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BMW M235i xDrive Is Surprisingly Different on Wet and Dry Tracks

BMW decided to launch its prodigious son, the M235i with both rear-wheel drive and xDrive options. The M Performance Automobile received great reviews no matter of the transmission choice though and it feels like unlike in other cases where AWD is better than RWD (and we’re talking about the BMW line-up alone) this time the old-fashion way wins it.
BMW M235i 1 photo
Photo: Catalin Garmacea
We had the M235i for our own reviewing purposes and we found it extremely fun to drive and easy to take to the limit. What surprised us was the fact that the car was absolutely stuck to the asphalt and getting it to break traction was rather hard to do. It’s not that it didn’t have the power needed, but the chassis, suspension and rear axle were configured so well that you could post great times without being careful with the gas pedal when exiting bends.

With xDrive though, things are even better in this regard. Admittedly, the car gets a little heavier and does tend to understeer but only ever so slightly. What’s extremely surprising though is how different the M235i xDrive model is depending on the track your drive on. To be more specific, it depends on whether it’s wet or dry.

Matt Farrah took one to the Gingerman Raceway and gave it a try. Unlike on other occasions, he tried the BMW on a pouring rain during his first attempt. Surprisingly, the car was absolute rubbish.

We would’ve expected it to handle the rain a lot better than it did but in the end it seemed like no matter what Matt did, it couldn't handle the track or the abuse it was subjected to. And that’s even weirder since the xDrive all-wheel drive system was supposed to be there to keep things in check.

Disappointed by the results, it was decided that the next day, a second attempt would be done, to see how different the car would be on a dry track. And what a surprise it was! I won’t go into details but leave Matt to explain why the M235i is great even with xDrive.

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