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Old 12-08-2011, 12:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rh71 View Post
How would you guys rank the XDrive system compared with others like Subaru or Audi? I've seen youtube vids that show how some systems can handle one-wheel incline better than others. The BMW videos show an E70 with one side of wheels on a patch of ice and still be able to climb in a straight path. Judging by that, it has to be better than a lot out there, but are there better?
I think it is an academic point with limited real-world impact.

Once you go to a full time awd system instead of a part time awd system, and if you include some type of variable torque control front/rear, then everything after that tends to have a smaller difference IMO. Tires matter more than anything. It is possible to make a video demonstrating that just about any vehicle is superior to another in some specific and sometimes artificial circumstance, and most manufacturers have done it. While entertaining, it doesn't mean that there is any real-world advantage.

Given my interest in reliability, and having less complexity in a vehicle, I would go for an awd over a fwd or rwd if my application required it, and would accept a centre differential with some type of control. That is where it would stop, I wouldn't want DPC or whatever they call it next. I would spend the money I saved on a set of winter tires and wheels.
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