E class Mercedes estates and Focii came out worst on the other thread, so what’s the best car in the snow?

I had a mini pick up with Colway M&S tyres, it was damn near unstoppable.

Back in the seventies my dad had a Citroen Dyane he used in the snow when the Majestic Major was in the garage. It too was as good as the Land Rover that replaced it.

Renault 4 F6 van was amazing in the snow, went everywhere.

My Morris Minor with a bit of weight in the boot was always very entertaining. You went every where sideways but it always got you there.

And the Volvo Amazon, of course, just got you there.

My Fiat Panda 😀 even when it’s sideways it doesn’t take half the road up..
I actually enjoy driving it in the snow..

Subaru Impreza. My missus nicked it every time it snowed and didn’t miss a single days work. I on the other hand had to risk life and limb biking it to work.

My Volvo V40 with winter tyres had no problems.

My 2005 Volvo XC70 with the standard Pirelli Scorpion STR tyres. Better dare I say it than my TD5 Defender with AT tyres.

1.8 diesel mk3 fiesta on castor wheels

What it wouldnt go up forwards it went up backwards

Including the parking field at the sda where the forestry ford ranger got stuck driving up beside me 🙂

mk3 clio diesel.

sub 800kg kerb weight and driven at idle. perfect.

Fiat Panda 4×4. Not one of the new ones either, a D reg in that nice beige/green colour.

Seat Leon TDI was great if driven carefully, current outlander needs traction control off lock the diff then boot it, amazing what it will do!

Porsche Boxster. The one the twonkhead was “driving” that caused me to get stuck the other month. *shakes fist*

I had a mk iv golf TDI that was surprisingly good in the snow.

A mate moved to Morzine, took his Discovery with him and struggled when the locals were fine. Swapped it for a Defender, same problem. Swapped that for a 1.2 Clio with winter tyres – sorted.

Thomthumb, you might want to be careful there, you seem to be missing around 300kg of parts 😉

This might sound mad but best snow car I have ever driven was a mk 2 Astra, beige 1.4 petrol.

Don’t know why but could go anywhere in the snow. This was 20 years ago.

Pug 205 1.9d. Epic in the snow. Passed a police 4×4 that couldn’t get up the climb at sandsend, and the only car u know that’ll climb out if Staithes whatever the road is like. It was superb before the winter tyres, but now it’s unreal.

It would’ve been the R4 my mum had when I’d just passed my test, except I’ve had a Jag X-Type AWD this winter – and its brill, even with 3/4 worn tyres.

Used to have an Alfasud. Nothing would stop it. Nothin I tells ya

Nissan Micra. The noddy car shape ones in 1.0 flavour.

Seat Leon TDI was great if driven carefully

My GF’s petrol leon was surprisingly capable in the snow. Berlingos do quite well too. 1990s superminis – light, front wheel drive, narrow, small diameter wheels all do very well with the old shape micras being the last of those before small cars got fat.

You’d have a job to find a current model of any car not fitted with vanity wheels now though.

The r4was great, mainly because its tyres were narrower than bike tyres

speckledbob – Member
Used to have an Alfasud. Nothing would stop it. Nothin I tells ya

My Alfasud did not like standing water, due to flat 4 engine layout. Mind you, you’d never roll it.
Best car I have owned in the snow would be either my old Triumph Spitfire with the transverse rear spring rear wheels would really bite, or my old Lancia Fulvia Rally. Top car that

A year back I’d have said the wife’s mk1 MX5 was good. Skinny tyres, and with a careful right foot it would go anywhere in anything, albeit sometimes sideways.
Now though, after a few trips out in the wife’s old Jeep (2000, J series) I’ve got to say it is an absolute monster. Pretty much unstoppable.

Mk1 Clio diesel, it was like a tank, nothing stopped it no matter what I tried. Currently a bubble shaped Micra with m&s tyres is pretty good… But not as good as the Clio.

Tyres make more difference than the car.

Pirelli P7’s not snow tyres at all, but got them on 2 different cars and they were amazing in the snow, could get up stuff 4×4’s were struggling with.

Add to that and have faith in your cars stability control systems and you can drive around corners at near normal speeds !

My mates simca truck is quite good in the snow, we use it to drive the beaters and paying guns around the estate in shoot season, kinda similar to this one below but with much larger paddle tyres and all enclosed body in the rear, very good in the snow and can cope with 3ft snow drifts with ease, tax free/mot free as well and road legal as it’s classed as an agricultural vehicle so it can be driven on the road.

Not exactly practical mind you 😉

Used to have an Alfasud. Nothing would stop it. Nothin I tells ya

You took and Alfa out when there’s salt on the roads. Brave man 😯

I had a mini pick up with Colway M&S tyres, it was damn near unstoppable.

I had one with studded tyres, that was unstoppable!

My ex Mrs had a Panda in the late 80’s, I put some remould town & countries on & it was bloody good too.

Citroen ZX 1.9 TDi

Keep it just at the bottom of the turbo, turn in and correct on throttle (lovely under steer on the turbo kicking in) or hand brake (nice feel on he handbrake on that car).

And as for traction, well skinny tyres and an engine that weighed vastly more than the rest of the car meant it was still going when the front body work was an inch or two lower than the snow level.

My dearly departed V6 Pajero was the best in snow. In 4wd it was unstoppable, or for a laugh you could select RWD. 3.0 petrol V6, short wheel base and the power to the back wheels was fun.

Other than that, as I said in the other thread I never once got stuck in my mark 1 clio 1.2. It had no power, didn’t weigh anything and had tiny wheels. Even crap tyres didn’t stop it (when I was a student it was getting remoulds at £8 a wheel). More than once I’d be driving through the snow and hear on the radio that the road I was on was closed.

Another +1 mk 3 clio – we were sent to rescue the numpty cheshire 4×4 brigade in it few winters ago

Peugeot 406 estate with winter tyres. Magnificent!

V6 Toyota Highlander with winter tyres. AWD, nice bit of poke, but you can still unstick the rear if you waggle the wheel a bit before the traction control kicks in.

When I was in BC, I had a Ford Aerostar, 3.0 V6 auto and with a couple of sand bags over the rear axle, it was immense in the snow!

In fact, a great vehicle and wish I had it/one nowadays here in the UK, great as a van without the seats, 8 x 4 sheets were consumed with ease and took bikes, kayaks, tents and people at weekends.

My current X-Trail is pretty good.

My civic mugen m20 on 16″ winter mud and snows. Drives around 4wd on the way up the shee / lecht etc every single weekend on the way to the ski hills……

Tyres are king, not the car or the number of wheels driven / diff lock, etc…..

Wasnt the zx front hand braked ? The zantia was .

Stupid car

Unknown , ive got a frontera with rwd and 2.2 turbo diesel engine

As you say swb and boot it into turbo range and itll go round the farm track corners at my house on opposite lock.

Definitely my old beetle.

I’m defining “best” as: generated most laughs.

Capri second.

Not a Mercedes a class. 🙁

Of the ones I’ve had Pug 306 1.9d, worst a Hyundai Trajet.
.
Landy 110 fantastic in deep snow, terrible on ice (too heavy to stop!)
.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afJ18eJeNgU[/video]

Golf 4×4 with snow tyres. Whenever we go skiing and rent a car that’s what I ask for.

I’ve caned up mountain passes in the alps and dolomites in these cars like it was mid summer with dry roads. Amazing grip.