New 5 series - Xdrive or not?
Discussion
Hi all - relative newbie here!
I am in the lucky position to be able to order a new 530d as my company car. The XDrive seems to get good reviews, but increases both price and BIK. I have never had a 4 wheel drive and had mostly BMW, Merc and Jag over the past 15 years and am tempted just to stick to RWD. What's the view - is XDrive a worthwhile solution?
I live in the southern part of UK with 1mm of snow every 2 years so this is not a consideration. It's more about general traction and wet weather performance etc I would be more interested in.
Views welcome....
Jim
I am in the lucky position to be able to order a new 530d as my company car. The XDrive seems to get good reviews, but increases both price and BIK. I have never had a 4 wheel drive and had mostly BMW, Merc and Jag over the past 15 years and am tempted just to stick to RWD. What's the view - is XDrive a worthwhile solution?
I live in the southern part of UK with 1mm of snow every 2 years so this is not a consideration. It's more about general traction and wet weather performance etc I would be more interested in.
Views welcome....
Jim
I have an RWD 530d and would not pick an XDrive one. I just do not see the benefit in a car like this - it sucks more fuel, it costs you more in tax. I had an xDrive 420d for the weekend last year and just couldnt see what it was doing for me really.
IMHO it's not even worth it for winter as spinning 4 summer runflats is just as unsafe as spinning two of them and not going anywhere, winter performance is about tyres.
IMHO it's not even worth it for winter as spinning 4 summer runflats is just as unsafe as spinning two of them and not going anywhere, winter performance is about tyres.
I used to say don't bother with xdrive because it just adds weight and you lose the thing that's nice about a bmw the fact it's RWD, however the current electric steering is so vague and uncommunicative the fact it's RWD is pretty much lost.
Top lurking btw and I think I'd go xdrive and I thought it was a good set up on my X5, and I liked how it shifted the power to the rear wheels when required giving you a sense of rwd anyway.
Top lurking btw and I think I'd go xdrive and I thought it was a good set up on my X5, and I liked how it shifted the power to the rear wheels when required giving you a sense of rwd anyway.
Fox- said:
But it absolutely crucifies the fuel economy - look at the difference between sDrive and xDrive!
It's a 530d not a 600bhp RS6. It doesn't need 4wd and I think it detracts from the car.
Don't get me wrong I do agree, but I suppose I just get frustrated with the current steering and it robs one of the things I enjoy most about a rwd car, therefore I don't think it matters as much as it used to whether you go sdrive or xdrive that's all. It's a 530d not a 600bhp RS6. It doesn't need 4wd and I think it detracts from the car.
I heard from my dealer that most of the demo cars were 4wd. I explained i would rather stick a needle in my eye than pay an extra 2k for a transmission that adds bulk, slows the car and costs another 2k.. He totally agreed with me and we parted on good terms. If he can find me a 2wd we will do a deal.....
XDrive is superfluous to most Uk drivers but they can't help themselves ticking a box without any true practical experience.
XDrive is superfluous to most Uk drivers but they can't help themselves ticking a box without any true practical experience.
My previous car was a 330d xDrive and current one is an M235i RWD. I doubt that many people who decry AWD have actually driven one for any length of time. A short test drive isn't enough. For a 5 Series I'd always go for xDrive, unless you're looking at extreme RWD performance (in which case I'd go for an M2). Outside the M editions, the 3 and 5 series are principally nice-handling daily drives and motorway cruisers and I miss the extra traction of the Xdrive that I had in typically British wet weather we get from Otober through March - nothing to do with snow. AWD makes the handling neutral, which is what a lot of people want if they're piling on the miles all year round on business driving. I switched to a 2 series because it's like the first 325i I had 25 years ago and I don't do long business drives any more - the current 3 Series is like the 5 used to be and the 5 is like the 7 was in terms of bulk. Yes, xDrive adds a little weight to the drivetrain but the effect is overstated. I suspect it's that xDrive doesn't let you take the suspension lower that is more of an issue. So for me, on the heavy 3 and 5 series the benefits in terms of better traction and neutral handling on a DD outweigh any negatives introduced by weight or steering. xDrive is extremely relevant to most UK drivers and not just a box-ticking exercise. Given the benefits of xDrive in terms of wet weather safety and neutral handling, I would say that you have to argue the case for sticking with the English prejudice for RWD oversteer and reduced wet roadholding.
Edited by msej449 on Wednesday 8th March 23:06
Edited by msej449 on Wednesday 8th March 23:09
msej449 said:
My previous car was a 330d xDrive and current one is an M235i RWD. I doubt that many people who decry AWD have actually driven one for any length of time. A short test drive isn't enough. For a 5 Series I'd always go for xDrive, unless you're looking at extreme RWD performance (in which case I'd go for an M2). Outside the M editions, the 3 and 5 series are principally nice-handling daily drives and motorway cruisers and I miss the extra traction of the Xdrive that I had in typically British wet weather we get from Otober through March - nothing to do with snow. AWD makes the handling neutral, which is what a lot of people want if they're piling on the miles all year round on business driving. I switched to a 2 series because it's like the first 325i I had 25 years ago and I don't do long business drives any more - the current 3 Series is likethe 5 used to be and the 5 is like the 7 was in terms of bulk. Yes, xDrive adds a little weight to the drivetrain but the effect is overstated. I suspect it's that xDrive doesn't let you take the suspension lower that is more of an issue. So for me, on the heavy 3 and 5 series the benefits in terms of better traction and neutral handling on a DD outweigh any negatives introduced by weight or steering. xDrive is extremely relevant to most UK drivers and not just a box-ticking exercise. Given the benefits of xDrive in terms of wet weather safety and neutral handling, I would say that you have to argue the case for sticking with the English prejudice for RWD oversteer and reduced wet roadholding.
. Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 8th March 23:06
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 8th March 23:09
As I said earlier, a set of winter wheels and tyres will give you more grip in the winter, especially under braking and regardless of whether it's snowing, for a lot less outlay and without the added weight and complexity.
Everything else you talk about is irrelevant for most 5 series owners. You appear to drive everywhere at 9/10ths, most simply don't. I've never had any noticeable oversteer or understeer for that matter in my 5 series.
I use AWD and RWD cars regularly, currently have 2 of each. My 3 and 5 are both RWD. If I go into a G30 I will def. go AWD. Always my first choice. I suspect when the G30's start to hit the pre-owned market in a few months the XDrive's will be the first to go. Based on the want of the masses rather than PH'ers plus influence from Audi etc where AWD is hailed as king
msej449 said:
My previous car was a 330d xDrive and current one is an M235i RWD. I doubt that many people who decry AWD have actually driven one for any length of time. A short test drive isn't enough. For a 5 Series I'd always go for xDrive, unless you're looking at extreme RWD performance (in which case I'd go for an M2). Outside the M editions, the 3 and 5 series are principally nice-handling daily drives and motorway cruisers and I miss the extra traction of the Xdrive that I had in typically British wet weather we get from Otober through March - nothing to do with snow. AWD makes the handling neutral, which is what a lot of people want if they're piling on the miles all year round on business driving. I switched to a 2 series because it's like the first 325i I had 25 years ago and I don't do long business drives any more - the current 3 Series is like the 5 used to be and the 5 is like the 7 was in terms of bulk. Yes, xDrive adds a little weight to the drivetrain but the effect is overstated. I suspect it's that xDrive doesn't let you take the suspension lower that is more of an issue. So for me, on the heavy 3 and 5 series the benefits in terms of better traction and neutral handling on a DD outweigh any negatives introduced by weight or steering. xDrive is extremely relevant to most UK drivers and not just a box-ticking exercise. Given the benefits of xDrive in terms of wet weather safety and neutral handling, I would say that you have to argue the case for sticking with the English prejudice for RWD oversteer and reduced wet roadholding.
That was my thought exactly when I considered one of the new 7 series. Unless someone is an absolute driving god and after out and out thrills, I don't know why they wouldn't chose X Drive. It's simple, X Drive lets a driver get more of the power down, more of the time, as well as offering far more stability and predictability in wet roundabouts, overtakes on damp roads with differing cambers etc etc. It's a no-brainer but you probably need to live with one for a while to see the benefits. Edited by msej449 on Wednesday 8th March 23:06
Edited by msej449 on Wednesday 8th March 23:09
As for using winter tyres, of course they're better at lower temperatures but for the rest of time when it's above 7 degrees (or whatever the figure is) and conditions aren't perfect, winter tyres are not going to help.
Suspect 530d is on the threshold of justifying AWD but having experienced both I would take X Drive any day in a car with 400+ lb/ft of torque, particularly if I planned on using it as a DD.
I am likely to get a new 5 Series in a couple of years - probably a 535d/540d, and having had a few sDrive and xDrive, I would choose xDrive for my new car.
As has already been said, it isn't about driving in snow, although I do drive on ungritted icy roads, it's about the ability to get the power down in frequently damp conditions. I could manage perfectly well with sDrive, but xDrive is the quicker car in typical UK conditions. I also think the 30d would be the cut off for me. Below that and I would take sDrive as a less powerful car gets much less benefit from it, and it has a greater fuel economy impact.
As has already been said, it isn't about driving in snow, although I do drive on ungritted icy roads, it's about the ability to get the power down in frequently damp conditions. I could manage perfectly well with sDrive, but xDrive is the quicker car in typical UK conditions. I also think the 30d would be the cut off for me. Below that and I would take sDrive as a less powerful car gets much less benefit from it, and it has a greater fuel economy impact.
The debate about xDrive / sDrive has some similarities with the debate about auto / manual gearboxes. A decade ago, a car had to be manual in order to be considered as a proper driver's car. Since then (starting with with the ZF8) auto boxes have improved significantly, and now very few BMWs are even available with a manual box, just the low power/budget ones and the M3,M4.
I still enjoy driving a good manual car, but for a daily driver, autos just make a whole lot more sense. I guess we will see a similar pattern with sDrive - it will become confined to low power/budget, plus a few performance cars. What proportion of M3/M4 sales are manual these days...
I still enjoy driving a good manual car, but for a daily driver, autos just make a whole lot more sense. I guess we will see a similar pattern with sDrive - it will become confined to low power/budget, plus a few performance cars. What proportion of M3/M4 sales are manual these days...
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