Ok, the 4x4 people clearly believe they have the best cars for snow (even if us fwd owners know different! ;) )... but what do you think is the worst current production car for the snow...
Remember, no modded cars, as we know those big wide low profiles would make them pretty useless, it has to be a current production car in just left factory condition...
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The Ultimate Driving Machine. Not.
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My BMW is still sitting in the garage waiting for all the ice to thaw.
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Mini on low profiles..i kid you not driving slowly through 3" of snow and the snow just stopped it, far worse than it's big stable brothers...was ok though i reversed it all the way instead then it became RWD and was fine once moving.
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Mini on low profiles..
Probably grounded out on the snow GB. That can stop most things. A trick with my old Xantia if it got stuck in deep stuff was simply to raise the ride height until it was clear of a deep patch. Worked a treat.
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Probably grounded out on the snow GB.
It wasn't that Hump (the narrow tyred ones were no problem) it had these ultra modern low profs on that have almost no side treads at all save on the shoulders...the tread mainly comprised about 4 straight lines, was hard as nails too almost broke my finger nail....that won't do almost the weekend, Clarissa comes out to play.;)
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My BMW is still sitting in the garage waiting for all the ice to thaw.
Do you have M-Sport or auto BMW ? My manual 330D on standard SE Spec 17" wheels was fine, no worse than the A4 B7 I had in last February's snow anyhow.
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How the Porsche owners are doing?
They should get plenty of traction as engine on rear :)
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How the Porsche owners are doing?
Some of them are doing just fine with their 4x4 versions...
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This may sound obvious but it is very condition dependant and I think you would be lucky to get a car that suits all.
I live on a cul de sac, and we had quite deep snow (around 14"). I left my low slung Alfa GTA on the drive and borrowed mothers Fiat 500. The GF has a new Bravo 150 Diesel Sport.
For 2 days in deep slush the lighter 500 struggled while the Bravo coped admirably. Then came a bit of a frost and the slush became fairly hard, and all of a sudden the lighter 500 was fine and the heavier Bravo struggled.
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Worst car in the snow I have ever owned?
Mk 1 Renault Megan - absolutely terrible, slightest incline the darn thing lost traction and the front end just 'floated' made me wish for my Omega back!
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My housemates BMW R -reg 5 series was pretty useless, even on only the tiniest of gradients. Whereas my Megane was brill, even on the steep hill. The Espace has been flawless in snow, slush and hard ice.
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'S' type. Forget it. know of 2 now on the road to nowhere.
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Or a Vitara.....sorry Martin.
Ted
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>> My BMW is still sitting in the garage waiting for all the ice to thaw. >> Do you have M-Sport or auto BMW ? My manual 330D on standard SE Spec 17" wheels was fine
Hello Idle_chatterer - we have the coupe version of yours (330D manual SE) and its 18" Potenza runflats simply couldn't cope with even 1 or 2 inches of fresh snow (as in all over the place and very lucky not have hit parked cars whilst going very slowly). Hence, it has been sitting there for the best part of 2 weeks, and we have ordered winter tyres which we'll fit from mid-Nov to mid-March from now on. No problems with the 2003 Audi A4, though.
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Took my 07 bmw 330 petrol auto out in snow for first time. Traction control took me up hill on3-4 inches of snow with new 17 inch non-runflats. In deeper snow the danger is damaging the front spoiler or ripping the tray under the engine off particularly if you reverse. This is the north of scotland but I am still not going to suffer a lumbering 4x4 all year for the 2 or 3 days a year when there might be a problem with snow. Even here the last 3 weeks have been a once in 30 years occurrence
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It's fun to speculate which is the worst, but the boring answer is the car with the least weight over the driven wheels. A BMW with a bootful of sandbags might not be too bad (or even three nightclub bouncers sitting in the back seats?).
And even where the weight is over the driven wheels, suitable or unsuitable tyres make all the difference.
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A work colleague literally could not drive/move his S type 2 weeks ago. Jaguar told him there were no winter tyres for it but he got some Vriedsteins (Spelling?) from Germany, at some cost and found it positively pleasant to drive.
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Kia Rio with its bog standard (Hankook tyres).
On Ice or snow 2nd gear and sometimes third gear to pull away on engine idle without wheel spin.
800kg over the front wheels and 400kg over the back wheels.
Touch the brakes and the back wheels lock then ABS kicks in.
Some Rio owners have reported that with Michellin tyres, The car is much better
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A work colleague literally could not drive/move his S type 2 weeks ago. Jaguar told him there were no winter tyres for it but he got some Vriedsteins (Spelling?) from Germany at some cost and found it positively pleasant to drive.
Thanks for relaying the report from your colleague, as I have ordered the same make (also being shipped from Germany). So, good to know that they work!
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Those driven by skinny, mostly blond, somtimes vaccous women.
Lack the sufficient mass for traction, you understand.
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My dad's Rover 75 Estate was defeated by a snowy slope of about 1:100. So much for its snow setting on the auto box.
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Mk 2 MR2 must be up there. Had to tease it out of a snowy/icy parking space last Saturday and it just wouldn't go! Slides in a straight line too. HB will know the car park, the free one down Welsh Row. Not even a hint of an incline, just icy....
Can't wait for the weather to improve, it's brilliant in Spring! Roof off and you forget all the leaks, rattles and creaks that hacked you off all winter...
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I posted on another thread that the most ineffective car I've seen in the snow was a Suzuki X90 that was slithering all over the place where ordinary cars were managing quite OK.
Here's a Suzuki X90 for those who aren't sure what I'm on about:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/...g
Most of them were rear-wheel drive, although I think there was a 4x4 version as well.
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F1 car?
Ooo, which dealer can I buy one from then?
(Production cars only MM!) ;-)
Edited by b308 on 15/01/2010 at 12:05
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Porshe was mentioned earlier in the thread.
My brother in law's 4wd 911 performed really well.
My Citroen C5 estate was pretty poor.
A colleague's Audi A3 was good (on low rolling resistance tyres does that make a difference ?)
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My BMW R reg 323 Touring with 15in wheels and 205/60 tyres was no problem. I was toying with the idea of some steels with winter tyres to make it really good, but they would probably be sitting in the shed for years.
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Anyone else had a problem with a Pirelli P6000 shod car in this weather.
The S60, fitted with P6000s all round, and until the recent snow a very surefooted car, got completely stuck several times in snowy conditions that I would frankly have expected it to have dealt with. No throttle, gentle release of the clutch and instant wheelspin. The Golf, fitted with P7s on the front and P6000s on the rear had no traction issues, but oversteered dramatically on a number of occasions, although thankfully usually at <= 10mph. I concluded from this admittedly limited and scientific study that P6000s and snow are uneasy bedfellows.
In terms of traction though, I couldn't fault the Golf. Heavy, torquey diesel engine over the driven wheels, and skinny-ish-by-modern-standards (195 section) tyres. Never once looked like it wasn't going to make it anywhere.
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Anyone else had a problem with a Pirelli P6000 shod car in this weather.
Yes - my Saab 900 was quite scary on the first half-inch of snow before Christmas. Later got stuck reversing out of my drive onto a patch or two of slushy ice - basically gave up on it for the duration of the cold spell. Fronts were down to 4mm, but still...
Like many others, will be looking at replacing with all-weather tyres, maybe Vredestein Quartrac.
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Perhaps this thread should be "worst tyres in the snow"?
My brother has an old BMW 318is, shod with winter tyres on the back by the previous owner (50% worn and been on the car through the summer). He reports no problems getting anywhere and had fun driving around a very snowy Sheffield.
My FWD A4 was frustratingly bad and I could not get up our road a couple of times. I could only wheelspin and/or crawl up certain gradients and not get any momentum to tackle the steeper hills (our road). And struggled in numerous other places making me very late for a meeting on one occasion.
Tyres were 205 wide Dunlop SP Sport 9000, which on the mytyres reviews get 5 out of 6 for snow grip (6 being bad).
Just after New Year (everywhere sold out of winter tyres just before Xmas) I managed to get a pair of Vredestein Wintracs. Relatively expensive, but being restricted in getting about was starting to cost me money.
Any snow/ slush/ frozen slush now is just not an issue. The rear tyres are comparatively slippy but you bear that in mind and drive accordingly.
Had much fun drifting about in 6" deep fresh snow on an empty Gala Bingo car park; purely educational, exploring the boundaries of available grip, etc. ;o)
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Anyone else had a problem with a Pirelli P6000 shod car in this weather.
That tread's not really cut out for much more than displacing water though. It'd be almost at the bottom of a list of tyres suitable for snow, slush or ice.
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We have a newish A4 Avant and a 6 year old 1.6 Focus hatchback.
Since I put Avon ZV5's on the front of the Avant it is close to useless in the snow unless I let the tyres down from 32 to about 20.
The Focus (on Goodyear NCT5's) is far far better in the snow.
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