Ricracing

When we get the x35i's to Finland, not even talking about x-models...

C's Bimmer

Oh man, that looks sweet! I would love to take my xi out there and see how it handles. I wonder if they have this in the US??? Doubtful...

BlaSTiWi

Great pics!!! What kind of snow tires are they on? Dunlop?

Boarder

Thanks for sharing those great pictures! That course must have been fun.

grover432

I have to disagree. "Never needed AWD .." Who "needs" anything? But it helps to have AWD! Whan a majority of the road surfaces are ice/snow covered for 5 months, awd makes getting around easier. It's not like you can't drive from place to place without it though. By way of example; this morning on the way to work, most of the roads are dry, however it seems that many of the intersections (especially the turn lanes) have snow cover and ice. When the turn lane green light appears, I find myself spinning the rear wheels trying to get moving, only to just make it through the light before it changes to red. Another example is trying to cross a busy main street from a side street during morning rush hour. I almost always find the surface at the stop sign slick, meaning I have to wait a long time for a safe time to cross. In both of the above examples, awd gets you moving quicker, and moving more safely.

I'm not the only one who holds this opnion. Witness Audi, Volvo, Subaru to name just a few have caught on to the benfits of awd for areas with winter driving conditions. And many manufacturers have sold a pile of SUV's for more than the utility of extra space.

I also disagree with the statement that people only need awd where snow only happens a few times a year with poor municipal snow clearing equipment. Why would you want to buy an awd car for use a few weeks a year? And when an area with no snow clearing equipment gets a dump - where are you driving with an awd car? Most don't have the ground clearance to get around in those types of conditions. It's best to wait it out and drive once the municipality does get the roads cleared.

AWD isn't about going "four wheeling". It's about safe traction and better road holding on slippery surfaces. No car can be everything to everyone, but I'm betting the new 535 (twin turbo) xi will be for me (and many others). It's true the car will be a bit of a trade off, but until you've lived in a climate that has snow on the roads for 5 months of the year, I'm not sure you have the full picture.

Ricracing

I must comment on this also.

Firstly Scandinavia is a large area starting from Denmark in the south to Lappland
in Norwey, Sweden and Finland in the North.

You woundn't last a day in the weather and road conditions we have right now
with summer tyres - RWD or AWD!
The roads are icy and snowy and some parts are like blank ice.

I have winter tyres without spikes (as a minority overhere) but the differance
between good spikeless wintertyres and summertyres is simply huge.

I have now driven in winter conditions some 30 years...

Pitkis

Thanks for all about comments. At least E60s had Nokia tires, Hakkapeliitta 5 version with steel spikes. I have those also in my own car, really good tires. About E90s involved in training I am not sure...

This morning drive to work (80 km) was nice. At start -29 C degree and almost all the time around -32...-34 C. And finally, when I parked at 07:30 am, my 530 xdA indicated -36.5 C !! Shame I had no camera with me. Anyway, next morning will be even colder...none a single problem in colderness, the car works still like a dream

Pitkis

I asked my dealer yesterday, when 535 i/xi arrives here. The first question was "is that model in existence?" So, maybe it's not coming very soon...

Penelope1982

Hi.

First of all, sorry for my english, but is not my lang...

All your opinions about X (and Q) are interesting, but I would like to know about the behaviour of E60 on wet roads. I m thinking about buying a new one. We have only (more or less) 2 days a year of snow, but the rain is more representative. Is E60 OK in wet roads, or is similar to its behaviour in snow roads? The reactions of the car on wet surfaces are OK? Have someone compared with Audi, for example? Thanks for ur opinions.

Greetings from Spain!

beemerdreamer

We finally have some winter weather in Connecticut, so my first real test of the xdrive with my 530XI brought a lot of smiles. I've owned two Audi's, an A6 2.7 turbo and an A6 4.2 and the 530XI is a lot more fun! Let it snow