What cars best in the snow?

[trackerjack]

I remember years ago leaving portsmouth to go over southdown hill and it was snowing hard.
My weapon then was my trusty TR4 with what was big tyres 165 x 80 x 15 I watched as a few front drive hatches failed to climb it and slid to the side, then it was my turn steady speed, light throttle and ease up when it slid, it was the last car up that hill.
Since then I always choose to drive in the stuff whenever I can.
Cars I have liked are Fiat X19 brilliant grip but no brakes cos the weight is at the back, same with the Hillman Imp.
The worst ever car in the snow was my old MGBGT V8 we had gone tobogganing on the downs and tried to drive back, I had to resort to putting one wheel in the verge to stop it sliding, it would slide sideways on a straight road
I wish my Sprint was taxed cos I reckon it could be fun.

My Mondeo is no fun cos it is too good in all conditions.

[Edin Dundee]

Mondeo? Some clown has just got his stuck in our car park, he's tried both exits and in the morning they'll be glass.................and his car will still be there.

Best car I had for snow was my Triumph 1300. But that was many decades ago. Worst was my Dolomite, but that's the only rear-wheel drive I've had.

[Purplebargeken]

Mk2 Granny was brilliant. Little Bindi has been suprisingly good. Actually needed quite a concerted effort to get it to 'misbehave'.

[Jod Clark]

Just about anything with the engine over the driven wheels and someone behind the wheel who knows what they're doing makes for a good snow car. I have also had a good deal of fun with a 4 wheel drive in the last couple of days. The fact that the four wheels are all on the same axle and have 4.8 tonnes above them may be a help there though.

[JPB]

FWDs: Maxi, Peugeot 305 Diesel Estate. (their skinny, 155/80%x14 tyres helped).
RWDs: Reliant Kitten Estate (53% weight over the driven wheels) was amazingly good, Beetles, love them or loathe them, are pretty incredible on snow too.

[2F45T4U]

I got to drive a 1300fwd and 1995 Subaru Impreza WRX back to back in the snow and ice earlier in the year. The Impreza just glided over the ice in any direction it wanted to and the 1300 just gripped like it would on any road!

[DavePoth]

Mercedes sprinter with nothing in the back of it was surprisingly amusing in an empty car park.

[Oli_88]

I must say my Vivaro was surprisingly easy to drive.
My mothers Hyundai on the other hand... Well, she doesn't exactly do 'gentle' with the throttle, doesn't help much being auto either.

[Howard81]

VW Beetle! Brilliant in the snow. When we had the snow last year it was the only car that could make it up the icy hills. Rear engine with rear wheel drive - so much traction!

/cue TrackerJacks obligatory anti-Beetle comment/

[Mondeo Owner]

FWDs: Maxi, Peugeot 305 Diesel Estate. (their skinny, 155/80%x14 tyres helped).
RWDs: Reliant Kitten Estate (53% weight over the driven wheels) was amazingly good, Beetles, love them or loathe them, are pretty incredible on snow too.

It's probably mainly how you drive (smooth, maintain torque not revs, don't brake, etc.) but generally cars with skinny tyres and weight over the driven wheels.

I grew up in Wales in the 70's/80's and then we really had snow - nice and high with 8 ft drifts in places. Back then the best car my Dad found for snow driving was the then new Mk2 Cavalier FWD.

People nowadays are clueless - a friend's neighbour last year told me how someone told them thier Focus would be OK in the snow, they had no clue if FWD or RWD, ditto someone else complained that no-one told them their 3 series was RWD (obviously the reason why BMW claim to be the ultimate driving machine went over their heads).

I got my 328 Auto out of our road the other day when a neighbour temporarily got his Accord stuck but I was driving super carefully. I tend to use the FRV if I can in this weather as it's far more predictable.

[SprintMWU773V]

My wife has a Merc which is RWD obviously and she doesn't like it in the snow and ice. My Focus is OK but I can never figure out which is better in the snow. When you lose traction in a fwd car you lose grip and steering. If you steer and lose grip at the front you'll just plough straight on and have an accident. In a rwd car if you lose traction in a rwd car you still have steering to a degree but if you lose rear wheel grip whilst steering you'll probbaly spin and have an accident. The only difference that I can see is that if you will be facing opposite ways when you have the inevitable accident. I'm convinced that a carefully driven a diesel rwd car is a reasonable bet in the snow despite what the wife says.

[Jon Tilson]

Its all down to physics...

Best car will be a proper 4X4...for best traction up and engine braking going down hill..

An fwd car will be good for control going down hill. An rwd car can lock the rear wheels up even under engine braking on a slippery down hill I stacked my sprint into a lamp pots cos of this. Good lesson though...I now descend snowy hills in neutral in a rwd car.
You can do your own abs by pulsing the brake peddle as it locks up...dont steer when the wheels are locked or even under braking at all...

Be especially careful when turning off a salted road into a more minor snowy or slushy one. Too high an entry speed and off you go...

An evenly balanced rwd car will be good for traction going up hill. Hence tegh Tr went up and the MGB is poor, as is a dolomite.

I'm not sure about the pseudo soft roader things like CR-V's and RAVs. they end to be driven by women who panic at the first sight of snow.

Jonners

[mbellinger]

Lots of sensible stuff here.

As Mondeo man says, best thing in snow is narrow high profile tyres with a good weight balance as Jonners says.

Beetles are excellent in snow because they tick all the above boxes. A proper 4x4 gives better control and traction and the ability to pull out of a slide using the throttle.

The reason so many modern Mercs and BM's have been in trouble these last few days is that fashion dictates that such vehicles are now ordered in Msport/Avantgarde trim with the obligatory high wide alloys and low profile cotton reel tyres. These are carnage in the slippery stuff.

Funnily enough having an auto can pay dividends as the creep allows a smooth subtle get away without having to concentrate on throttle modulation as you do in a manual. Most modern autos are electronic and will pull away in second or even third if conditions dictate. My Rover 600, in spite of having Honda gearbox software from at least two generations ago was surprisingly able this week.

My pal, who lives in the French Alps, and so is used to these conditions, informs me that the best road car ever in snow was the Panda 4x4 (light, balanced, skinny tyres, 4wd). Since that went out of production, the weapon of choice is apparently the Renault Kangoo 4x4 for the same reasons.

[Carl]

I've been chugging around quite happily in my 306 TD. When it's really slippery it'll pull in first or second at idle with no throttle which has been excellent for climbing/descending hills.

[SprintMWU773V]

This was our choice of snow vehicle in October. 4.7l V8 with permenent 4 wheel drive but no low range sadly. Glad we had 4 wheel drive although the crappy California road tyres were not overly grippy, oh and the handling and fuel economy was appalling but who cares!

The wife with the beast in Yellowstone National Park



A bit of ice round the arches