[Petenats]

Hi Folks,

It looks like delivery of my iX3 will be next week and the excitement levels are building! House fuses upgraded, charge point being installed in the next couple of days…and the car is being sent to the dealership this week.

All good…but it’s snowing outside…

So far Ive owned genuine X-drive BMW’s and always put winter tyres on them. This however worries me…rear wheel drive BMW’s with standard tyres seem to reside at the bottom of slightly slippery slopes!

Has anyone had to deal with any inclement conditions in the car so far? How does is actually deal with it?

I’ve asked the dealership about all season/winter tyres but given I’m on a lease deal with this car means considerable expense and going outside the terms of the lease, which they sanction but will mean tyres/wheels become my responsibility and expense.

For those that live in more wintery areas, your advice would be appreciated.

[Hud78]

Not experienced snow yet (we're in a very flat part of the south so not the best person to respond I guess!), but had a couple of very hard frosts with icy roads last week. I deliberately provoked the car coming off a couple of known 'bad' roundabouts to get some feel of how it might behave. My initial feeling is that the electric drive is way better at handling traction control 'events' than any of our other BMWs have been, presumably because of the way it can modulate power when it starts to slip rather than pulsing the rear brakes like the ICE cars. I do think the weakness in snow will be those fat summer tyres though. I'm in the same position as you with the lease/tyre responsibility.

To clarify my comparisons the iX3 replaced a 520d and we also have an M135i (older RWD type) both of which we owned so both had/have winter tyre sets. On the winters these RWD cars both sailed up very snowy Pennine Hills with ease - it was actually fun!

[FMIB]

No experience with the iX3, but with my X3 M40i(4 wheel drive), 1 week into ownership, 21 inch summer tyres, coming down a 1 in 10 hill with a sudden covering of snow, the car had zero control even with hill decent on as it just slid across the S bend and I had visions of my new car ending up in the ditch or crashing across the junction at the end of the road. So if you live in an area that frequently gets snowy or icy condition, get the winter tyres.
I also have a Honda e, which is rear wheel drive and I could imagine that without winter tyres, the instant torque of an electric car could most likely make snowy driving challenging.

[gray1x]

We had a bit of snow, like 2 inches, last week and it was ok on a mild slope. Just took it slow and turned the traction on.

But clearly will struggle more than the X Drive equivalent on larger hills

[Petenats]

Thanks folks,

It seems that the ideal would be to swap the wheels/tyres then. I’ve asked the dealership to get back to me, they are apparently waiting for the car to arrive so they can see what tyres are on already.

I think some good all seasons might work well. Michelin Cross Climate 2 or something similar…I’m not sure I want to invest in a full set of winter wheels for a lease car!

[nunp]

This is the dilemma I had with the IX3 - couldn’t justify paying for extra tyres on a lease so have cancelled order and opted for an Ioniq 5 Ultimate. Not as nice on the inside but good range, ventilated seats ��and AWD. Such a shame you can’t get Xdrive on the IX3.

[JAV64]

We had snow over the weekend in Sheffield and it was icy too. I can tell you that this is far better to drive in wintry conditions than the i3 that I had. One of the things is that it weighs 2.2 tonnes. I have to say that there was ice leading up to the drive and the i3 would never had cleared that. This one just crushed the ice and drove through.

if you have steep hills and then a 4 wheel drive is better suited but as the dealer told me that 4 wheel drives are okay going up hills but could be problem going downhill. Winter tyres are better and would do the job for the typical British weather.

[Aleman.iX3]

I've moved over to All weather tyres on my previous two cars (Rav4 and Countryman) both of which are 4WD (well sort of for the Mini) The increase in grip in the wet was noticeable, and in the infrequent snow here, just orders of magnitude better. Being on a lease makes the decision a little more complicated, but having a local friendly tyre fitter makes swapping them over pretty easy at the end of the lease ... by which time the all weathers usually wear to the pint at which they "Should" be replaced anyway.

The question is Vredstein Quattrac or Michelin Cross Climates??

[lakmus]

From factory CrossClimate SUV's are installed for "winter", so I'd choose those. Apparently they are also way better lasting than other tyres - which would be optimal for an EV. They also appear to be among the quietest.

Aqua planing speed + wet braking distance would be my most important factors
https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/...-Tyre-Test.htm