The X5 M and the like are jack of all trades, masters of none. Too compromised in almost every regard. On track they're as quick as the quicker end of the hot hatch segment, same with the hotter small coupes and warm/hot mid-sized saloons/sedans (S Audis and M-sport BM's) but that's beside the point as the brakes and tyres are likely to fade within a couple of laps i'd imagine. So hardly 'supercar like' despite what the raw figures suggest. On the road once you get past the initial wow factor of something so big being so quick and corner so flatly, reviews point to the steering not being so feelsome, it having a tendency to push wide in the tighter corners and has noticeable turbo lag. All compromises due to it's weight and how the chassis has to be set up to try to counter act it. Sure, it has a little more ground clearance than a similar size and performing saloon/estate, but it doesn't make it a snow-beast. A quick look in various BMW forums points to the standard-fit tyres are not advised to be used below 40ºF/4.5ºC as the soft compound becomes very hard. Owners also state that they're awful/borderline dangerous on any kind of snow or ice covered inclines or declines. You could spend $5000 on a set of narrower, taller winter tyres - but that's going to mess up it's 'spirited' dry road handling. Compromises at every turn. Surely car guys would be the first people to understand how flawed a concept it is?
The tires that came on my 330i would be horrible in the snow as well. That's why I run blizzaks in the winter on that car (the cost for that is $0 since you're wearing out your summer tires at a reduced rate. So you pay twice as much for tires but replace them 1/2 as often). Of course it's a compromise, it messes up the 'spirited' dry road handling during the winter. So why on earth would I do it?
Because I want to drive a car that handles well in the winter. Look I'm going to have winter tires on whatever I drive in the winter. Why would I not want to drive something good with winter tires on it instead of something crap with winter tires on it? The fact that you're putting winter tires on it does not suddenly make it worthless. The real question that pops to my mind is why I have to even state this. Is this not obvious to everyone?
There are a couple of problems with driving the 330i in the winter, and it's not tires. The open diff means if either back wheel is stopped on ice, and especially if there's snow built up around the wheel or under the car, or a bump that the front wheels need to push up and over, you're stuck. That one wheel will spin and you're not going anywhere. For that reason I put an LSD on the car, specifically an LSD designed to spin both wheels under zero friction (which is not what most of them do). It does help prevent my car from being stuck when both wheels are full-time drive wheels. But ground clearance is a real issue. It's easy to beach that car on the crap left behind by snow plows (which often leave significant ridges of ice in the middle of intersections) or just the wall of junk left behind at the bottom of my driveway after the plow goes by. Ice balls are another big issue with a low ground clearance car, as it's easy to catch your front lip on a ball of ice that fell off of someone's wheel well. Another problem is just sheer snow volume. If the plow hasn't made it to my neighborhood (neighborhoods are the last thing plowed generally), I may be driving my car down into a level of snow that effectively makes my front lip a snow plow on its own.
It's easy for nature to overcome the snow driving capabilities of my 330i. It handles the vast majority of the winter, but even with snow tires and a very specific LSD, it's not that hard to get that car stuck. I've had to drive over my floor mats to get it unstuck. Denver winters, by the way, are nothing compared to Chicago or Minnesota or even Mammoth Mountain where I used to ski when I lived in LA. A very good friend of mine who is a BMW enthusiast and who lives here with me has explained that the xi can be readily overcome as well. I suspect that his xi has only a narrow snow advantage over my LSD RWD version.
My AWD FX35, on the otherhand, has enough ground clearance to really get through some silly snow piles. Things my BMW wouldn't have a dream of are tackled with ease by the FX. It's not a jeep by any stretch, but it has enough capability to handle some of the worst
residential snow experiences you might get thrown at you in Denver (and probably most US cities). And being able to get home, or get to work, every day without getting stuck is kindof a big deal. The handling of the FX is not as good as the BMW, but it's phenomenal when compared to something like a pickup truck, a full-sized SUV, or a minivan.
I love driving. I love track driving, I love ice and snow driving, and I even kinda like commuting. But for commuting, where my kids' daycare will charge me through the nose if I can't get to my kids by 6pm, or where I have to burn precious vacation time if I can't get to work, there is real peace of mind in knowing that you have a powerful tool that can handle all of the conditions that will get thrown at you. If that means compromising a little track performance (which I wasn't going to take my daily driver to anyway) that's not a problem. It does not mean that I want to spend 99% of my driving time in something boring.
Also, it's a weird review that lumps in "and the like" and then complains about specific issues like turbo lag.
TL;DR - Winter tires are a given, still want something fun. I can't believe I have to explain that.
