But for really bad performance in ice/snow I doubt if you can get worse than a TR7. I once needed a push in a perfectly level car park!

Back about 40 years ago we had a builder come round to quote for some work. He came in his wifes TR7. Middle of winter and the street was covered in packed snow/ice, it was never treated or cleared. When he came to leave the car would not budge, just sat spinning its wheels on what was a level surface. Tried to push it and still going nowhere. So he put it in gear, let the clutch out, got out and we both pushed, that got it moving and it was quite novel to watch him running after the car.

Mazda MX-5 are as bad.

As were RWD BMWs before traction control..

But my 1953 Austin A30 with RWD and narrow tyres went through drifts like a dream - winter tyres at the rear (When a student in the sixties)

Another neighbour who then owned a RWD Passat had similar issues.

There has never been a RWD Passat. Friend of Dads bought one in the mid 70's and that was FWD, probably the first of the new generation of VW's after the Beetle family (forgetting the very forgetable K70), think it came onto the market before the Mk1 Golf.

Other than the Syncro/4motion versions all VW's have been FWD until this new generation of EV's.

What is probably confusing you is early Passats shared the longitudinal engine layout with Audis instead of the transverse layout used by the Golf etc.

Do many people really run "summer" and "winter" tyres in UK?

Can't remember that being a thing when I was there, but maybe I just wasn 't aware of it. Tyres were just what came with the banger, and if they needed replaced (rare) I got "Centurion" (IIRC) remoulds and fitted them myself.

Perhaps its a trend riding on increased affluence / safety concern, though I'd have thought the UK climate to be too unpredictable for dedicated seasonal tyres to be a good fit, and climate change might be expected to reduce the need.

It does happen quite a lot, but I'm not sure even now it would happen with a banger!.

In the early 90's I worked at a SAAB dealer, and I remember customers back then who had two sets of tyres as we stored whichever wasn't in use.

But the growth in popularity (and the ability) of all season tyres renders having two seperate sets of tyres unnecessary for most.

Especially with more and more modern homes not having sufficient storage for winter sets and many people converting their existing garage into extra dwelling area, often because their car is too big to fit and it being cheaper than building an extension.

I would be interested to see the precentages of each type of tyre on the roads in the Uk today compared with just 10 years ago. A/S tyres seem to be increasingly more popular.

I suspect the vast majority of Brits run summer tyres all year round and complain about the road authorities when it snows. The number who consider running summer/winters or all-seasons is very small but probably more than a decade or two ago.

I agree, and would add that I'd also bet good money on the chief complainers being those with either wide, low profile tyres fitted to their car and/or those who let their tyres wear practically down to the canvas (or waiting for them to fail an MOT) before replacing (never mind checking for tread depth or condition) them.

More and more 'ordinary' (in terms of performance) cars are now fitted with such tyres, which, even in perfect condition, are not anywhere near as 'good' in snow as an equivalent with a lower width and higher profile for the same overall diameter.

That combined with bigger, heavier and more powerful cars in the hands of the overage driver, and and the pechant for people driving with a very heavy right foot means people are likely to find driving in snow more tricky. My former neighbour being a good example.

Do many people really run "summer" and "winter" tyres in UK?

Probably depends on where you live. It's colder up north. I've had a few "brown trouser" moments with the white stuff in my 28 years of cross county commuting so it was a no brainer really. As some have mentioned storage of a spare set of wheels was the biggest issue. Better performance in heavy rain was a consideration as in Yorkshire we have a fair bit of that.

I suspect a large percentage of the population still don't understand that winter tyres aren't just for snow and ice, but working very well in all conditions when the temperature is below approx. 7degC, and especially the wet, because of the directional style of the tread pattern.

For that reason it's why I switched to (summer-biased) all season tyres, given I live in E. Anglia which gets little snow but the temperature can be below that threshold for several months. I think that the relatively small penalty in tyre performance in warmer months is vastly outweighed by far better winter performance.

For those further north, the more winter-biased all-season and winter tyres are a worthwhile option for safety and to reasonably ensure mobility in winter, if storage of the other set isn't an issue.

The price differential is in my view a lot less than it was 10 years ago. Admitedly, running two sets of tyres and wheels (if you go for smaller wheels and higher profile winter tyres to get even better snow grip) may be less suitable for people who regularly change their car, as the new owners may not want to buy them and they are possibly not compatible with the replacement car.