2012 BMW 550dx (AWD only)

[CALL_911]

Yours has what- 210 horsepower?  Yeah- that's exactly the same thing. 

Surely you've heard of launching in 2nd gear, yes?

[rohan]

Of course- but taking off from a stop only accounts for how much in a daily drive?  We live in a really hilly and seldom plowed area that sees massive lake effect snows that double or triple the amount of any snowfall.  The fact is we would both be able to use it almost everyday if it was awd- I don't feel very good about telling my wife she can't drive it in the snow but I can.  How selfish is that?  No- we just park it and keep it on the charger with a once a month driveway 45 minute warm up to keep everything nice and lubricated.  

[Submariner]

Was it your car?  And- define "winter conditions."  That's anything from a light dusting to several feet of snow.  Kinda vague.

Dads twin turbo Mercedes - I've driven it in anywhere from a dusting to roads with packed in snow.  Even with all season tires, it wasn't too bad.  Granted, I would have preferred snow tires, and I would have liked AWD, but it's doable.

[CALL_911]

Of course- but taking off from a stop only accounts for how much in a daily drive?  We live in a really hilly and seldom plowed area that sees massive lake effect snows that double or triple the amount of any snowfall.  The fact is we would both be able to use it almost everyday if it was awd- I don't feel very good about telling my wife she can't drive it in the snow but I can.  How selfish is that?  No- we just park it and keep it on the charger with a once a month driveway 45 minute warm up to keep everything nice and lubricated.  

AWD's primary benefit is taking off from a stop. AWD will probably minimally help your car handle any better in the snow, that's where tires come into play.

[rohan]

Dads twin turbo Mercedes - I've driven it in anywhere from a dusting to roads with packed in snow.  Even with all season tires, it wasn't too bad.  Granted, I would have preferred snow tires, and I would have liked AWD, but it's doable.

So if you crashed it you would've been out nothing?  Your insurance wouldn't go up because it was your dad's and you probably wouldn't have felt anything more than sorry?    This is MY car- and yes I know it's not the nicest in the world but it's MINE-  and if I don't want my family in a car my wife has no business using in bad conditions- which this year were actually pretty good 70% of the time.  Plus- and this has nothign to do with the dangers of driving a rwd- my area uses sand/salt mix which is HELL on cars.  

[rohan]

AWD's primary benefit is taking off from a stop. AWD will probably minimally help your car handle any better in the snow, that's where tires come into play.

And up hills- and around corners...."Advanced awd" is what the xdrive is.    There was a short time the last guy in my position actually considered buying all AWD chargers because they are so bad in the snow.  Instead he ordered Impalas.    Thankfully I was able to cancel most of the order before delivery.

And- as for the tires of course I know snowies help.  I have Blizzaks on my Durango and my Charger and every charger in our fleet.

[Submariner]

So if you crashed it you would've been out nothing?  Your insurance wouldn't go up because it was your dad's and you probably wouldn't have felt anything more than sorry?    This is MY car- and yes I know it's not the nicest in the world but it's MINE-  and if I don't want my family in a car my wife has no business using in bad conditions- which this year were actually pretty good 70% of the time.  Plus- and this has nothign to do with the dangers of driving a rwd- my area uses sand/salt mix which is HELL on cars. 

Yeah, just because it's not my car means I don't really care what happens to it. 

My area uses sand/salt too, and it's not as if winter in Massachusetts is light.  Thus far, not a car my family owns has rust, and I don't think a single person I know has rust issue on any car built after 2000. 

[rohan]

Yeah, just because it's not my car means I don't really care what happens to it.  

So how would you have been directly effected if you wrecked it then?  Would you have had to pay for it?  Would your insurance have gone up- or just your dad's?  Driving someone else's car is never the same thing as driving your own. 

My area uses sand/salt too, and it's not as if winter in Massachusetts is light.  Thus far, not a car my family owns has rust, and I don't think a single person I know has rust issue on any car built after 2000.  

Look around a little more.  

[Submariner]

So how would you have been directly effected if you wrecked it then?  Would you have had to pay for it?  Would your insurance have gone up- or just your dad's?  Driving someone else's car is never the same thing as driving your own. 

LOL

[rohan]

LOL

So then I'm to assume "No" as the answers?

[2o6]

This thread has officially gotten stupid.

[Submariner]

So then I'm to assume "No" as the answers?

Your assumption is incorrect. 

[rohan]

Your assumption is incorrect. 

Care to elaborate more thoroughly?

[Submariner]

Care to elaborate more thoroughly?

Is it at all relevant to this thread?

[rohan]

Is it at all relevant to this thread?

Nope- but this thread is almost dead anyway.    All I did was say we don't drive my car in the winter but would if we had an xdrive and 850 and a couple others got all "no way- I don't understand- that's dumb".  I didn't start this melee.

[Submariner]

Nope- but this thread is almost dead anyway.    All I did was say we don't drive my car in the winter but would if we had an xdrive and 850 and a couple others got all "no way- I don't understand- that's dumb".  I didn't start this melee.

I'm getting a Scotch, want one?

[TurboDan]

Don't care. Never met a turbocharged engine I liked, including the N54.*

Not to mention that gaining 5mpg over 7 years and an all-new model really isn't very impressive.

The VWAG 2.0 TSI is pretty impressive. It's not the most refined engine in the world, but it's not supposed to be.

[giant_mtb]

AWD's primary benefit is taking off from a stop. AWD will probably minimally help your car handle any better in the snow, that's where tires come into play.

What?  No.  It's primary benefit is to help whenever the throttle is applied.  Say you're following behind someone and the road's really slippery...they slow down to make a sharp right-hand turn, so now you have to accelerate again (not from a stop, but from, say 10mph).  With RWD, you'll have to do more throttle adjustment and you won't be able to get back up to speed like an AWD car with the same power/tires could.  When you're turning or braking is when the tires are the main deciding factor, though all these crazy advanced AWD systems are starting to help turning, too.

[2o6]

What?  No.  It's primary benefit is to help whenever the throttle is applied.  Say you're following behind someone and the road's really slippery...they slow down to make a sharp right-hand turn, so now you have to accelerate again (not from a stop, but from, say 10mph).  With RWD, you'll have to do more throttle adjustment and you won't be able to get back up to speed like an AWD car with the same power/tires could.  When you're turning or braking is when the tires are the main deciding factor, though all these crazy advanced AWD systems are starting to help turning, too.

Both of us see snow a lot, I don't understand how they can legitimately say the things they say. There was a lady in a 335i the other day that I legitimately felt sorry for. She had all seasons (like most of the drivers out there) and anytime she breathed on the throttle, here rear end broke loose. She couldn't go more than maybe 25MPH.

FWD cars are lot more predictable in the snow, and generally they tend to have better traction.


Breathe on the gas in slick conditions in a RWD car, the rear end will tend to slide. Breate on the gas in a FWD car, and the car will generally understeer or merely give you wheelspin. Not to say that FWDs are unspinnable in the snow, I've had a few unintentional 45-degree drifts in the Focus and my old Neon.




More power makes things far more sensitive.....especially in a RWD car with crap tires.

[sportyaccordy]

What?  No.  It's primary benefit is to help whenever the throttle is applied.  Say you're following behind someone and the road's really slippery...they slow down to make a sharp right-hand turn, so now you have to accelerate again (not from a stop, but from, say 10mph).  With RWD, you'll have to do more throttle adjustment and you won't be able to get back up to speed like an AWD car with the same power/tires could.  When you're turning or braking is when the tires are the main deciding factor, though all these crazy advanced AWD systems are starting to help turning, too.

If youre following behind someone when the road is slippery closely enough (and quickly enough) that traction is an issue youre an asshole. AWD's real only practical advantage is being able to put power down to more than one wheel in the snow. Brakes & steering work the same in 2WD cars.

[Tave]

Part of steering in the snow is being able to effectively control your power delivery. In my experience, a lot of 4WD/AWD systems tend to hold on to understeer and require a good amount of throttle to kick loose, making it easier to hold a line through a turn compared to their RWD counterparts. Especially in 4WD equipped trucks and SUVs, I've found that I can carry more speed through a turn and negotiate it more confidently in 4WD as opposed to RWD. I would think that would be apparent to anyone who has played around with such a system.

[cawimmer430]

If youre following behind someone when the road is slippery closely enough (and quickly enough) that traction is an issue youre an asshole.

[omicron]

It settles into a quiet, smooth and seriously refined idle as soon as you push the dash-mounted Start button. It?s not quite V8-petrol smooth, but it?s not miles removed from it, and it?s a lot closer to petrol than diesel in its feel. And its eerie quiet idle is backed up, whenever you blip the throttle, with the aural promise of violence to come.

BMW has delved into every trick in the bag with this one, from tightening down on the cylinder heads to fine tuning the exhaust and even synthesizing the best of the engine?s sound through the audio system.

It?s hard to complain with the results. It?s superb. It has leapt from nowhere to one of the best engines in the world today.

You can build up the revs to over 2000rpm, step off the brake pedal and hang on as the tri-turbo launches its host to 62mph in 4.7 seconds. And then keeps going.

It doesn?t exactly feel like it explodes. It?s more like it grabs the road by the scruff of the neck and starts turning the world around it. It?s blisteringly quick, but it never descends into brutality and it sounds charmingly sonorous without ever even hinting at coarseness.

One of the tricks to that is the synthesizing of the engine?s note and pumping it back through the car?s terrific audio system to concentrate the sound. It?s a trick to counteract the sound deadening effect of three successive turbo-chargers and if you weren?t aware of it, you?d never know it was happening.

It?s an engine rich in character from idle to 5400rpm, with a deep rumble that rises in urgency along with your throttle opening.

And, Lordy, is it fast. It?s fast at any throttle opening, in any gear, at any time.

It?s a lovely combination in the drivetrain and the car?s multi-mode drive system, which ranges from EcoPro, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, Manual and Customized, makes a notable difference.

In keeping with the straddling nature of the M Performance Automobiles brand, the Comfort setting is firmer than the standard 5-Series but softer than the M5. All of the settings make optimized tweaks to the suspension, throttle response, gearshift software, skid control systems and steering.

In its EcoPro mode, it?s capable of astonishing feats of economy, clocking just 6.3 litres/100km on the combined cycle (a full 3.6 litres or better than the M5). In Sport+ mode, with its skid control gear switched off, it fires to its top speed of 250km/h with a willingness that belies its mass.

Yes, it?s an astonishingly strong motor and it is willing to attack hard, to surge smoothly or to cruise gently, depending on your mood. And, yes, it dominates the machine, but it?s not the only trick in the book.

The real charm is that it works so coherently with everything else. It retains the 5-Series chassis balance that has made it well regarded even in its initial year of sales.

It is unfailingly secure in the way it handles and it?s almost impossible to upset it in tight corners, long sweepers or on mid-corner bumps. Even with the skid control switched off, the M550d just takes the engine?s power and drives it into whatever tyre can employ it. Just like that, no fuss.

The transmission is another beautifully thought-through component, sliding through gears seamlessly unless it?s in Sport, when it bangs the changes through to reinforce the M-Lite?s sportier nature.

In fact, the only minor issue is the electric steering, which masks the last few percent of interaction with the machine beneath you.

Other than that, it?s hard to imagine how BMW could have made this car better. Except, obviously, the addition of right-hand drive?

http://www.carpoint.com.au/reviews/2012/large-passenger/bmw/bmw-m550d-xdrive-first-drive-28953

[MexicoCityM3]

I am liking the 5er more and more every day. Now that I have seen several M-Sport examples around I truly like it. Not to mention the M5. But I?d be extremely happy with a comfy 535i as a daily.

[cawimmer430]

I am liking the 5er more and more every day. Now that I have seen several M-Sport examples around I truly like it. Not to mention the M5. But I?d be extremely happy with a comfy 535i as a daily.

Do you get diesel 5ers in Mexico?

Do you get any BMW diesels in Mexico?

[MexicoCityM3]

Do you get diesel 5ers in Mexico?

Do you get any BMW diesels in Mexico?

No, only VW/Audi offer a couple of models in diesel.

[cawimmer430]

No, only VW/Audi offer a couple of models in diesel.

Well that sucks. You guys are missing out - just like North America (for the most part).

[TurboDan]

No, only VW/Audi offer a couple of models in diesel.

What's the price of gas per gallon (or do you do it per liter?) south of the border? I know the last time I was there all of the PEMEX stations were more expensive than what we were paying in New Jersey at the time.

[MexicoCityM3]

What's the price of gas per gallon (or do you do it per liter?) south of the border? I know the last time I was there all of the PEMEX stations were more expensive than what we were paying in New Jersey at the time.

It is per liter. The price is controlled by the government and for years it has been going up a small amount every month. Premium is 10.69 pesos, regular 9.91 and Diesel 10.27.

The current exchange rate is about 12.7 pesos per dollar, so premium is US$3.187 per gallon, regular US$2.95 and diesel US$3.06

Due to the fixed price, depending on the international true market price, our government at times effectively subsidizes fuel and at times collects taxes on it.

[850CSi]

premium is US$3.187 per gallon,

Jealous