- Delivered across Sydney
- Bond and fees shown before you pay
- Never swapped to a lesser car
xDrive only exists on the G80, and only on the Competition. We hire both the rear-wheel-drive G80 Competition and the xDrive version, which means this is one comparison we can make from actually driving the same car twice rather than guessing from a spec sheet.
Which one for your date
Tell us the forecast and your experience with rear-drive cars. We will recommend one rather than upselling the other.
What xDrive Actually Is
It is worth being precise about this, because "all-wheel drive" undersells what BMW built and "four-wheel drive" oversells it in the wrong direction.
The M3's xDrive system is rear-biased by default. Under normal driving, the vast majority of torque goes to the rear axle, exactly as it would in the RWD car. The front axle only receives torque when the system detects the rear wheels are approaching their limit - hard acceleration, a slippery surface, or a demanding corner exit.
Crucially, there is also a mode - 2WD - that disconnects the front axle entirely and makes the car genuinely rear-wheel drive on demand. So xDrive is not a permanent compromise bolted onto the M3's character. It is closer to a second gear for the drivetrain, engaged only when it helps.
This is why the comparison is more interesting than "grippy versus fun". Both cars can be genuinely rear-wheel drive in feel. The xDrive car can also stop being that the moment traction runs out.
The Numbers, and Why They Surprise People
The RWD G80 Competition does 0 to 100km/h in about 3.9 seconds. The xDrive version does it in roughly 3.5.
People often assume the extra hardware - the front differential, the transfer case, the additional driveshafts - makes the xDrive car slower because it is heavier. It does not. The traction advantage off the line outweighs the weight penalty by a clear margin, and the xDrive car is faster in every standard acceleration test BMW publishes.
Where the weight shows up is in direction changes at the limit - a very slightly less immediate turn-in, noticeable mainly to someone driving both back to back on the same road within the hour. On a normal drive it is not something you would identify unprompted.
Where RWD Is Genuinely the Better Car
This is not a one-sided comparison and it is worth being honest about where the rear-drive car wins.
On a dry, technical road with a driver who knows what they are doing, the RWD G80 is more communicative. You can feel exactly what the rear tyres are doing, adjust the car's line with the throttle, and get a level of interaction that the xDrive system, for all its cleverness, slightly filters.
It is also $150 a day cheaper for the same 510 horsepower engine, and on a dry Saturday with an experienced driver, that $150 buys traction you will rarely need.
And it is the more traditional M3 experience. If part of what you want from this car is the connection to nearly forty years of rear-wheel-drive M3s, the xDrive car - brilliant as it is - is answering a different question.
Where xDrive Is Simply Better
Anywhere the surface is not perfectly dry and grippy. Sydney weather turns fast, and a lot of the roads worth driving - the Northern Beaches especially - hold damp under tree cover long after rain has stopped.
On those roads, 510 horsepower through two wheels asks considerably more of the driver than the same power through four. The xDrive car simply puts it down, corner after corner, in a way that lets you use more of the engine more of the time.
It is also the better car for someone driving something this powerful for the first time. Not because the RWD car is unsafe - it is not, and modern stability control is very good - but because the margin for error is larger with xDrive, and a first-timer benefits from margin.
Excess Kilometres, and Why It Is the Same Either Way
Both G80s sit in our Exotic tier, so the excess-kilometre rate is identical between them at $7 per kilometre over the included allowance, against $4 per kilometre on the Performance-tier F80s. That is a real cost difference to be aware of if the day involves a long drive, and it applies regardless of which G80 you choose, so it does not factor into the xDrive-versus-RWD decision at all.
What does differ is the daily rate - $700 for RWD, $850 for xDrive - and that gap is the entire financial side of this comparison.
The Honest Recommendation
If the forecast is wet, or you have not driven a car with this much power before, take the xDrive. It is $150 more and it removes the single biggest variable in how the day goes.
If the forecast is dry, you know what you are doing with a throttle, and you want the version of the G80 that talks to you the most, take the RWD car and save the $150.
If you genuinely cannot decide, the only way to actually settle it is to drive both, which is covered on the F80 versus G80 page and on the M3 hub.
Either way, you are in a Competition-specification G80 making 510 horsepower from the S58 engine - the same unit, the same tune, the same character. xDrive changes how that power reaches the road, not how much of it there is.
The Four xDrive Modes, Briefly
BMW gives the xDrive G80 four drivetrain settings, and knowing what they do makes the car considerably less confusing on the day.
4WD is the default, all-conditions setting. Torque is distributed automatically between front and rear based on available grip, biased rearward. This is where most hires spend most of their time and it is the setting we would recommend leaving the car in unless you have a specific reason not to.
4WD Sport shifts the bias further rearward and allows more rear slip before the front axle intervenes. It is the setting for a dry road where you want more of the rear-wheel-drive feel without giving up the safety net entirely.
2WD disconnects the front axle. The car becomes genuinely rear-wheel drive, with all of the DSC and traction control still active unless separately disabled. This is where the xDrive car and the RWD car feel closest to identical.
M Dynamic Mode and DSC Off are stability control settings layered on top of whichever drivetrain mode is selected, and are a separate question entirely.
The practical takeaway: the xDrive car is not one fixed compromise between grip and feel. It is adjustable across that entire range, which is the strongest argument for it over a car that only offers one point on the spectrum.
What This Means for a Track Day or a Track-Style Road
Worth a specific note because it comes up regularly. If the plan involves a closed road or a track day rather than public roads, the calculus shifts.
On a track, where the surface is consistent and grip levels are predictable, many experienced drivers actually prefer the RWD car, because the xDrive system's intervention - however clever - is still doing something between the driver's input and the car's response. The purest feedback loop is the rear-drive car.
On a public road, where the surface is not consistent and grip is not predictable from one corner to the next, that argument reverses. The xDrive system's ability to react to conditions the driver cannot see coming is a genuine advantage rather than an intrusion.
So the honest framing is: track day, lean RWD if you are experienced. Road drive, lean xDrive unless you specifically want the rear-drive feel and know the road well.
Insurance and Excess: No Difference Between Them
Worth confirming plainly since the two cars have different daily rates: the damage excess, the bond structure and the driver rules are identical between the RWD and xDrive G80. Both sit in our Exotic tier, both require a driver 25 or over with a full licence, and both carry the same $5,000 excess and $7 per kilometre overage rate.
The $150 daily difference is purely the hire rate reflecting the additional hardware and capability of the xDrive system. It is not buying different terms, different cover or a different level of risk on our side of the transaction - only a different car.
That is worth knowing because it removes one variable from the decision. You are not trading financial protection for performance either way. You are simply choosing which of two equally-covered cars suits your day.
One last practical point. If you are choosing purely on cost and the day is dry, remember that the $150 difference across a single day is smaller than the gap across a weekend hire, where the daily taper narrows it further still. Price the actual duration you want rather than assuming the daily figure scales in a straight line either way.
If the BMW M3 Competition G80 xDrive is booked
We never move you down a tier. If your dates are taken, these are the exotic cars we will offer instead, and we will tell you plainly if none of them is free rather than substituting something lesser on the day.
G80 Competition xDrive
- 510hp
- AWD
- 3.5s
- $850/day
All-wheel drive that can send up to 100% of torque rearward when the car wants it to, so it is not the compromise the name suggests. The fastest car we hire.
G80 Competition RWD
- 510hp
- RWD
- 3.9s
- $700/day
The same engine and the same power, driving only the rear wheels. More adjustable, more work in the wet, and $150 a day cheaper.
Both G80s, one weekend
Book both and drive the same road twice. It is the only way to actually feel what xDrive changes.
Guide rates, weekday winter pricing. Longer hires taper; the exact total for your dates is shown before you pay.
The bond held on your card equals the excess of the cover you choose. It is a pre-authorisation, released after return.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is xDrive slower than rear-wheel drive because of the extra weight?
No. xDrive adds weight - roughly 60 to 70kg over the driveline and front differential - but it more than makes up for it in traction off the line and out of corners. The xDrive G80 is quicker to 100km/h than the RWD car, not slower.
Does xDrive mean I cannot drift it or get the back out?
No. BMW's xDrive on the M3 has a rear-biased setup and a mode that sends drive fully to the rear wheels, so the car can still be driven in a way that feels rear-wheel drive when you want it to. It is not a permanently locked 50/50 system.
Which is better value?
The rear-wheel-drive G80 is $150 a day cheaper for the same engine and the same power. If the day is dry and you are comfortable with a rear-drive car, that $150 buys you very little you will actually use.
Is xDrive noticeably heavier to drive?
Not in a way that shows up as sluggishness. Steering feel is very slightly duller than the RWD car, which is the honest trade for the extra grip. Most drivers would not identify it in isolation, only in a direct back-to-back comparison.
Which is safer for a first time in this much power?
The xDrive, without much debate. All-wheel drive with 510 horsepower on a road you do not know is a genuinely different risk profile from the same power through two wheels, particularly in the wet.
What about the F80 - is there an xDrive version?
No. The F80 was rear-wheel drive only across its entire production run. xDrive arrived with the G80 generation, and only on Competition specification. There is no all-wheel-drive F80.