Quote:
Originally Posted by Sportstick
For some of us in areas with little to no snow, the point is having the ride height, interior room, cargo efficiency, comfort, outward vision of an SUV bodystyle without the added cost of needing to drive two additional wheels that aren't needed. The decision to use the long wheelbase X3 Chinese model body will provide more rear seat legroom for full size adults. This is the perfect set up for me and likely others similarly situated. I would not have wanted it any different. I'm just waiting to see pricing to finalize my choice of first BEV versus Polestar 2 or even the Ford Mach E. MB EQC just got pushed out another year for US distribution.
I also recall when Jeep started adding rear wheel drive models due to demand in the southern half of the country. Sure, some sales will be lost now without AWD but as BMW assessed demand with only RWD versus their initial production capacity, I feel quite confident they developed a solid business case. These will be all over southern California, Las Vegas, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Dallas/Houston, Miami, etc. For the initial launch year or so, versus the production ramp, that may be more than enough. In future years, it won't be hard to add XDrive to the platform as demand and capacity expands.
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I'm sure people buy RWD SUVs - it's why BMW still makes RWD X5/X6's. This is about catering to the majority and offering a product that the general public expects it to be - a RWD SUV is not that. If I'm buying any SUV, I should not have to think if it is RWD or AWD. This needed to be xDrive at launch and then a RWD variant later on if BMW chooses. BMW all but ensured a slow reception. BMW will sell iX3s but whatever the number is, it's almost guaranteed that sales would be much more if it was equipped with xDrive to start.