Should I get a 135i?

[fino]

I have never owned a BMW and dont know much about them. I have only owned Japanese cars and more specifically Subaru. I love my 03 Subaru WRX especially in the snowy Minnesota Winters. I have an upgraded turbo+supporting mods & tune so its very pleasurable to drive year round and has some serious balls.

I am considering selling it and purchasing a new car. I will only buy a car with a turbo and would've only bought a car with AWD until I saw the 135i with the BMW 4yr/50k mi warranty on wear and tear. I am seriously considering the 135i or 08 evo. Heres my worries and maybe this is where you can help me. The 135i is a rear wheel drive car and I live in Minnesota where it can get snowy at times. I am wondering if this car would be annoying in winter with its traction control and a good set of snow tires. I know what to expect performance wise from the evo from owning an AWD car with similar specs however I am unsure of what to expect from the BMW except from a recent encounter with an M3.

Thanks for the help!

[Bmuurr325is]

since u live in minnesota, id stick with an awd car....rwd aren't as good in the snow as awd and fwd, im sure you already know that.

[fino]

since u live in minnesota, id stick with an awd car....rwd aren't as good in the snow as awd and fwd, im sure you already know that.

Yea im aware of that, I was just wondering if anyone has any experience in snow with a RWD BMW with all the traction goodies and snow tires. I know it wont be as good as a AWD car...it never could be...however with the way traction control combined with tire technology has come I just thought maybe I wouldnt have to worry AS MUCH as I initially assumed. Probably me just reasoning with myself (I know I could buy a beater for the winter but just cant stomach that since winters get long here)

[Theodore]

From what I've heard they do great in the snow with snow tires. Supposed to make a world of difference!

[bmwretard]

Get the BMW, it's much classier than the turbocharged chinese take-out box.


Also, RWD is no prob in snow. Snow tires + traction control = good to go.

[SeattleBMW325i]

coming from a wrx, it may get annoying in the snow. as far as rwd cars go, bmws are damn good in the snow. You could always wait, my bet is they'll come out with a 135xi, which would be sick

[mikeo]

The fact that the 135i doesn't have limited slip could be problematic, depending on your winter driving style, even with all the electronic doo-dads. There is always the 335xi awd.

[M3zie]

With good snow tires you will be fine. Just get some 16 or 17" steelies to mount the snows on.

The new evo should be around the same price + AWD. BMW > Mitsubishi any day but the new evo will be very fast.

[DocDuvi]

I would def go for the BMW
I used to drive a WRX considering Get me another one I miss it :(

but 135>Evo unless ur into racing and crap wich I will still go for the 135 :D

[mikeo]

With good snow tires you will be fine. Just get some 16 or 17" steelies to mount the snows on...
No way will steelies fit on a 135. They don't even fit my E36 M3.

[plien69]

IMO, RWD w/snow tires is better than AWD w/all-seasons

[diablolique]

Fino check out the people on 1addicts.com (http://www.1addicts.com). There's lots of people who are cross shopping WRX and EVO's, I guess cause the BMW now has turbo. You might be able to get some good insight into other people's similar decision process. :buttrock

[JClark]

If you learned how to drive in the snow-belt, you can drive an rwd car in the winter.

[delirious]

well if it gets an electronic "lsd" then that would help a lot too.

[bcarr22]

Buy a japanese car. That leaves one more 1er in allocation for me. :-)

ein-er

[///FrankC]

Yeah like said above if you've been driving in the snow for all these years you should be able to handle a rwd in the snow. I put some blizzaks on my 95 M3 and had no problems commuting from NY to PA twice a week in the snow (and it really snowed in PA that year). With all the new esp and abs technology you should have absolutely no problems, well, other than ground clearance.

[fino]

Thank you for all the input. I greatly appreciate it.

I know people that drive rear wheel drive cars in the winter and dont seem to have too many problems...occasional rear end slip...which im used to anyway because I have an 4EAT WRX (auto) which transfers power to the rear under hard acceleration and slips the rear out in snow however its very very forgiving even when I am sideways. I dont know if I would go as far as saying RWD+Snow Tires is better than AWD+Snow tires but thats just opinion from constantly being wowed every winter from climbing steep hills with 12"+ of snow, plowing through a couple feet of fresh snow every morning etc.

Anyways its refreshing to know that others are driving their M3s etc in the snow w/snow tires and getting away with it happily. I just mostly want to be safe and not hassled every winter since it will be a daily driver.

One other thing... do you think (understanding that specs are limited at this time) that I could just toss some snow tires on the stock rims or will they be too big and fat to be effective in the snow (from my understanding wider tires arent the greatest in the snow for traction).

Thanks!

[murdoc158]

One other thing... do you think (understanding that specs are limited at this time) that I could just toss some snow tires on the stock rims or will they be too big and fat to be effective in the snow (from my understanding wider tires arent the greatest in the snow for traction).

Thanks!

The stock wheels seem too wide for snow tires to work properly. I'm sure that they WOULD work, but a narrower tire would be much better.

I don't know your situation, but rather than getting snow rims and tires, you could look into getting a dedicated winter car. I was able to pick up a 1997 Subaru Legacy GT wagon a few years ago for $3500. This is more than wheels/tires, but having a second car I don't have to drive my M3 in the winter. By not driving the M3 I save money on my insurance, avoid rusted under-carriage bolts, and don't have to worry about someone sliding INTO my M3 because THEY couldn't stop. There are plenty of great low-priced AWD Subarus or Audis that would make great winter cars and still get better gas mileage than an SUV.