[Pitkis]

Originally Posted by HaloEye

haha very true. you never know what kind of tires each vehicle has. for all we know bmw could've put winter tires on the x3 and performance tires on the q5. i would believe it if i could see it in person and see what tires are on the cars

There's nothing to do what tires these cars have. Difference is so remarkable that tires doesn't explain that. ESP may be the reason - or Audi is just so lousy. Better to test personally.

What comes to xDrive and Quattro differences in normal driving in snow, I don't accept that Quattro would be much better. I drive almost 40 000 miles a year and half of it in heavy snow. Sometimes I'v been the only driver to enter road with my E60 xDrive in my block - there may be 2-3 ft snow walls on the road all over. So what could Quattro do better? X1 xDrive is also nice and my 2nd winter car, but E60 is better in high speed (over 80 mph), 1 ft snow highways.

IMO the difference between two cars in general is more significant that drive ideologies. You can compare special situations seen in video and that's another story. You still have to have extremely vast experience from several drivetrains and car models to frankly admit which drive system is better. Take 740 xDrive vs A8 Q, A6 Q vs 550 xDrive and A4 Q vs 330 xDrive. Drive them each in various snow conditions at least 1000 miles. Then I could say you have opinions and perhaps see the difference.