[Surly73]

It's personal preference. I echo - if you're driving in the winter, get winter tires, whether you have X-Drive or not. Why do you feel that with X-Drive you don't need winter tires? How does X-Drive help you stop and turn faster? It doesn't. Get winter tires.

With that out of the way -- I have a 535xi now, but have been driving RWD BMWs with winter tires in Southern Ontario for decades. If I found myself fortunate enough to be sitting at my computer ticking options I'd like on a new car I was about to order, X-Drive wouldn't be one of them.

It is undoubtedly superior to RWD in challenging conditions. The problem is that it only makes an important difference a couple of times per year. It's easier to get through deep, heavy, slop from the "warm" winter storms we usually get here but, at the same time, the ONLY time I ever got stuck in a RWD BMW was when the snow was so deep and dense that the car was basically lifted off the ground. I backed up and went around another way.

The rest of the year I have almost no suspension options. I have a heavy front diff and transfer case being dragged around, adding weight, complexity and points of failure. I only have 65k km (40k miles) and I'm on my second or third transfer case (replaced under warranty which is now expired). I don't have the classic BMW RWD connected steering feel etc...etc...

Of course, local market conditions dictate what is even available to you. In my market, it seems like EVERYTHING is X-Drive. That's why I've got one... Everything is also automatic, another thing I wish was different but it is what it is.

I sure wish houses around here had garages like lsturbointeg's