I asked a friend staying in EU which he preferred between several brands and he always answered Audi. Curious I asked him why and he said mainly during winter, a RWD car is almost undriveable (according to him) and the Quattro technology does help. Well BMW now has announced the BMW M235i will come with the xDrive.
With xDrive, this will make the car 70kg heavier but the extra traction and grip would definitely help. Other than the weight, nothing else has changed. The car still produces 326hp and 450Nm.
We can only speculate why BMW is moving in that direction or perhaps they are trying to fulfill a market segment who wishes for some good AWD fun.