Are BMW Rear Wheel Drive? (Complete Guide)

When it comes to introducing advanced & innovative cars, BMW is one of the names that comes in repeat. BMW is known for its peak performance, aesthetics & advanced technology.

In recent times I have seen a similar question in different forums about “Are BMW rear-wheel drive?”. Many of you are looking to buy your next BMW or first and wondering if your chosen model is rear-wheel drive (RWD) or front-wheel drive (FWD).

so, today we’ll check are all BMW rear-wheel drive or not.

Table of Contents

Are All BMW Rear Wheel Drive?

Most BMWs are Rear-wheel drive(RWD)which is most beloved by all BMW enthusiasts, however, BMW has also introduced new models with front-wheel drive(FWD) and All-Wheel Drive(xDrive).

But most BMW vehicles still use the rear-wheel drive. The rear wheel drive is the most favored among enthusiasts because the front wheel drive didn’t get much warm welcome among BMW enthusiasts.

Approx 12-15 years ago if you asked anyone are the BMW rear-wheel drive, there would be only one answer “Yes”.

In all the classic BMWs you’ll only find the rear-wheel drive system, the FWD, and All-wheel Drive (xDrive) is only found in the newer models.

The rear wheel drive(RWD) system has been exclusively used for the longest time in BMW, so there must be a reason behind it…so let’s check out the reason behind using only the RWD system for such a long time.

Why Are BMWs Rear Wheel Drive?

The decision to produce cars with RWD for such a long time while other manufacturers launched their vehicles with Front Wheel Drive and All Wheel Drive, was the choice of BMW. So, there must be some benefits which is why BMW favours the RWD over others for such a long time.

That’s why when the FWD and xDrive launched it sparked a very negative controversy, which resulted in very upset BMW enthusiasts.

To understand why BMW favors rear-wheel drive over front-wheel drive, we need to know the individual benefits of both of these.

FWD vs RWD: Which Is Better?

To find out which is better FWD or RWD, we need to look at the benefits of both of them. So, here are the benefits of them:-

Benefits of Front Wheel Drive (FWD)

Front-wheel drive system gives power to the front wheels, which is more affordable due to easy design, and installation.
Installing the drivetrain system in the front wheel is much easier, which also saves costs.
The front wheel uses the pulling force rather than pushing, which gives more traction to the FWD.
In the front-wheel system, the weight benefit is also good.

Benefits Of Rear Wheel Drive (RWD)

The rear-wheel driving system provides power to the rear wheels, which provides them power boosts.
The vehicles with RWD are tougher than the FWD cars, they can take rough driving like nothing. For example, if you drive the RWD in a big pothole it won’t have much effect on the vehicle.
And, the repairing cost of RWD is much less compared to the front wheel drive systems.
The rear-wheel drive BMWs have better handling while p eak power performance.
The weight distribution is also much better than the FWD, where the weight is balanced between the front and the rear sections.

Now you’ve seen the benefits of both FWD and RWD, now we’ll see why BMW prefers rear wheel drive over front wheel drive for so long.

Why BMW Prefers RWD?

The reason behind BMW preferring the RWD for such a long time is not very straightforward.

You know BMW has used the RWD in every car segment including the luxury and sports variant.

Now let’s look at why BMW prefers the RWD.

1. Perfect Handling

The RWD maintains a perfect balance & weight distribution in the front and rear sides of the vehicle.

Which gives it the perfect handling while driving with its p eak power.

BMW knew that the power their car produced would be best handled by the RWD.

BMW never admitted this in public, but everybody who has driven an RWD with full power knows the handling is top-notch.

The power output and the RWD handling give an experience of perfect balance for a very connected, dynamic, and perfect agility on the road.

2. Optimized Performance

With RWD the task of steering and acceleration gets separated, with a perfect balance.

With the RWD the front wheel handles the steering, and the rear wheel focuses on acceleration which gives a perfect balance and better traction while accelerating.

This optimizes the overall performance of the vehicle, especially with the high-performance variant models.

3. Driving Experience

BMW is known for its ultimate high performance, where the RWD plays a huge role. With greater power, better control and balance of the vehicle is very important.

With the Rear Wheel Drive(RWD) BMW focuses on providing the ultimate high performance with a great driving experience.

The RWD provides a directly connected performance with the road, which boosts the overall driving experience.

This is one of the reasons why all the power enthusiasts are obsessed with BMW’s rear-wheel drive.

4. Performance Dedicated

BMW has always been dedicated to producing cars with ultimate performance paired with the best driving experience.

And, giving the RWD to their high-performance models like their M-series, the M3, and M5(the newer version is mostly xDrive) shows their dedication towards their ultimate goal of “Ultimate Performance”.

How do you know if your BMW is Rear Wheel Drive?

After knowing about the RWD, now you may be wondering if your vehicle is RWD, xDrive, or FWD if you don’t know.

There are many ways you could find out that, so let’s look at some of the ways.

Front-wheel drive was first introduced in 2014, so before that all the BMW vehicles were RWD, and most vehicles today (except the X series) also like to use RWD.

You could do a quick online check if your vehicle is RWD or FWD, or you can check by physical inspection. You could check your owner’s manual, which consists of all the information about your vehicle.
You could also check your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) online, with a VIN decoder, which consists many information about your vehicle.
Or you could check the BMW official website for your particular model.
You could also check your driveshaft axle, or simply you can ask your BMW dealer or mechanic.

The Disadvantage of Rear Wheel Drive (RWD)

The major disadvantage of RWD is the bad handling in certain bad weather like snowy and rainy weather.

However, if you have good quality wheels then you can easily minimize the handling issue.

Other than this the RWD doesn’t have many disadvantages. But if you live in a sandy place then the RWD can be a bit problematic, then you may want an all-wheel drive(xDrive).