Alright, I have done my research, looked at several cars, and have narrowed it down to the E430 4MATIC and the 540i AWD. Being that my first car was a MB, and my second is also one, I think I may have to stick with the MBs =) Anyway, the one thing that is pulling me away from the 4MATIC is the fact that I cannot get the AMG sport styling package with it. I was thinking about getting a 4MATIC, and then getting the sport package put on at a later date; would this be impractical? How much would I be looking at spending? Antoher queestion: what kind of "real-world" performance would I expect to see in this car?

Thx

How important is the AW drive to you? The E430 sport is a great car but does lack the bad weather handling. On my 98 the sports option costs about $4000. You could add the bottom spoils around the car,but I don t think you would go with the rims and low profile tires on the 4matic. That would be counter productive to the AW drive. There is a very differnt look to both cars.You ll have to answer that first question for yourself. Good luck,
Mark

I currently have M+S tires on my car, and I can not get out of my driveway with 2" fo snow. I will be going to college even farther north this fall, so I need something that I can get around in. I was thinking of having an 18" set on during the summer, then some 16s with M+S tires during the winter.

If money is no object you could run the standard wheels and tires that come with the vehicle and 17 or 18 in. for fair weather.

what's this I hear about a BMW 540i AWD?

BMW started making a 540 AWD to compete with the E430 4MATIC I guess. I forget what BMW calls their AWD...

Interesting. I'd love to see more info on this... there's nothing listed on bmwusa.com -will this option be available for the 2002 models?

thx,
-Doc

They have one setting over at my delearship. I think it's a 2001.