Originally Posted by swisscheese

Here in Switzerland we have a great experience in winter driving. Not the 20' are a problem. The tires must be adapted to the conditions. And in winter conditions (temperature below 7 degrees celsius) only winter tires do the best job.Tire tests confirm that all-season-tires and also M + S tires are bad in summer and bad in winter, because it is a bad trade-off. So, when you can affort a luxury car, like the x5, i am sure you best choice is to buy a wheel set with fat summer high performance tires and a set with 255' winter tires. And dont forget: xDrive is perfect for grip on the street up to the hill, but when you drive down from the peak, it is almost useless, then are you as safe as in a sedan in your X5!!

Just my 2 cents!

Greetings from old Europe!