[Nick.B]

I'm moving to Calgary this year. I learned recently that many of the smaller roads in Calgary are not cleared of snow. We have three RWD manual sport E90's. The two that drive through the winter have snow tires. After a good overnight dump of snow here near Toronto, there's sometimes some trouble getting down the street to the main roads, especially the wife's car with the M3 rep. front bumper. It's like a plow.

She's concerned about the unplowed roads in Calgary. So, I'm looking at selling my winter car and replacing it with an awd car. First, I'm looking for some local intel:

How much snow stays around on the unplowed local streets? I know the chinooks come by now and then and help melt it. I was in Calgary a few weeks ago, and there was some lumpy packed snow on the local streets that wouldn't pose a problem for any of our cars. Overall, less snow on the ground than the GTA.

How much difference does the extra inch or so of clearance and the x-drive make? I had an AWD Talon for a couple winters a lifetime ago, and it was pretty much unstoppable in the snow with snow tires. I have no experience with an x-drive in sloppy conditions.

Any facts, opinions or hearsay is welcome.

[fredcase]

I have both, an Awd and rwd. I absolutely dread having to drive the rwd in winter. It's not just a little snow on side roads, its when there a big fresh dump and you need to be somewhere. The awd also has studded Tires, and drives like an absolute dream in any conditions.

I will never own an rwd car as long as I'm in alberta.

[Nick.B]

They allow studded tires in the city?

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

I drove RWD with my car this winter in Ottawa/Gatineau no issues even on snow.

AWD is boring and more issues than RWD. Not worth it IMO. Guess it depends though if you absolutely need your car 100% everyday.

[cpie168]

I have a manual RWD sport E90 in Waterloo which gets a lot of snow but I put on Nokian Hakka R2’s and never get stuck on unplowed roads. Love those tires!

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by cpie168

I have a manual RWD sport E90 in Waterloo which gets a lot of snow but I put on Nokian Hakka R2’s and never get stuck on unplowed roads. Love those tires!

Dude I passed my fist winter here with this car and was in a rush to find used wheels and tires since my older E46 planned wheels wouldn't fit... and let me say never got stuck as well with Hakka R2 and was only 7/32 thread on them. I think I'm definitely getting some Nokian for my new tires.

[Nick.B]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

I drove RWD with my car this winter in Ottawa/Gatineau no issues even on snow.

I had no issues this winter either.

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

AWD is boring and more issues than RWD. Not worth it IMO.

There's a reason we have 3 RWD sport manual cars

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Guess it depends though if you absolutely need your car 100% everyday.

That's her concern. Depending on where the kids are going, she may NEED to get out in the worst of it.

[Nick.B]

Originally Posted by cpie168

I have a manual RWD sport E90 in Waterloo which gets a lot of snow but I put on Nokian Hakka R2’s and never get stuck on unplowed roads. Love those tires!

Some proper Scandinavian snow tires were definitely part of the plan. The Continental winter something Si's we have are great winter tires, but aren't superb in the snow like the various blizzaks I had on previous cars.

[freakystyly]

The only thing you'll be able to do better with awd in snow is accelerate better, the rest is up to tires and ride height if that happens to be the case in deeper snow.

Iv'e had success with Chinese brands and well known brands but a good reliable set of deep treaded winter tires are like gold in the winter.

If the snow is passed your doors you may be in for a rough time regardless of how many wheels are spinning.

RWD is also a lot more fun when you want fun.

That being said watch out you don't become one of those other drivers who might become cocky with their "awd snow driving skills".

This is all just my opinion of course.

[6ixSpd]

Lol at Ontario guys comparing winter driving here vs Calgary. They get a shitload more heavy snow over in Alberta, plus OP is talking about moving to an area where they don't clear local roads as prudently.

Honestly OP, as much as I love RWD in the winter, for your wife/kids driving needs I'm sure they'll be far more at peace with an AWD E9X. They're a dime a dozen, you won't have issues finding one that fits your needs.

[fredcase]

Originally Posted by 6ixSpd

Lol at Ontario guys comparing winter driving here vs Calgary. They get a shitload more heavy snow over in Alberta, plus OP is talking about moving to an area where they don't clear local roads as prudently.

Honestly OP, as much as I love RWD in the winter, for your wife/kids driving needs I'm sure they'll be far more at peace with an AWD E9X. They're a dime a dozen, you won't have issues finding one that fits your needs.

I am originally from Ontario. I know the difference well. The above post is spot on. It's a different beast out here. And its heavy, snow covered roads for 6 months straight. And like I said, when there is a blizzard in Ontario, everyone stays home, the province shuts down. Guess what! there's a blizzard every week out here. Not to mention the black ice we get here on the highways. I remember driving many times between Calgary and Edmonton and seeing literally 40+ cars in the ditch, and saying, sure glad I didn't drive my rwd this trip.

Night and day difference from awd with studded tires (yes, allowed in the city) vs RWD.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by fredcase

I am originally from Ontario. I know the difference well. The above post is spot on. It's a different beast out here. And its heavy, snow covered roads for 6 months straight. And like I said, when there is a blizzard in Ontario, everyone stays home, the province shuts down. Guess what! there's a blizzard every week out here. Not to mention the black ice we get here on the highways. I remember driving many times between Calgary and Edmonton and seeing literally seeing 40+ cars in the ditch, and saying, sure glad I didn't drive my rwd this trip.

Night and day difference from awd with studded tires (yes, allowed in the city) vs RWD.

Lmao never shut down because there was a blizzard here...

But I do agree you must have overall more snow.

But IMO it's all about if you live in a city or not also. If you live in a decent city you will have snow plowed rather quickly compared to further away.

[Nick.B]

Originally Posted by 6ixSpd

They're a dime a dozen, you won't have issues finding one that fits your needs.

Automatic, non sport are a dime a dozen.

Manual sport, not so common. I'll find the right one, but it'll take some time.

[shuotong]

I'm not from there but I drove the vehicle to Quebec, QC once, where I experienced some heavy snow, the start is a pain but stop distance is okay. Remember AWD does now help you to stop!
I run with performance winter, consider I spend most of my time on dry road, you can use some winter tire designed for server winter like X-ICE 3 or even go with studded (if allowed). If snow performance really is a concern, why suffering with x-drive? It's RWD based, not some true AWD system. Go with some true AWD like Subaru or Audi. X-drive gives you little and give you maintenance headache and drivetrain loss.

[Speedy_12139]

My 335i xdrive. On Sailun IceBlazer winter tires, square setup, 225/45/17 is unstoppable in the snow. I've had it in some pretty deep stuff the past 2 winters here in rural Ontario. And the car just goes. And goes. And goes. I'm sure one day. My luck will runout. But I always keep the conditions in mind... Im not going to go out of my way to find out how deep. Is too deep.

[Nick.B]

Originally Posted by shuotong

Remember AWD does now help you to stop!

I had an AWD Eagle Talon back in the day with 3 LSDs. They didn't came that way from the factory. Stopping was excellent. All grip, or all slip.

Originally Posted by shuotong

If snow performance really is a concern, why suffering with x-drive?

Because the wife and I really like our E90's.

Originally Posted by shuotong

Go with some true AWD like Subaru or Audi. X-drive gives you little and give you maintenance headache and drivetrain loss.

I am considering that. Drove a WRX yesterday. I've always liked their exhaust note.

[shuotong]

Usually vehicle with heavier weight distribution in front would perform better in snow breaking, but I x-drive added negligible impact on the weight distribution. My mothers Honda Accord performs a bit better in snow breaking than my 3er even it gets wider tires (235 vs 225) and heavier (17xx kg vs 1525 kg), just because everything is in the front.
But winter driving is still manageable to me, aren't we driving on cleared roads for the majority of the time? Get some very narrow winter tire like 205s (a factory width for the 16 rims) in case of a large snowfall, and drive carefully. I had the same concern as yours, but it turns out to be okay.

[Nick.B]

Originally Posted by shuotong

.... aren't we driving on cleared roads for the majority of the time? .... I had the same concern as yours, but it turns out to be okay.

Yeah, here in the GTA we're driving on cold, wet roads most of the time. 225 wide winter tires on a RWD E90 are just fine. It's why I have 225 wide sporty-ish winter/ice tires instead of narrow, chunky snow tires.

Where I'm going it's colder, salt use is much reduced, and the snow isn't cleared on some streets at all.

Leaning towards a WRX, unless a unicorn of an E90 or E91 shows up at the right price. Just need to get the wife into one and drive it to approve so I don't hear her complaining about the clutch feel or the gauges, haha.

[ttthai]

I've spent years driving RWD bmws in the snow (with snow tires ofc), and generally it's fine. The only issues are getting out of parking spots when you get snowed in, or when clearance is an issue. I got tired of packing a shovel in the trunk and bought an impreza winter beater. It's less reliable, but that thing can move.

[xXSupa]

If you have 3 cars, you should get 1 AWD to tackle the snow days and leave the other 2 RWD. This way you get the best of both worlds.

Regardless of what others are saying, AWD will ALWAYS be better in snow than RWD in the exact same given conditions.

[Nick.B]

Originally Posted by ttthai

I've spent years driving RWD bmws in the snow (with snow tires ofc), and generally it's fine.

I learned to drive in a RWD Ford Aerostar minivan with all seasons. Exiting the GO Train parking lot sideways, then turn right, sideways, and up the hill sideways, making another right turn sideways and over the 401... still sideways. The real accomplishment was maintaining a consistent slip angle the whole time, like 30 degrees or so.

Originally Posted by ttthai

I got tired of packing a shovel in the trunk and bought an impreza winter beater. It's less reliable, but that thing can move.

I have folding WW2 army shovels in every car I own. I haven't needed them yet. I find it funny how the Japanese cars are regarded as highly reliably, and the Germans not. I've never been left stranded by either. Well, except for that one time I stripped all the 1st gear teeth off the input shaft of a 400HP AWD DSM. That was probably my fault though.