I'm pretty sure these are front wheel drive. I don't think BMW makes a rear wheel drive 3 series.

thanks for your response.  im not sure about the previous model years for the 323i but the 2006 and 2007 323i are rear wheel. i am hesitant to purchase one since i dont know how rear wheel will drive in rain and snow.

you are correct. i apologize. That is a very strange move on BMW's part. You can get the car in AWD but it's going to cost more, and you are right to be a little hesitant to purchase one that is rear wheel drive. It will be fine in the rain, but driving a rear wheel drive in the snow is not an easy task. I am sure they will have traction control and skid control and all of those safety features but I would seriously think about buying a rear wheel drive car (especially in Massachusetts.....I wouldn't take that thing out in the snow.) You could look at the competition, like a Audi A4 or an Infiniti G35 or even an Acura TL. The TL's are extremely nice cars and are priced the same as the BMW's. Good luck finding your new car. Ask me more questions if you need more help!

just you know,  the BMW is the ultimate driven machine  jejeje,   the series 3 all is rear wheel drive except the 325xi or 330xi  or new models 328xi or 335 xi  is AWD,    the audi a4 is AWD too  and the G35 and TL is rear wheel drive

Back to the question at hand.  The rear end is going to want to come around on you in snow.  Just drive cautiously, and do not jerk the wheel.  In the rain, you should be fine.  It's not THAT powerful.  You might look for a good set of snow tires if it snows a lot where you live, otherwise, all-season tires will do fine.  All BMWs are rear/all wheel drive because they are luxury cars, and that is a luxury feature.  Front wheel drive is cheaper to manufacture, and not as reliable.  Hence, why BMWs are RWD.

and the 50/50 balance happens better with the RWD

I dont ever remember BMW making a car that was front wheel drive beside the all wheel drive cars. Also I live in Iowa and snow fall was decent lets say this year. I had no problem in the snow, its not weather you have front or rear wheel drive cars its more the type of tires you have on your vehicle. I have summer rims and tires and also winter rims and tires. I bought a cheap pair of snow tires and I had no problem in the snow. If you don't want the hassel of having to change tires every season then just buy a nice all season tire. You will still have no problems in the snow.
As for the traction system, yes it is a big pain in the ass in the winter time but BMW has now fixed the problem. They have created half mode or snow mode for their traction control system. When in full mode on the traction system when a tire slips the engine throttle is cut off and the brakes are applied. If you are thinking about winter impossible ot make it up a iced hill. But in half mode only the brake will be applied for major wheel slippage no engine throttle will be cut off. BMW were ment to go through the moutains in germany.

jah, BMW has ALWAYS made rearwheel drive cars....Why ?? Cause its simply the best thing to do when you want to do some good driving !! In snow and in rain OLD BMW's were harder to steer thats true its because there was no weight on the rear wheel and therefore they had less grip....However i see you are planning on buying a 2006 model.....Well i can tell you this will perfom perfectly in snow and in rain as it has a very good tractioncontrol system AND the it has a 50/50 weight balance......Now i don't know where you live ut i can tell you that if you have that much snow all thru the year its obviously better to take snowtyres.....That is by the way something you should do with frontwheel drive as well....Anyway my conclusion......In case you are doubting between front and rear wheel always go for rear ;) BUT of course if you have tons of snow all thr the year....Go for 4wd.....In BMW they call it X so in your case it could be a 323IX.......

all E46 3 series are rear wheel.  The DSC does an execellent job of limiting over throttle and wheel slip.  It applies
the brakes and straightens the car out quite nice.  My only recomendation is a good set of winter tires, not all
seasons.  I own a 04 330ci was just fine in my canada winter.

Imo a BMW is a wayyyyyyy better built car than any of the above listed except for a G35 because i havent driven
one.  My 330 ci is a fucking riot to drive in the summer and a good set of winter tires will get you through any
snow.

bmw has all kinds of tradtion cotrols and what not need to worry and the rear wheel drive on ice and snow can help steer after you get used to it

I didn't have a problem with the handling of the car in the snow, my problem was because it sits so low, snow packed up underneath and when it was really cold out, it froze up on me and I couldn't get it to go forward or backward until it warmed up alittle.  

I own a 2005 318i (guess you don't have such small engines in the US, eh? hehe)

First, I have to underline a previous comment: there are no front wheel drive BMWs. If you own one, refer to your trusted Chinese manufacturer. ;-)

Handling a RWD car in snow can be a bit tricky if you over-do it. Either way, usually with all those electronics gadgets like stability control, traction control and ABS, things are fine. Just ease back on the throttle in bends and things usually are fine. Nowadays, the difference between RWD and FWD in snow gets thinner and thinner, as the RWD's disadvantages are mostly compensated by all those systems you have in modern cars.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.... wait a minute.... I DIDN'T! :-)

All 3 series are rear wheel drive, they have traction controll to stop the spining in wet weather. All BMW's are raer wheel drive.

The car should handle just fine just drive intelligently I drove a SS Camaro with a good 350 hp through 2 winters when I was a teenager and never spun it around or got stuck because I drove smart I'd rather drive rear wheel or awd than ever drive a puller (FWD)

Front wheel drive is terrible! Under-steer, torque steer, gross! ALL <------------------ BMWS are rearwheel drive, save for X series line of SUV's and X series of cars. 325i = rear wheel 325xi = awd BMW's are known for wheel rear drive. Ask anyone with a RWD car, way more fun than, way better handling than FWD