Question about BMWs

thezappa

thezappa

thezappa

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1 Jul 2012
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891
I admit to not being the most knowledgable of chaps around cars so am turning to you good people for some answers.
I'm looking at replacing my aged Focus, it's still going fine but am just planning at the moment and I was talking to a guy at work saying a liked a couple of BMW models and his first response was to say he wouldn't have one because they're rear wheel drive and will be a bit skittish coming out of roundabouts if you put your foot down. That's not necessarily a problem as I doubt I'll be driving anything powerful enough that will throw its back-end out doing that (up to 2L) but I wondered if that really is a factor when considering them.
Surely most people who buy cars, Beemers included don't think about front or rear wheel drive so is he just talking out of his backside or does he have a point?
 
He's being daft. The throttle isn't an on/off switch. It won't be a problem unless you're the most ham-fisted driver in the world whilst driving in the rain with crap tyres. And even then, the electronic stability control will reign you in.
 
He has a point if you drive like a ham fisted idiot, its just a case of being aware of how the car will react if you do stupid things like accelerate hard on low grip surfaces etc.
 
He's missing the positive side.

You can drift around the roundabout like a boss, in a cloud of tyre smoke, while the local hotties look on in awe waiting for you to offer them a lift.
 
Most "Drivers" prefer RRD. FWD is more about low cost production engineering than giving a good driving experience. Get the BMW, Make sure it has good tyres and do not buy a Diesel.

(I like Diesels, but not in a BMW. It is not quite the thing Sir! :p )
 
Is electronic stability on all years i.e. back to say 2005 for example?
I quite enjoy driving but I'm really only after something with a bit of poke when I'm on an A road or motorway, nice cornering would be nice but I'm not planning on throwing it around, plus the near '50/50 weight distribution' that they went on about a few years back counts for something doesn't it?
Also, am erring toward petrol at the moment but only because of the talk about diesels being binned by a lot of people when it all goes **** up about emissions.
 
The guy is a muppet. As has been said as long as you don't drive like an utter buffoon it's not an issue. I've had 3 different bmws in the space of 5 years. I've never once lost it. The only time I came close was in some snow and through shear luck I managed to pull off an amazing drift around a roundabout. If anyone saw it they'd have either thought I was a douche bag or epic, in reality I was cacking myself!

2l diesel. 2l turbo petrol. 3l twin turbo diesel. As much as or more power than you're considering and no back end murder. The feedback from the cars is fantastic and you will instantly know if it's wanting to misbehave.
 
thezappa said:
Is electronic stability on all years i.e. back to say 2005 for example?
I quite enjoy driving but I'm really only after something with a bit of poke when I'm on an A road or motorway, nice cornering would be nice but I'm not planning on throwing it around, plus the near '50/50 weight distribution' that they went on about a few years back counts for something doesn't it?
Also, am erring toward petrol at the moment but only because of the talk about diesels being binned by a lot of people when it all goes **** up about emissions.
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You really need to be trying to push the arse out, unless its sheet ice in which case youd drive it easy like any other car. As long as your aware what happens when you push it too far its fine.

Just make sure your running good rubber, wont be cheap but then its the only bit of the car that actually contacts the road so any car will handle like a dog on crap tyres.
 
Your friend seems like a bit of a derp. There wouldn't be hundreds of thousands of them on the road if they were that bad.
 
I've had seven BMW's over the years, got the back out many many times - by turning off the T/C and then intentionally provoking a slide.

Even without T/C on, you have to be a very poor driver to get one way out of shape.
 
It's worth noting what kind of tyres the car you look at getting has on the rear especially. Poor quality/balding tyres will have poor levels of grip, so even apply little throttle could result in the back sliding out going round a roundabout or corner.

Even still, traction control will intervene way before anything happens.
 
RWD can be a bad thing if you're a typical moronic car owner who thinks all cars should behave like a FWD hot hatch with on/off throttle application whilst also refusing to spend more than a tenner on tyres.

For normal people, it's a complete non-issue.

For car people, it's generally a preferential setup to FWD.
 
Bought my first RWD car 3/4 weeks ago and having never driven one before (aside from a few test drives) I had the same concerns about handling in greasy or cold conditions, particularly with a car I'd only had very limited experience of.

As long as you are sensible and aware of the conditions then the car is no different or dangerous than FWD/4WD. Just don't go mashing the accelerator through bends and you'll be fine. DSC/DTC does a fine job of keeping you in check but is no reason to rely on it or be naive about pushing it.

Living in NE Scotland, I've had 3-4 days of snow since buying it and even then it wasn't a massive issue on the road. Gentle and smooth steering and throttle inputs and it managed to get through with no problems.
 
Ive lost count on how many times ive heard folk say this about BMW'S. Ive had a few mostly the older ones where all the fancy electronic stability stuff was never an option and traction control was controlled by my right foot.. The E30 was well known to be back end happy but like everything if you drove to the conditions and you were not being a fool it wouldnt try and kill you. The first E46 I drove really surprised me on how well it held the road compared to an E30. Ive got to agree with whats being said. a rear wheel drive car is nicer to drive than a front wheel drive. as previously said make sure you have good tyres and tread and it will be a pleasure to drive. dont be a hero with it and it wont try to put you through a hedge backwards.
 
Simon said:
But the driver is the biggest factor. 4wd are not invincible either
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he said it's no different. i would beg to differ they are hugely different.

it's pretty hard to make a 4x4 lose grip even when giving it a bit of a boot.

i did state also they aren't magic but they are night and day different from RWD and even FWD.
 
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