Opinion/Poll On Owning A Winter Car/DD

[TitanUcheze]

Hey All,

I'm relatively new to this forum, though not so new to the BMW Community as a whole (a great community!). If this is inappropriate to ask here or should be moved please let me know.

To preface this, I live in Northern Maine most of the year, so we get a pretty steady deluge of snow for 3-4 months a year, and often times I need to be on the move even when it's snowing (which is often during the winter). The roads are typically plowed and salted, but where I go to college tends to become pretty pitted with decently sized potholes during the winter especially, and there is always a slush of salt/mud/snow that exists on the roads. It's not uncommon for me to come out in the morning to drive around and there to be a blanket of snow on the ground, and often times after a deep snow it can be quite a challenge to get the Z4 out especially since it gets beached. I also recently bought a motorcycle, and had to move, and I realized just how inconvenient it can be to not have a car with more practicality for those events.

I bought the Z4 in Southern California, so it is utterly rust free, and I cleaned it meticulously for the few storms we had this past late spring to keep it that way. Ideally, I'd like to keep the Z4 for use during the summer, and have something with more utility (storage, 4 doors, towing ability, etc) for the winter or the occasional trip where the aforementioned is needed. I imagine this is not an uncommon thing for Z4 owners.

I know you can run snow tires, and I'm not opposed to it, but seeing as I have begun doing my own work and what the prices are I think a mid 2000s X3 (model years after they fixed the suspension) or maybe an X5 would make a nice complement, though I'm open to suggestions! So, my question is simple, what (if any) do the rest of you drive as a DD or for when the weather gets nasty?

[philbo909]

Weather in southern England never gets too bad, a couple days with a few inches of snow a year max.
Would like a proper 4x4 for off-roading alongside the z4, sadly I'm stuck with the better half's vw polo.
I would get an X5 over the X3 if you're sticking to bmw

[Silverzedtom]

I have the zed, the other half a Nissan micra so I find myself driving in the zed all year round - albeit in England.

Nothing wrong with an x3 or 5, but I’ve always imagined getting something like a 3 series touring. A petrol 3L with a few years behind it and a fair few miles could be a good laugh for not so much money. Obviously it wouldn’t be the cheapest to run...

[buzyg]

I run sheds. Have had 4 assorted Mazda's since I bought my Zed.

323F Sport
3 Sport
6 Sport
And currently Mazda2 1.6. It looks like a pensioners car and drives like a high sided roller skate . I rather like it.

[djstan]

I try to keep my Z4 ‘special’, so I have an Audi A6 as my daily car. It’s just getting to the end of its life (and really boring!) so am considering changing it for either a 4-series Grand Coupe, an X5 or a VW Touareg

[TitanTim]

Any car will do so long as it has winter tyres, I think people think they need a humungous 4 wheel drive but I found my old Z3 even on all season tyres coped well in deep snow.

Tim.

[john-e89]

I run sheds. Have had 4 assorted Mazda's since I bought my Zed.

323F Sport
3 Sport
6 Sport
Z4M...rusty salty bag of nails
And currently Mazda2 1.6. It looks like a pensioners car and drives like a high sided roller skate . I rather like it.

You missed one buzy mate...you’re welcome...

[Jembo]

Volvo XC60

First Volvo I’ve ever owned, first car the misses has ever said she likes & cares about. Real simple car to drive, surprisingly good road holding, diesel 5 cylinder engine is a real wolf in sheeps clothing

[buzyg]

I run sheds. Have had 4 assorted Mazda's since I bought my Zed.

323F Sport
3 Sport
6 Sport
Z4M...rusty salty bag of nails
And currently Mazda2 1.6. It looks like a pensioners car and drives like a high sided roller skate . I rather like it.

You missed one buzy mate...you’re welcome...

Ye got the order wrong. I bought the Zed first and because it"s a peice of precision engineered Tutonic craftsmanship, it done more miles, over that time, than the four Mazda's put together.

[Mr Tidy]

As someone said, in the UK we don't often get any significant snow.

But I run a 3 Series Touring as a daily and just put it on winter tyres.

[Jembo]

As someone said, in the UK we don't often get any significant snow.

But I run a 3 Series Touring as a daily and just put it on winter tyres.

I find it’s not really the amount of snow, it’s the ice, especially black ice - not saying winters grip like a summer tyre, but they don’t act like a sledge when you find it at the wrong time

[pbr67_zed]

Another XC60 owner here, it's a good car for carrying people and stuff around, and they are pretty good tow vehicles. I would call it my DD, but with the weather we've been having recently, it's been relegated to gathering dust on the drive