I would like to know if anyone could let me know how the Skoda handles in snow. I know it sounds odd to ask in the mid summer but my wife is worried we will be stranded on the driveway again this year! We had about a foot of snow! I was going to look for some winter tyres but are they any good on a front wheel drive car? or would it be better for me to buy a 10 year old Subaru Impreza WRX to drive in the snow season? or any 4x4 for that matter? I could buy a Subaru for £2000 but is there any point in doing this or would the winter tyres option be much better? Please let me know of your experience of driving in the snow with a Skoda Octavia VRS mk2.

Mine VRS was awesome and i have a steep drive. I overtook a stranded 4x4 on a hill on the way to work on one of the bad mornings!

For around £450 you could have a set of 16inch wheels with some winters on which will keep you going for a good few years with no on going costs (unless you get a puncture!). Also saves wear on your 17/18's.

A 4x4 would still be pointless in the snow anyway without the proper tyres (hence why i sailed passed a 4x4 in the snow )

Winter tyres EVERY time.

Even a 4WD scooby is going to struggle without the correct tyres on (not as much as a 2WD car granted).

OK my car isn't a vRS, but it is a CR170 Superb, so same engine etc. Last year with my winter tyres on I never got stuck - or even came close to getting stuck despite all the snow we had down in Kent.

With the cost of winter tyre's or a 4X4 I'd buy the Wife a Spade, around a Tenner, just tell her to get up a bit earlier. Sorted :yes:

My 140PD handles well - I back up what jrw says. I have 15 inch steel rims with Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3Ds on (first in ADAC tests - http://www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/reifen/winterreifen/2010_Winterreifen_Test_185_65_R15.aspx?ComponentId=40327&SourcePageId=31821) and you wouldn't even realise it was a bit slippy. Obviously if you're on solid ice you're going to need to be careful, but you CAN do it. I tried with my summer Turanzas once - never again! Don't listen to what the Dunlop-haters say - they are talking about the summer tyres, not these. My wife's Octy has Conti Wintersports - almost as good, so if you don't like Dunlops... Do however do what the Germans, who know about these things, do and take a size down from your usual summer tyres. In summer I have 225/45 R17 on one car and 205/55 R16 on the other - both have 195/65 R15 winter tyres. My advice - get a set of 15 inch steel rims so you won't get your alloys messed up by salt and sliding into obstacles (just in case) and fit Dunlops or Contis. Much better than a 4x4 which you'll still need to get winter tyres for as Gizmo68 rightly says.

My advice - get a set of 15 inch steel rims so you won't get your alloys messed up by salt and sliding into obstacles (just in case) and fit Dunlops or Contis. .

Need 16inch min for a VRS to clear the brakes.

Need 16inch min for a VRS to clear the brakes.

Good to know... You can get 16" steel rims, though, so that shouldn't be a worry.

Good to know... You can get 16" steel rims, though, so that shouldn't be a worry.

Have you seen the price that some people think steel rims are worth though!

You can get a decent set of Audi/VW alloys for half the price

No idea - I got mine as made-up sets in Germany. They weren't all that expensive - as everybody does that, there are plenty of places that do special offers. No idea what it's like in the UK as demand will be lower.

Winter tyres are amazing, but what they won't give you is ground clearance. We had properly deep snow last winter and the only things getting off our estate were a Land Rover, a Range Rover and a Jeep. My husband had an A6 quattro avant with winter tyres, but when we took it out you could hear the underside grounding out on the frozen snow. It was enough to pull the exhaust back over time causing the flexi joints to fail. If you had snow deep enough for this to be a problem then get a traditional 4x4 with proper ground clearance, not just a road car with four wheel drive. If ground clearance doesn't concern you then just get a secondhand set of 16" alloys and fit 205/55/16 winter tyres. Whatever you decide to do, do it before the start of winter when the prices of both 4x4s and winter tyres start to go up.

Mine VRS was awesome and i have a steep drive. I overtook a stranded 4x4 on a hill on the way to work on one of the bad mornings!

For around £450 you could have a set of 16inch wheels with some winters on which will keep you going for a good few years with no on going costs (unless you get a puncture!). Also saves wear on your 17/18's.

A 4x4 would still be pointless in the snow anyway without the proper tyres (hence why i sailed passed a 4x4 in the snow )

+1

ps where you able to get rims/tyres for that money ??? id look at getting some now

+1

ps where you able to get rims/tyres for that money ??? id look at getting some now

I got mine for a lot less than that off nick p with alloys.

Its around £85 for an Avon ice touring tyre and then whatever 5x112 rims you can get your hands on 2nd hand.

Winter tyres are amazing, but what they won't give you is ground clearance. We had properly deep snow last winter and the only things getting off our estate were a Land Rover, a Range Rover and a Jeep. My husband had an A6 quattro avant with winter tyres, but when we took it out you could hear the underside grounding out on the frozen snow. It was enough to pull the exhaust back over time causing the flexi joints to fail. If you had snow deep enough for this to be a problem then get a traditional 4x4 with proper ground clearance, not just a road car with four wheel drive. If ground clearance doesn't concern you then just get a secondhand set of 16" alloys and fit 205/55/16 winter tyres. Whatever you decide to do, do it before the start of winter when the prices of both 4x4s and winter tyres start to go up.

At the time when we got all this snow I ownwed a Honda Civic CTDI and it wouldn't move from my drive at all! I think the problem is like you mentioned, it's the clearance problem. I remember shoveling away the snow and a great big old Range Rover ploughed through the snow with no problem! I also live on a up hill dead end road! I see what some people are saying about the winter tyres but surely if you got no clearance it makes no difference does it? My manager was not happy I had to take 4 days off from work and I didn't get paid either due to not using public transport! I've never driven my Skoda in the snow so i've got no idea what it's like. I would have thought with more power it would lose more grip? Correct me if i'm wrong.

I didn't have winter tyres for the last two winters so my vRS was shockingly bad in the snow/ice. What I did do though was buy a pair of snow socks and once I'd planted them on the front wheels I had no problem whatsoever in the fresh and compacted snow, although you have to take them off when you get to clear road to prevent shredding them, which can be a bit of a nause. I've just bought a set of 4 second hand 16" Audi alloys off eBay for 90 quid to have winter tyres fitted for this winter, so with those plus the snow socks (which are still going strong after two winter's use) I'm hoping to be unstoppable! (Except of course when I want to stop!).

Bob.

When it's this bad:

You need a Jeep:

30" studded winter tyres - and a shovel.

Even a 4x4 with low range is pants without decent winter rubber. Whatever you buy you're going to need to buy winter tyres.

When it's this bad:

You need a Jeep:

Or rather you need to go back to bed

I have an old Toyota Hilux pickup that i use for odd jobs but its main purpose is winter transport,it will get through anything,water up to 3 feet deep and its great in the snow when other 4x4 faulter.

Mark.

After reading all this I think it kind of makes sence to just buy 4 winter tyres and steel rims. Could anyone reccomend any good winter tyres? also what size would be very helpful thanks. I'll keep an eye out on ebay for some steel rims, would any steel rims from the VW group fit a Skoda Octavia VRS mk2? Please let me know, thanks.

After reading all this I think it kind of makes sence to just buy 4 winter tyres and steel rims. Could anyone reccomend any good winter tyres? also what size would be very helpful thanks. I'll keep an eye out on ebay for some steel rims, would any steel rims from the VW group fit a Skoda Octavia VRS mk2? Please let me know, thanks.

5x112 in a 16inch. Anything from an audi, vw, skoda or seat in that stud pattern.

Tyres, I have Avon ice touring st in 205/55/16 and are about £85 each.

I had a set of Michelin Alpin A4's last winter were great, especially for stopping had a set of 205/55/16 on 4 steel vw wheels off a passat i think, and still have them in the shed for this years weather so saves money on the more expensive summer tyres too

as said above the only issue i had was where the snow had got very deep it was rubbing off the bottom of the car, but i was able to drive up my steep drive easily where i couldnt hardly get in off the road the year before

I had a set of Michelin Alpin A4's last winter were great, especially for stopping had a set of 205/55/16 on 4 steel vw wheels off a passat i think, and still have them in the shed for this years weather so saves money on the more expensive summer tyres too

as said above the only issue i had was where the snow had got very deep it was rubbing off the bottom of the car, but i was able to drive up my steep drive easily where i couldnt hardly get in off the road the year before

that look awesome

Need to get tires ordered up asap for my steel wheels

If you buy a 4x4 then get some training on how to drive it properly!!

I'm new to winter tyres as of last winter which I had put on my Octavia 4x4 estate. Before that, through the worst of the snow, I was getting around, up hills, up kerbs, on & off off-road parking (unploughed), breaking through ploughed snow banks on my well worn budget summer tyres. Passed many a stuck 2x4 car & got in to work everyday. I think the ESP helped (used in snow but not on ice - works for me but maybe debatable!) My previous car was not 4x4 & I spent about a week working from home the previous winter as I couldn't even get out the street!

As I needed new tyres anyway I got budget winter tyres fitted & didn't really notice any improvement as I didn't experience any worse conditions than I'd had with the summer tyres & I try to exercise more caution in snow & ice anyway.

Now I have the Scout 4x4 I have some old Audi 16" wheels I'll soon be sticking cheap winter tyres on for this winter. I'm not totally convinced I need them (for NE England) but guess I've seen all the posts here & advice elsewhere & got caught up in the need to upgrade.

Before I'd even heard of unstudded winters tyres I was getting around in a previous non-Skoda 4x4 with regular tyres just fine in bad winters when I lived higher than I do now. Same in our current old Jeep Cherokee which uses same tyres all year around. We get lot of snow where we live & my hobbies often seeing me actively seeking out the snow.

I've bought into the winter tyre thing mainly due to this forum but must confess to being baffled with all the talk of brands & handling characteristics. I'm a tyre philistine & have not noticed any difference between the multitude of 'good brands' the leasing companies insisted on for my company cars & the multitude of budget tyres I've had fitted since I've ran my own cars - except the cheaper ones sometimes last longer. I've done around 30K miles a year for last 20 years. It may be that my driving style isn't demanding enough to reveal any difference. I'll cry if I have to spend more than £70 a corner!

Regular use in alpine or nordic winters (inc parts of Scotland) would be a different kettle of fish altogether. Studs are amazing!

I would have thought with more power it would lose more grip? Correct me if i'm wrong.

You do not need or use the power in slippery conditions, so it should make no difference at all if you have a 170 or a std 90 hp car.

5x112 in a 16inch. Anything from an audi, vw, skoda or seat in that stud pattern.

Tyres, I have Avon ice touring st in 205/55/16 and are about £85 each.

Not quite anything - you need to check the ET and width of the wheel as well,keep it under 8" wide and close to ET50 and you should be fine, many Mercedes wheels are also 5x112, but they use a different size centre bore locating hole (VAG use 57.1mm)

As for tyres, I was really impressed with the Nokian GR W2's I bought last year, they are a relatively unknown brand in the UK, but get very good reviews in northern Europe and are make in Scandanavia (205/55/16 is as close to your current 225/40/18's fitted to a vRS)

Make sure you keep the load index of the tyre the same (or higher if you must)

I would have thought the potential for an old 4x4 to break down and leave you stranded beside the road in sub zero temperatures would be a bigger factor than grip.

This company sells complete wheels with winter tyres, including alloys now I notice:

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&cart_id=34964680.110.4153&s_p=Complete_wheels

Maybe if we have significant snow again they might actually start clearing the roads in the South.