In this weather I am jealous of 4x4 owners who have that bit of extra grip and traction to possibly go where others can't.
Would be interested in any tales of how your vehicle has done in the snow, is this the first you have used the 4x4 properly? If you have a part-time set up like the CRV did you find it kicked in during your snow driving or was the normal set up enough? Anyone raised some money or goodwill through towing the neighbours out of ditches? Did you go out in your car purely to test its capabilities? Any 4 wheel drive power slides in deserted car parks?
And please, no anti 4x4 brigade discussion!!!
And don't be afraid to let us know of any embarrassing mishaps as well! Did you have to get towed out a ditch by a Toyota Aygo??
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Forester - AWD with rear LSD - plenty traction, predictable if 'giving it a little extra' - no problem whatsoever on packsnow.
CRV auto - on mud/snow tyres - if front tyres spin you feel the rear then push to continue traction - slight delay means you could possibly bring the back round RWD style if you had leaden feet. Lazy autobox keeps it smooth on very slippery surfaces - less likely to surge in the way a modern manual with fly-by-wire throttle can on minimal pedal inputs.
Both on 215 section tyres (215/55x17 and 215/65x16 respectively) despite the Forester having 260bhp. Easy to control, but cannot defy the laws of physics is best way to describe it.
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Took the X3 for a spin down to the supermarket to top-up with diesel. Shock horror now gone up to 50p/litre. Cleaned the dead bugs off the windscreen and went for a stroll down the beach. One or two slightly sticky patches of molten tar on the road were easily navigated.
No snow here :-) (NZ).
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Went out yesterday in 9" snow - a neighbour needed some supplies. No great problem - but then I used to live in Kenya and would often spend 8 hours a day driving in the slippery clay!
Some of the hills were very slippery (no gritters around here) - no great problem, I just took them at a steady speed (most drivers were turning back and finding other routes). A few trees down which meant that I had to go slightly off road. Took the dog for a run while we were out; the car park slopes so made sure that I stopped facing downhill just in case.
The hardest part was coming down the hill back to the house - where the neighbours had cleared access to their drives had refrozen and become ice - but no drama, just very gentle use of the brakes, and being brave enough to let off the brakes when the steering went light. The 4x4 drive was needed for the last stage - climing/squashing the mountain of snow left at the side of the road back onto my drive - was sliding all over the place.
Didn't use diff lock, hill descent control or ABS.
I don't rate the tyres in normal use but they worked OK in the snow - Dunlop grandtrek AT20 265/65x17
Edited by Marlot on 07/01/2010 at 07:52
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Forgot the one feature of the 4x4 I did use. It has a 'rapid heat' button, which changes the diesel fuelling and idles the engine at about 1200 rpm to warm it up quicker - I did that while I was clearing the snow from the windscreen and a path back to the front door.
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Have a 10 year old CRV automatic with 114k on the clock and a rear diff that let's you know by a sqeal when the RWD cuts in. Live on a hill, travelled many miles in snow up to 8 inches deep, and RWD has never cut in once. Stick in "2" and take off on the hill that way without any problems.
But a neighbour with a BMW X5 had to be pulled out his driveway by a Nissan Micra - the 4x4 simply had too wide tyres to cope with the deep snow! Mind you, not sure if the BMW driver actually knows what his car can do - he only uses it to take the kids half a mile to school, then go another 2 miles to work.
But living in Scotland - heavens, it's been that cold, we had to put on a jersey the other night when we had the barby out!
Edited by grumpyscot on 07/01/2010 at 09:36
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But a neighbour with a BMW X5 had to be pulled out his driveway by a Nissan Micra
I helped a Merc driver yesterday who was stuck near the top of a short but reasonably steep and curved service road exit.
I was several cars back but was the only one to get out and help. Was dubious I'd be able to do anything on my own but got him moving with the gentlest of pushes. As I walked back to my car I took the inside of the curve not realising it was much steeper than the outside I'd walked up and promptly fell over! Jolted my arm and today it's sore. :( Now I now why no-one else bothered.
Edited by Bill Payer on 07/01/2010 at 09:59
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My car is 4x4. Now that the numpties have either crashed or are too scared to venture out I may consider venturing out! Thought it better to wait until they have got the hang of the slippery conditions and the numbers that are wheelspinning by have reduced. No sign of a gritter since the weekend either. Or a bus. Should be one once an hour but not seen one for days.
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Haven't found snow deep enough to be a real challenge. Freelander 2 with heated screen & rapid heat very effective, Been to work each day on time & given others a lift! Used snow & ice mode & HDC for a very steep hill decent with no problem! Towed a few BM's & mercs so guess they must be the worst in the snow & ice. -12 on way to work this morning! fired on the button once the EMS had decided the glow plugs were up to temp. Really weird pressing the start button & nothing happens for around 10 secs then turns over & fires.
Its funny how the anti 4x4 brigade especially one of my neighbours are grateful for a tow up a steep hill so they don't have to leave their precious BM at the bottom of a hill when the going gets tough. I so wanted to leave it there what goes round comes round!
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Shogun Sport with high and low range and you engage the 4x4 when required.
SWIMBO uses it for work leaving house at 6-30 in the morning and all her driving on non gritted country roads. Shogun did not get stuck or falter in the snow only time a bit dodgy was on ice when she had to crawl along just to keep car on road when two wheel drive cars were not getting any grip at all.
I took car out in 8 inch of snow yesterday and ploughed through no problem.
Shogun runs on Pirelli 60 % off road and 40 % road tyres as fitted to vehicle originally. does what we want it to do.
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I am currently driving around in a 1999 Freelander (Borrowed) It has been absolutley perfect in this weather. Put aside all thats wrong with these cars (I owned one before that wasn't to bad and was even contemplating getting another one - but im not as thay are generally terrible in my opinion)
I have been nominated the local taxi, supermarket food collector etc.. (you get the picture)
I have yet to be caught out in it so fingers crossed!
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I have a 2004 (54) Navara and live in the Highlands. It has been excellent in the snow and slush and gives a lot of traction. The main problem is that we have had ongoing snow showers since the 19 December and there is now a lot of compacted and rutten ice particularly on side roads and store car parks. Even at around 10mph it is fairly easy to go into a slide.
I probably need something better than the standard tyres I have
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Bah humbug.
FWD
& suitable tyres
tyres
tyres
tyres
tyres
plus
a little
gumption/experience
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A 4x4 owner almost got me stuck in the nursery car park this morning. An Audi TT driver who didn't have a clue.
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In this weather I am jealous of 4x4 owners who have that bit of extra grip and traction to possibly go where others can't.
True enough - however, many 4-wheel-drive owners *need* to realise that their cars suffer from *exactly* the same problem as other road vehicles - the inability to stop quickly in adverse conditions. This realisation seems rather problematic for many.
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BMW has been parked in the garage for the last couple of weeks (deadly on snowy/icy roads) so I was running around in the workshop ford ranger 4x4. It slid off the road last year and did £2k worth of damage to itself and is proving a bit of handful again. 4x4 are good where there is loose snow or slush, but no better than anything else on hard compacted snow or ice - its then all down to the tyres. Left the ranger parked up today and using an old Mk4 Seat Ibiza with winter tyres which is proving unexpectedly good. I was always a bit sceptical about winter tyres (after 30 years in motor trade and never used them!) but am converted now!
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Both Feb 09 and yesterday my 'midlife crisis' totally non PC 5.7l Jeep Commander came into its own. Wife has Beetle cab. Main roads around Epsom not too bad but minor ones a nightmare with several cm fresh (and later compacted) snow on minor roads not cleared or gritted. She is a GP working about 5 miles away and is expected to be there. And she was, absolutely no problems. I know 4x4 isn't a panacea for bad roads/driving conditions but both times it's made the difference between her seeing and not seeing patients, where the Beetle slithered about even driving as carefully as poss (not revving, starting 2nd gear etc). Yes you still must be aware of stopping distances, ice, but the Jeep made a huge difference.
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Classic LandRover - wonderful in fresh deep snow, as useless as anything else going downhill on compacted sheet ice.
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I used to have a Land Rover 90. It was good fun but the only time I really needed it because of heavy snow and I could have used it to pull neighbours' cars up the incline of our road......it wouldn't start!!
The thing too many 4x4 drivers seem blissfully unaware of is that, when it comes to snow and ice, although they might have an advantage over ordinary cars in the keeping going department, they have precious little advantage in the stopping department!
Edited by Sofa Spud on 07/01/2010 at 15:59
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The thing too many 4x4 drivers seem blissfully unaware of is that when it comes to snow and ice although they might have an advantage over ordinary cars in the keeping going department they have precious little advantage in the stopping department!
I haven't seem much, or any, evidence of this in the last few days. You'd have to be fairly stupid to think your brakes would work as normal because you have 4WD.
That said I do find the CRV has a significant edge at stopping and cornering as well as going - I put this down mainly to the M+S (not M&S) tyres, especially as it is in 2WD almost all the time. I have come across numerous vehicles in the recent bouts of weather, slipping and sliding, stymied by an incline, and been able to wait for a safe moment and just set off from a standstill and drive around them pretty much as normal - without the 4WD even engaging.
I'm not a 4x4 chauvinist, but I'm in awe of the CRV. It's certainly not inferior to the general run of cars in 'normal' conditions either - just a great do-everything vehicle.
I have an old Land Rover here as well - if there was a foot of snow and I had to get out I'd use it of course (after I'd got it started) but I wouldn't back it against the CRV in anything much less on normal roads, and certainly not from a safety and comfort point of view.
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Have just come back from Germany where the weather was similar to here. My sister and brother in law use winter tyres - as did everyone else there - and folk seemed to have few problems. Maybe they are more experienced snow drivers than the majority of we Brits...
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Panda Cross, 4x4 with the 1.3 MJ engine. Runs on proper Winter tyres as fitted from new.
Since the snows arrived I've driven Sunderland to Manchester to Chester then back to Sunderland. In addition a lot of local miles on uncleared roads and a run into County Durham last night.
This little 4x4 goes, stops and corners superbly in the present weather and road conditions. Low C of G and small size make any slips or twitches easy to control.
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CRV has been fine - it's no Defender but on the standard Contis (M&S) it's done all it's been asked of with bags of traction as and when required. Very low feel to first gear helps get the traction from moving off. Been up some bendy hilly bits with loads of compacted snow with no drama at all. No worries.
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'04 facelifted X-Trail; no diff locks, standard-fit tyres. I've had no problems at all in 8 - 10 inches of snow, but there are no significant hills near me.
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2.0 diesel auto 4x4 Squashy is brilliant on snow even on summer weight Bridgestone Duellers. Nae bother at all.
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s6.photobucket.com/albums/y246/smartiesx3/?action=...v
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Dad's Forester LPT Turbo is a much easier car to drive in these conditions than my Outback. Shorter car, better low down torque, better tyres and more commanding driving position make life a lot easier. SWMBO will not drive my car, ,but will drive Dad's.
Just discovered that turning off traction control can make life a lot easier at low speeds. Get the wheels turning at high revs and the ice melts down to tarmac and hey presto - traction! Wish I could turn off ABS as well.
Otherwise the general feeling that the car will go where you want it is good, but to be honest, unless the snow is very deep any good FWD with decent tyres is almost as good, as my wife's A-class showed today. It was only stumped by high and slippy ridges of snow which a 4x4 would have overcome by having extra driving wheels. On the road it makes little difference.
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BIG heavy 4x4 with hi speed tyres are NOT good in snow/icy conditions especially when driven by folk who havent a clue about the actual conditions. Most seem to drive too fast too close to the car in front.
Best 4x4 is the smaller/lighter ones BUT you need the right tyres.
all 4 wheels will just slide on ice I know. no grip means no grop means no grip ooopsss
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www.honestjohn.co.uk/redirect.php?http://s6.photob...v
Loud and clear!!
Edited by Fullchat on 07/01/2010 at 20:51
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on the news last night, some 4x4 owners were volantering to ferry carers around . so good on them. some these old dears live off the beaten track, and the carers only have old motors and they dont like driving
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Yes, Eagle FM radio station, which covers Surrey/Hants borders, is actively matching 4x4 drivers to those in need of transport, supplies, hospital appointments etc. An excellent initiative which has worked well thus far. The snowfall here in Farnham measured 16cm in total, and it's now -5 outside (Thurs 2127GMT) so I expect 4x4s to be in steady demand for the days to come. Probably the best PR for SUVs in some time! Although, as has been specified already, not all 4x4s are particularly capable, due to road-biased wide tyres.
We've been using my wife's 06-reg Nissan X-Trail 2.5 auto. It's coped with everything thus far, including our the moderate climb of the residential, ungritted, road we live on. The diff is switched in AUTO mode for 2WD principally with the rears taking hold as needed, which has been imperceptible. A couple of drum rolls from the ABS thus far, but our speed was too low to cause any alarm and the car stopped quite well. It's an Aventura model on 17" rims shod Dunlop Grandtrek Mud & Snow tyres. A totally reliable car thus far which the wife is very pleased with.
Edited by Sulphur Man on 07/01/2010 at 21:37
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4x4x4....four cars in this story you see.
Three houses on our track, ours is the middle one
House furthest away and also down steepest part has a Honda thingy - you know, 2 door real soft roader like Rav4 may even be 2 wheel drive. She has wisely left hers on the road and walks the half mile or so to her house.
My Legacy is defeated by depth of snow in the track - about 10 inches or so and some deeper drifts which I haven't tried!
My neighbour who lives closer to the road than us has a shiny new Range Rover and he is now stuck although he did get out on Monday but that was before the drifting
So king of the hill is my wife's 5 year old Freelander which just takes it all in its stride.
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The diesel auto Vitara's fine, been batting around all week without any problems. Helped an HGV get moving on to better surface yesterday. Good heater, tyres grip well. No off-road here in the Metrollops though.
!5 yrs old, can't fault her.
I'll give her a nice drink of new oil when the snow's gone. ( and maybe a set of glow plugs...needs 3 heatups at the moment ! )
Ted
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Chevrolet Captiva, don't really think of it as a 4X4 but have been well pleased with it in the current bad weather.
All a bit boring, actually - journeys are uneventful, even on untreated Lincolnshire roads, which I suppose is praise enough.
I've deliberately accelerated reasonably hard on frozen deserted supermarket car parks, just to see how it handles it. Momentary front wheel spin, then the rear wheels take up the drive with no skidding or fishtailing.
Standard Korean tyres.
I'm always very concious of the fact that the stopping ability on ice/slush, etc is as poor as anything else, so braking is kept to an absolute minimum.
Saw an older BMW, driven by a young deaf lad (he must have been deaf because the in-car stereo was loud enough to loosen body welds ;) roar out a parking space in Tesco's - the back end swung about wildly, it's a miracle that he didn't side-swipe any other cars.
My main worry is not how the Captiva handles the conditions, but whether I meet the deaf lad, or one of his chums, out and about on the frozen roads ;)
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Good to read the positive reports on the CRV - will seriously look at the new diesel auto one when my Merc (which hasn't moved for a month) is changed this year.
Been using wifey's new Jazz and was bit concerned as the tyres are (relatively) wide 185/55R16 but its VSC hasn't come on once and the ABS has only worked when I've provoked it.
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Just come back from being called out to take a 3-year old to an urgent doctor appointment. Very steep hill, which has seen a few cars do 360-degree spins. Mde much harder because there are a number of abandoned vehicles at the bottom.
Tried out the DAC (Downhill assist control) for the first time - truly impressive. You have to have 100% confidence in the car though - if you dab the brakes (or accelerator) it immediately comes out of DAC mode.
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This morning I have seen two cars try to get out of my street (a cul-de-sac). I live on the corner, first house. A Passat estate tried, got stuck and has abandoned the car at the junction. A Citroen C-Crosser ploughed past him and out on to the adjoining road. Didn't look like he had any kind of special tyres. I bet the Passat would have made it with winter tyres. If anyone's wondering why I didn't go out and push him, I'm taking care of my two small children and can't leave them unattended.
The adjoining road to me has a substantial dip in it, and my house is at the top of one end. I've seen a Suzuki Jimny and a Golf 4 Motion (bedecked with a tree surgeon's livery) cruise up the dip, not seen anyone else attempt it. The Jimny also had some commercial markings, come to think of it.
Blooming glad I don't have to try to go anywhere. Yet.
Edited by Alanovich on 08/01/2010 at 13:16
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Deliberately provoked a bit of tail wagging in an empty bit of my leisure club car park tonight. The Squashy only puts power to the back if the front has traction problems. It hangs out nicely and you can catch it easily with a bit of op-lock but I did hear what sounded like the abs chattering at the same time even though I wasn't touching the brakes. I suppose that must have been the stability doofer doing its thing ?
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