[Maestro]

Right before the holiday I had my 335i in for servicing and they gave me 328xi Wagon as loaner with Winter Pkgs, no leather and auto. I was kind of excited since I debated long and hard whether to wait for the x-drive to show up in April 07. Obviously I decide not to wait since most of the weather in the Philly area does not include snow, and when it does I could always work from home.

Some quick background, I have driven every type of drive system out there, rear wheel land barges as well as small compacts, front w/wo TC, Auto/manual 4 wheel drive Pickups and SUVs, and AWD w/wo TC. I have driven most all those in all kinds of weather conditions, including deep snow.

Just before buying 335I I had an AWD Subaru, which I bought because I was doing lots of commuting over the mountains in PA during the winter and I wanted a really reliable car that could do well in all conditions. I can tell you that car did great, never got stuck and handle well in really bad road conditions. I was able to keeping going when others cars were getting stuck. So I am basing my experience on that.

So happen when I got the 328xi we were getting some really bad weather here, freezing rain and lots of it. So I was psych to see how it would do. I do not have to tell you a 335i with sport package does not do well at all in these conditions, last year my car got stuck in 1 inch of snow on flat ground.

The first thing I notices with the x-drive is the steering is very tight, not sure how else to describe this feeling, compared to the 335i which i can turn the wheel with one finger on the wheel, the 328xi seemed to requirer a higher amount of force to turn the wheel even when the car was moving. Compared to the Subaru, it was very noticeable when the power transfer to the front wheels.

I definitely got the opportunity to see how it would perform under icy conditions. The car did very well, could hardly notice the power switching form rear to front except the steering thing. Unlike my previous Subaru, which you could feel the power switching between wheels and it pulling from side to side as it transferred power. A few times I was stopped on a hill and you could feel the rears wheels slip a little and immediately the power when to the front and the car started moving. In the 335i with snow tires, the wheel would slip and the TC light would come on all the time. I never saw the TC light come on in the x-drive which was surprising since I did push the car pretty hard a few times.

Overall, I say the xdrive was nice feature to have with dealing with the snow and ice, however the steering wheel being tight bothered me for the reason it seem to isolate you from the road. The one reason I bought the 335i over all the other cars in its class was you did not feel isolated form the road. I like driving by the seat of the pants so to say. I want to feel what the car is doing and if it was on the edge. With the x-drive I was a bit concern I was putting so much effort into turning the wheel I was not sure I was getting all the feedback I needed.

I will also say, I am not sure if it was just this car, (it had 14k miles on it so I would say it should have been broken in) or if it was the fact it was a wagon.

Anyhow, I am glad I got the 335i with Sport Pkg, it is more responsive and enjoy to drive, I am not sure the x-drive overhead is worth it if you do not have to deal with bad weather all the time. I put snow tires on my car and its doing much better than last year in the little bit of bad weather we get here

I am curious to hear if other x-drive owners notice the same steering feeling.

[FirstClass]

Absolutely no idea what you're talking about with the steering thing.

[Kruz]

Hmmmm...

I took rather long back to back test drives in both a 335i and 335xi before purchasing and to me the "i" felt a hair tighter on the steering.

I am very impressed with the xdrive in snow and rain, but where it is really underated is in the dry where traction is boundless.

I was actually glad to see some snow fall as I could not for the life of me get the car to swing around in the summer with the summer tires on.

I think your 328xi loaner was not a good sample.

[Lassaxi]

Me neither. I test drove a 328i and xi back-to-back on the same roads and noticed no difference at all in steering. Could be that the wagon was heavier than what you were used to driving.

[poiney]

When I drove a 328x wagon I also thought that it took more force to steer. I don't think I noticed the stiffer feeling until I got back into my car, so my experience may be more subtle. It wasn't at all bothersome, but I prefer the lighter feeling of my car.

[Maestro]

I guess another way to describe it, if any of you drove the original front wheel drive cars form the 80's, the steering on them was noticeably different than the rear wheel drive cars, because the front was pulling the car and when you turned the wheel you had to over come the force of the front wheel moving the car forward. So the steering felt heavier then a rear wheel drive car.

I guess using the word "very" tight might be over stating the feeling or experience.

It was most noticeable when the power went to the front wheels that was for sure.

I'll give you that the car did stick to the road a lot better then the 335i on dry surfaces, but then a again I tend to drive the 335i more spirited and tend to see the TC light come on more then not.

[devo]

Not at all, in fact, the steering feels too light to me in either car. I am loving the Xi.

[stressdoc]

There is some torque steer, and whole front axle assembly is heavier and more complex. That said, it is not noticeable under normal dry conditions. But when there is substantial power to the front wheels, you can feel the difference.