibrated version of BMW's Dynamic Stability Control (DSC-X) enhance foul-weather safety."

The full article can be found at http://www.nctd.com/review-drive.cfm?ReviewID=1092.

For other user reviews on the 330xi, check out http://messages.yahoo.com/bbs?.mm=autos&action=l&tid=750048655&sid=750003530.

There are sites that compare the physics of AWD, FWD and RWD. BMW did do a nice power split of most of the power to the rear wheels in order to preserve the RWD handling, it helps, but does not handle as a RWD car. AWD cars have more understeer than RWD cars, which corner more like FWD cars. The way I looked at it is if I wanted to sacrifice having and AWD car for better traction a few days out of the year, I would have to drive with understeer for the 97% of the year when there is no snow on the roads.
Pros of AWD:
better traction in slippery conditions when two tires wont deliver the traction needed.
anything else?
not safer, (I believe as that oversteer is easier to correct than understeer)
Cons:
heavier
poorer weight distribution
more shit to go wrong
UNDERSTEER!!!
some parts are more expensive when warranty expires.
Gas mileage a fraction worse

A car is only as safe as the driver operating it. Want to be a safe driver take a BMWCCA driving school.

I have both a 2000 Audi A6 twin turbo, and a 97 M3. I live in Rochester NY where we get over 200 inches of snow a season, and I drive to the ski slopes about 3 times a week. There's no question that the Audi with all-wheel drive is more solid when driving around the city, starting from a stop light in snow, or driving through the foot of slush that the plow piles at the end of my driveway. However... when cruising out on the highway or backroads, I feel it slip out just as much as the M3 when I encounter an ice patch or snowdrift that blew across an otherwise dry road. And you're right, I can't brake worth a crap in either one, if it's snowy and I'm going to fast. In fact, I took both out to a huge snow covered parking lot, and both are just as easy to spin out. This seemed weird, but I think the all-wheel drive Audi was more fun in the parking lot, because it DID spin out more easily than the rear-wheel drive M3. The M3's traction control would kick in and not let me spin out! Meanwhile, the Audi would just blast sideways and do a whiplash inducing 360 if I pushed the gas.
So for you "warm weather" folks anywhere south of Pennsylvania, I say don't sacrifice and buy a car you don't really want just to get you through your 2 weeks of "winter". Chances are you'll be just fine with sensible driving.
That's my 2 cents... :2cents:

There you have it. Straight from the horse's mouth :thumbsup: