BMW 320i xDrive - any experiences ?

Bing

Bing

The Legend
 Exiled Scot in Maidstone
Just playing around with some options on the BMW site, built a 320i xDrive M Sport for a giggle, managed to get it up to £39,400 with all the options requested by SWMBO :D

Got some questions though, so if anyone has any experience please share ?

1. What's the xDrive like, generally and specifically in the 3 series ? In theory Mrs B would drive it most, so if there is inclement weather she'd rather not be in a RWD car.
2. M Sport or Luxury ? Not configured the latter yet.
3. Auto, or Sport Auto (DCT) ? Only £150 difference, so probably a 'meh' question.
4. They only do a 4-pot with 184 ponies - think this is enough poke ? I'll only drive it on medium to long family journeys.

Cheers :thumbsup:
 
I have had both an 320 as well as a E53 and now E70 X5, so comments from both.

320 with 184 ponies is plenty - on problems with that, I had the older 320 with fewer and was not a problem.

M Sport looks better (I had the Luxury equivalent and regretted that )

XDrive - with winter tyres is great. Never needed snow chains in the Alps in pure ice, just great.
 
Thanks pvr - just the kind of start I was hoping for :thumbsup:

I just quickly priced up the Luxury with all the options I would want and not only did it force me to have dark wood interior trim, but it came to well over £40k. Weird. Probably because I was putting all the Sport options back in though - guess that says something about my buyer type :roll:

Annoyingly the wife doesn't like the red or blue, so plumped for mineral grey :x

Any other advice welcomed...
 
I really liked the xdrive too on my old E53 X5 as under hard power it shifted the power to the rear wheels & just gave quite a sporty feel to the drive I thought, I really like the xdrive idea on the 3 series as it opens up its capabilitys over winter loads.

They seem very rare too as I've only seen one xdrive 3 series up to yet.
 
I am sure you never did a powerslide in the snow with the X-Drive, did you 8)
 
I was just looking at 3ers, didn't even know it was an option till today. The wife has developed a desire for a 3er as her next car, but what always worried me was the RWD bit. She can drive, and is pretty good if I'm honest, but sometimes lacks confidence - one cold morning and a squirt of power at the wrong time on a corner and it would scare her... Then she'd probably hate driving it forevermore. So the xDrive option is a good one, and I guess with the Sport options ticked and an eager right foot I could still enjoy it on the odd occasion I drive it.
 
had 3 series m sport x drive on trial for a few days to see if it would do the work I need to do .it drove really well.like being on a railway track when driving it hard.(but not as good as the mz4)lol.end of next week I am on the dark side I have got a 2.5 c class estate amg sport plus to try . :thumbsup:
 
shortfuse 2, thanks for that :thumbsup:

I have no idea when or even if this will be a real option, especially given my ///M desires :D
 
A good set of winter tyres can transform any rear wheel drive vehicle come the frost & snow .
I wouldn,t go into november without a set if our everyday car was RWD ( even have a set of fulda winters for my van waiting to go on )
X drive takes it to another level & X drive on winters up again .
All depends on what level of safety,grip & traction you are after in the winter months :wink:
its not just about forward motion its about stopping distances :wink:

RWD standard rubber / risky
RWD winter rubber / safe
X drive standard rubber / competent all rounder
X drive winter rubber / go anywhere
 
pvr said:
I am sure you never did a powerslide in the snow with the X-Drive, did you 8)
Click to expand...
That would have been fun PVR :thumbsup: when you floored it over uneven roads the front used to lift a little & you could feel the power shift to the rear it genuinely felt good for a heavy 4x4. :)
 
mr wilks, I am wise to the ways of winter boots as I have a set for my Z :wink:

Not sure if I need new rubber actually, need to check the tread depth...

The car would most likely be a company car, therefore it would have standard rubber and probably no chance of having a winter spares option... I wouldn't be chucking money at it out my own pocket (apart from maybe cleaning it :D ) and it would have to stay standard. So xDrive seems to be the way to go, if it becomes a possibility and if BMW is the choice.
 
As it's the first gen X drive saloon we have had in the UK I would maybe wait and see what the reports are like regarding the drive in snow. It will be different from an X3 or X5. As an example try driving an A3 or A4 quattro in the snow/slush etc. They are no more competent than most 2wd cars.

On some of the other points.

The sport auto is the same as the other auto. The only different is that the sports auto gives you paddles on the wheel. Both are the ZF 8HP box, not DCT as came in previous gen 335, M3 etc. As far as i'm aware that box has been dropped. The ZF 8HP is a fantastic box, single clutch but super quick.

I'd go for M Sport every time. Not only because i think it looks better but also because they usually have a better resale value.
 
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