Thought I would share my input on my 08xS now that I have driven it enough times in deep snow, light snow, packed snow, ice and slush. I have previously owned numerous A4 Quattro's and a Passat 4Motion and always ran snow tires on them as well. I was curious how the AWD system would handle the elements with and without Snow Mode. I also have new Ipike snow tires mounted on 17's. These are my opinions thus far and hopefully some can find useful if debating on an "X" vs. another car with winter driving being an issue.

Straight line from a stop light in snow is pretty much identical in "feeling" to the Quattro. Even with Snow Mode off the car has no issues and you can easily leave that BMW behind.

Cornering is "ok" vs. the Quattro without Snow Mode but definately better with Snow Mode on. Without Snow Mode on I notice the rear is pretty easy to kick out, especially when over 19mph as the the AWD system is more effective under that speed. It seems to be a little slow to transfer the power to the appropriate wheels over 19mph in a corner. Quattro felt more stable to me but it could also be the large amount of HP vs. the Quattro.

Ice & Hardpack in braking and in driving feels similar to the Quattro. I would give a slight edge to the Quattro here but not by much.

Overall I am very satisfied with the "G" vs. my prior Quattro in the winter and 90% of the time it feels as stable as the Quattro in the snow/ice. Then the other seasons are flat out "G" all the way vs. the Quattro. The AWD system in the "G" is perfect in the sense that it makes the car drive RWD the majority of the time so you can have the drive and feel of RWD but still have control when conditions change. The Quattro's best quality (AWD Traction) also leads to my biggest disappointment with it. That is the heavy front-end feeling and push that car has when you corner harder with it. Every time I take a corner with the "G" on dry pavement it makes me smile as it carves through it rather than push through it. If anyone reading this is contemplating buying an "X" vs other AWD cars and winter driving is a concern, don't hesitate to go with a "G". This comes from an owner who deals with an avg. snowfall of 72+ inches a year!

 

Nice write up. I seem to agree on some of the points made, so it's not totally biased.

 

Yup... I'd have to agree with most of these points as well. I've never had a Quattro but have friends who have.
I love my X in the winter and I agree that it's still a blast to drive when Summer comes around.

 

Looking forward to get my first taste of the x in the snow tomorrow. just got it back from an accident so lets hope for the best. i know it will be better than my last car tho, 300rwhp mustang and CT winters don't mix.

 

I owned an 04 S4 and found the quattro to be superior to the awd system on my 07x. I am not sure what it was, it just felt more secure on snow and ice. In addition, it seems to gain traction easier in the deeper snow. The 07x is a superior car from a practicality standpoint, but Audi has a leg up with quattro.

 

IMO any car with 'real' AWD is going to be better in snow driving than the Infiniti AWD, but that's the price we pay for better driveability in dry conditions. It's still 345345.7 miles better than FWD in the snow so I'm totally happy with it.

 

The G is more fun even in snow too. It let's you slide a little but never leaves you worry. If you need something more surefooted get quatro but if you like to have some fun and have the feel of the rwd get the G.
Many magazines agree the awd g is the closest to rwd feel.
I agree with the op.

 

Oh btw try to turn the tc off and drive it with snow mode on in snow. Also try to put it in manual. It gives you a totally different feeling. Let's you slide even more. 6k rpm in second gear. Oh yeah.

 

We generally don't get near as much snow here in Kansas, but have been quite satisfied with it so far. We just had 3 in of snow/freezing rain mix last week, and the G handled it quite well. We're supposed to get anywhere from 4-8"+ over the weekend so I should get to test out the AWD a little bit more. I got AWD on my G as much for country roads after a rain storm as i did for snow and have yet to test it in those conditions.

 

Yes you cant argue with the rally tech from Audi or Subaru. I think both the Audi and Subaru systems are better in the snow. Having a 4 way system constantly on is better for traction, cornering in bad weather.

The Infiniti system is def way to bias to the rear wheels. We just got our first major snow storm here in town and I can break the back end out at will even with snow mode on. I can get the back end out in a straight line or during cornering. That can/would never happen with the Audi or Subaru.

Now i think that having rwd bias is very very fun, but if you were tracking the car on a snow track... there is no comparison. The Infiniti system works, just not as well as Audi or Subaru.

 

Nice write up I love the G's awd

 

^ + 100000!

 

My awd G with snow tires is real nice, but tbh my sister's 02 A4 is right up there, the quattro system is really top notch and it feels like there's endless grip even when driving on snow.

 

I have the G35xS and the wife has a '11 Subaru. There is no comparison in snow driving, the Sub wins hands down. That being said, my car is still pretty solid in the snow, and light years ahead on dry roads.

 

Even tough I don't own an X, I traded in my "slightly" tuned B6 6spd A4 quattro for my G ('07 6spd w/4WAS). I test drove the X in snow in Colorado and although there are alot of varibles that come into play, such as tires, I feel the quatto was superior in the snow.

With my A4 (older 50/50 torque split version) I could plow through up to about 8"-12" of snow (it was lowered) and corner through reg, packed or ice coverd snowy roads like it was on rails...turn off the traction and do easily controlled slides. I didn't feel that the X was as confident in turning nor taking off on hills or sloped grades when the roads were slick. If taking off from a stop, say on a slight hill and the road slopes more to the left/right the Audi with TC on could accelerate straight w/o sliding in the ditch, even with liberal throttle. The X on the other hand did have traction to pull away from the stop, but the car had a tendency to want slide down the grade. This is just IMO, but snow/slick roads I'd give the nod to Quattro. I never drove an X on dry roads, but as others have said, I'd expect it to be better than the quattro and probably offer the best AWD sportiness overall over 4 seasons.