While trolling around Autotrader, I saw a listing for a manual 2004 BMW 325ixT AWD wagon at a dealership in my town. It caught my eye since E46 wagons, especially manuals, are rare. However, AWD 3-series are popular in New England. Any thoughts on AWD E46s in general? Just curious.
I think the ix's add a whole lotta weight, complexity, maintenance and failure points for minimal benefit. Snow tires add much more usefulness to the car. Never once got stuck with my old E46 328i and decent snows.
Turbo the bejeesus out of the motor and I bet the AWD would be more worthwhile!
I thought the ix was auto...
i'd sooner look for a newer Subie Legacy GT with the 2.5 Turbo motor
pigeon wrote: I think the ix's add a whole lotta weight, complexity, maintenance and failure points for minimal benefit. Snow tires add much more usefulness to the car. Never once got stuck with my old E46 328i and decent snows.
listen to this man.. He lives in Roc NY. They know snow.
My whining aside, if I were in the market for an E46 wagon, I wouldn't not buy a manual E46 wagon just because it had awd. They're pretty rare beasts.
I don't know a lot about the e46, but I have an e30 iX and I love it. Realistically there's not that many times during the winter when I NEED all wheel drive, but it's sure fun when I do. 
The e46 version is a lot more complicated, with a bunch of electronics involved, while the e30 is purely mechanical.
Very expensive to maintain if you take it to a mechanic. Front CV boots and joints fail more often that you'd think they should.
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