Who's got the worst car for the snow?

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Who's got the worst car for the snow?

114 posts & 77 voices | Started 1 year ago by eth3er | Latest reply from bruk

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igm - Member

Someone was abusing the MX-5. We have an MX-5 Mk2.5 SVT engine, which I drove through the snow in previous winters (OK not quite as impressive as this year). Low grip but great balance and very predictable, not a problem in the snow really, you just had to accept that you would be sliding all the time and it was up to you to decide what direction you were going to slide in.

Someone else was bemoaning a Mini Cooper S, presumably the BMW one. I had the Cooper and that was fine.

My wife's A3 diesel on the other hand is pretty poor.

Posted 1 year ago #
NickyB is going downhill - Member

scousers

Posted 1 year ago #
TheFunkyMonkey - Member

What's that? Looks like a CLS drophead, but they don't make one?

Posted 1 year ago #
infidel - Member

I have an e60/61 525d touring. Somewhat terrifying in the snow. Nearly slid it into a rangeover turning a corner at 10mph. Any suggestions re: winter tyres?

Posted 1 year ago #
TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR - Member

I know one thing for certain - there doesn't seem to be a recession in the MTB World at the moment.

Posted 1 year ago #
anjs - Member

Well mine goes back in Feb

Posted 1 year ago #
tonyg2003 - Member

Looking at the sills on that CLS just make you wince. Nicely crushed by the bricks. Probably some bling wheels now on a C200cdi "AMG" BTW It's just a vinyl roof - they didn't make a convertible.

Posted 1 year ago #
Lummox - Member

I have a BMW 318 touring with 17's and no heater currently, therefore I fail on comfort, reliability, vision and control.

Posted 1 year ago #
scotsman - Member

this is OK when the snow comes, very rarely gets stuck, got stuck on the M6 in july one time though, plenty room in the back for wife and kids and the all important bikes!

Posted 1 year ago #
nathan9812 - Member

106 gti. 1.6 135 bhp go kate (coke can) is fine in the snow if you dont go over 1000 rpm otherwise it wheel spins in 1st 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th and you end up doing 139mph sitting still. power to wait ratio of a straight 6 bmw 325 thats race toned with lsd and tsc.

Posted 1 year ago #
NZCol - Member

I had a Renault 5 GT Turbo which was chipped and had some other mods, group N race clutch, half cage and adjustable suspension. When i was working in Edi I commuted from Fife. Had a few hair raising drives home in it inc. one backwards entry to the Toll booth at the bridge, thank christ the guy on the barrier was quick as i managed to slide through completely unscathed, went back and gave him my 30p then worked out how to get up the 'hill' on the bridge. Got the bus a lot that year.

Posted 1 year ago #
ivantate - Member

525d auto tourer. 235 tyres allround.

pretty awful for straight line stability but far worse once you have stopped. Too much torque, an auto box, lots of weight, no LSD and too big to take a good angle at most things.

The missus fiat panda and idea are great though.

Posted 1 year ago #
Jamze - Member

Contrary to what others had said, our little MX-5 has been fantastic in the snow. It's a later one with an LSD, so assume this makes a difference. Has loads of traction. Other car (3-series diesel touring, loads of torque, big wheels) is less fantastic!

Posted 1 year ago #
FunkyDunc - Member

Another one to say MX5's good in the snow. I had a Mk3 last year with big low profile tyres, was great fun, was getting up hills some people in fwd cars were not, you just had to be prepared to accept that the majority of the time the car would be sliding.

Worst by far that I have driven was my wifes Polo TDI. The ABS was just dangerous, far too sensitive, and you turned the wheel and it just went straight on.

As to the powerful VRs type people saying they are shocking, they might not be as good as a small fwd car, but they certainly wont be as bad as any rwd. Just crap driving technique. Any car can be made to skid its tyres in any gear in snow if you give it too much throttle... Try using less power and fwd will crawl along in 1st gear.

Posted 1 year ago #
NZCol - Member

Just for a contrast - I cooked a complete set of tyres on my RS4 on the track last week they were well gone anyway and it coincided with a day of serious blatting in the hot blazing sun Sorry.

Posted 1 year ago #
hora - Member

I've never had a bad car in snow. I think its your tyres and smooth driving style that counts more.

Posted 1 year ago #
Jamze - Member

I've never had a bad car in snow. I think its your tyres and smooth driving style that counts more.

But for joe public mr average driver (i.e. me) who doesn't really want to spend a £1k on tyres, one of our cars is much better that the other. I'd be fascinated to know if an expert driver would be capable of getting my 3-series up the big hill just outside the village when it's covered in snow.

Posted 1 year ago #
hora - Member

Why do you need to spend £250 per tyre?

Also, you don't bin the tyres. You keep them for future winters.

Posted 1 year ago #
Jamze - Member

Why do you need to spend £250 per tyre?

TBH I was guessing. 255/35 on there at the mo, which are about £250 fitted. If the car was mine, I would actually investigate further, but it's a works car so not mine anyway.

Posted 1 year ago #
iainc - Member

I'd be fascinated to know if an expert driver would be capable of getting my 3-series up the big hill just outside the village when it's covered in snow.

ditto - and I posted the same thing on a thread last week. Through work I have done a lot of 4x4 driving, mainly in the desert, with quite a few training courses over the yrs, therefore I reckon I am at least competent in difficult conditions. I live in a new housing estate with lots of bollards and speed bumps and other slow down measures. I have a 90 degree bend at the bottom of a steep cul de sac that I live half way up and I couldn't get my 3 series up much of last week. Nowt to do with technique at all. Tyres yes, but similarly as it's a company car, winter tyres are not an option.

Posted 1 year ago #
beamers - Member

This one

During the snow (its on the left of the picture):

And after:

It's probably a pretty good car in the snow actually, just not under it.

Posted 1 year ago #
hora - Member

A LONG time since I've seen one of those!

Posted 1 year ago #
beamers - Member

I'll confess; those pics of the old Subaru are from the epic powder snow fest which was Fernie during the 2007/8 ski season. We stayed in the Beaver Lodge B and B (in the back ground of the second pic) almost every weekend from New Year to Easter.

Posted 1 year ago #
schrickvr6 - Member

Worst by far that I have driven was my wifes Polo TDI. The ABS was just dangerous, far too sensitive, and you turned the wheel and it just went straight on.

As to the powerful VRs type people saying they are shocking, they might not be as good as a small fwd car, but they certainly wont be as bad as any rwd. Just crap driving technique. Any car can be made to skid its tyres in any gear in snow if you give it too much throttle... Try using less power and fwd will crawl along in 1st gear.

So your wifes Polo with the same chassis is dangerous, but my car with with double the power and torque, with wide rubber and stiff suspension is fine, it's just that I'm a bad driver? I'm aware RWD on the whole would be worse but as far as FWD goes it's pretty awful.

Oh and how would ABS effect the steering? Unless you're braking and steering and the same time, which is a fine example of **** driving in the snow.....

Posted 1 year ago #
hora - Member

I drove an Aygo from Manchester to Southern Germany and back on NY's eve and back 1st week of January.

Nay problem.

Plus I kept the eco plastic tyres on

Posted 1 year ago #
NZCol - Member

beamers - i had one of them, two actually when I worked up Mt Hutt. Mine had snow tryes on it and I used to truck up and down the access road before the graders had got there no problems, the second one my boss killed going through the fords at hororata in a rush to get to the airport - water doesn;t compress well it would appear. Awesome cars in the snow

Posted 1 year ago #
Surf-Mat - Member

Iainc - similar here. Off road driving through work, all sorts of road driver training yet I simply don't trust my BM in ice/snow (still cautious in the Landy but it's as good a vehicle as you can get in these conditions). Loads of crashes around here at the moment so I'd rather not leave it to chance.

Can't wait to have a blast in it once it warms a bit though!

REALLY glad I don't have to commute to work.

Col - how is the RS4 in snow? Tried it yet?

Posted 1 year ago #
Stu_N - Member

Add me to the list of 170bhp VAG drivers with fat tyres.

Yep my Passat isn't great I got stuck on an icy hill last year and it span the wheels in 5th at idle. Got some autosocks but haven't used them as it's either been OK getting out the street so don't need them, or would use them to get out the road but the main roads have been so choked I've not gone anywhere.

(and it's not my driving as I can get my g/f's Seat a long way past where I can get the Passat in the snow).

Posted 1 year ago #
NZCol - Member

Surf-Mat : Nah mate , don't get snow in Wellington in the summer !

Posted 1 year ago #
MrK mkII - Member

mercedes sprinter van at work - like driving a curling stone on an ice rink.

Posted 1 year ago #
Surf-Mat - Member

Col - when we were there (but S Island) we had heavy snow on Christmas Day and for a couple of weeks afterwards. They were skiing around Queenstown. Most odd. This was 1999/2000

Posted 1 year ago #
chopper666 - Member

I have a 2004 MG ZT 260 SE, the one with the 4.6 Mustang V8, that hasnt moved since Thursday. Totally flat car park but covered in sheet ice, so i just sit there going no where.

Posted 1 year ago #
Torminalis - Member

My BM is like a dog on lino in this weather. fun though!

Posted 1 year ago #
Surf-Mat - Member

Chopper - cool cars those. I often see a silver one around this way. Very subtle, nice woofly V8.

Some nice cars owned by STWers - good to see. I particularly like the Alpina B5 Touring.

Posted 1 year ago #
hora - Member

I have a 2004 MG ZT 260 SE, the one with the 4.6 Mustang V8,

Oooo hello. Could you tell us more about it? What mpg/ved is it and has it been reliable???

Posted 1 year ago #