hello fellow members,

just wondering what is the handling like in the snow or ice for the front wheel drive models.we have had little snow up north so could not try the handling on my yeti in the snow.so just wondering what the handling ws like last year in the heavy snow and ice .

thanks

The standard 225/50 R17 summer tyres don't cope well with the winter stuff, hence a number of owners switching to winters or fitting all weather tyres throughout the year to save on having an extra set of wheels to store.

TP

Not sure what you mean by 'handling'. My friend currently has a FWD Tiguan. He lives in Munich and has a "ski apartment" in Tirol, Austria, where they had a lot of heavy snow this winter. He was running winter tyres and had a pair of snow socks in the car for emergencies. According to his reports the FWD Tiguan behaved very well even in deep snow and he never needed to use the snow socks - he did say that the extra ground clearance was a real bonus when it got over 6 inches (15cm) though.

Stick some decent rubber on and you'll be fine, most FWD cars are. Sure, a 4x4 will be at better getting up slippery hills, but you shouldn't NEED a 4x4 providing you have the right tyres. Just look at the nordic countries and you'll see how many people there drive around in FWD Saabs and Volvos all winter with very little problems - you've still got ABS, ESP, ASR and all those little computer gubbins to keep you on the road.

+1 handling in snow is determined not so much by the car as by the stuff that's between the car and the road - the rubber. My vredestein Wintracs have been great

Yup....most of the time 4x4s are worse going downhill. Although this doesn't really apply to Haldex.

I've got a Greenline fitted with winter tyres (Pirelli WinterContacts ) we had seven inches of snow recently, the car performed brilliantly on virgin snow and compacted ice.

It's the first time I've fitted winter tyres and I'm a convert, take this simple step and the car is unstoppable !

Keep a pair of snow socks in the car if you're worried. I have all season tyres on mine (snow-flake rated) and keep a snow shovel and socks in the boot when I go to the Alps in winter - even on a 4x4. They really do work if you get stuck on something really bad like an icy hill.

You don't need a 4x4 to drive in snow. You just need winter tyres and you will be fine. As stated above the 2wd Yeti has the same extra ground clearance as the 4x4 and that helps a great deal already, over and above a normal car like a Golf.

Ahhhh but some might argue that with 4wd AND tyres you don't even need the extra clearance.....

Ahhhh but some might argue that with 4wd AND tyres you don't even need the extra clearance.....

There is of course that argument too.

Though within the context of this thread I think all the cars involved DO have the same ground clearance as it refers to Yetis!

But people are lowering theirs....... rofl.

Ahhhh but some might argue that with 4wd AND tyres you don't even need the extra clearance.....

And they might be right on fresh snow like that, but not if the snow is compacted and frozen. Last year the snow was so deep only a Jeep and a Land Rover could get off our estate. When we had to take our Audi A6 quattro out down the tracks that tehy had left, the frozen snow scraping under the car pulled on the exhausts and burst both the flexi-joints on the down pipes.

My experience of last winter (2010 - 2011) with my 2WD Yeti was the summer Dunlops were hopeless. It was humiliating having to be pushed up slopes by the general public, in a car that looks like a small SUV. Our previous Mazda had no problems in snowy conditions, so I believe these Dunlop tyres were a bad choice by Skoda.

After buying the winter tyres it transformed the Yeti, to the point of finding the limits of where I could drive. One sunday morning I drove the dogs to a rural wood in Northumberland, to reach the car park I had to drive up a farmers track covered in 3 inches of frozen snow, this track's gradient grew ever more steeper. The car managed no problems, even stopping halfway up it did move back very slightly. After getting out the car I nearly ended up on my back as it was sheet ice. Also driving in the right lane of snow covered dual carriages was an added bonus when everyone else was crawling along at 20mph. Shame we had no snow this year though.

I have criticised Skoda's choice of standard rubber on here before, totally unsuitable for a car like the Yeti - pointless in fact. I couldn't get up my drive 2 weeks ago on 4mm treaded Dunlops in my 4x4 Yeti - thankfully I've binned them now.

Julie makes a very valid point. We spent Christmas 2010 in Southport, there was a shedload of snow which had frozen and left a rock hard ridge along the middle of the road. The only cars that didn't have their undercarriage torn out trying to drive around for quite a few days were "high" 4x4s.

I felt quite smug in my Grand Vitara, was nice to be one of the very few people that made it down to the beach for a nice walk on Christmas Day.

Also had a fair bit of fun "helping" my mates get their cars out....

I think I'd still have a "proper" 4x4 if I could afford the running costs and live with the terrible road manners. The year before we had the police at the end of the dual carriageway turning everyone back (including pick-ups, etc.). The nice officer looked at my car at the time, glanced down at the Grabber AT2s, then looked back up at me and said "you can go, but leave me a business card in case we need some help over the next few days if you don't mind....."

Apologies for going a bit off-topic, I couldn't resist. :sun:

I felt quite smug in my Grand Vitara, was nice to be one of the very few people that made it down to the beach for a nice walk on Christmas Day.

Had one of those on an self-drive "safari" in Iceland a few years back. Very capable on the tracks and (volcanic ash) "roads" but didn't take it on any snow or ice. PS: Highly unorthodox and recommended vacation for anyone fancying some 4x4 driving!

My experience of last winter (2010 - 2011) with my 2WD Yeti was the summer Dunlops were hopeless. It was humiliating having to be pushed up slopes by the general public, in a car that looks like a small SUV. Our previous Mazda had no problems in snowy conditions, so I believe these Dunlop tyres were a bad choice by Skoda.

After buying the winter tyres it transformed the Yeti, to the point of finding the limits of where I could drive. One sunday morning I drove the dogs to a rural wood in Northumberland, to reach the car park I had to drive up a farmers track covered in 3 inches of frozen snow, this track's gradient grew ever more steeper. The car managed no problems, even stopping halfway up it did move back very slightly. After getting out the car I nearly ended up on my back as it was sheet ice. Also driving in the right lane of snow covered dual carriages was an added bonus when everyone else was crawling along at 20mph. Shame we had no snow this year though.

just wondering what sort/make of tyres did you put on your yeti

just wondering what sort/make of tyres did you put on your yeti

All year round rubber try the Goodyear Vector 4season or Nokian eNtyre; can vouch for the effectiveness of the Goodyear, albeit in a much smaller size, as my son uses them on his Fabia.

TP

Had one of those on an self-drive "safari" in Iceland a few years back. Very capable on the tracks and (volcanic ash) "roads" but didn't take it on any snow or ice. PS: Highly unorthodox and recommended vacation for anyone fancying some 4x4 driving!

I've actually spoken to the wife about doing this - our honeymoon was a week long drive over the Alps through Austria, Italy, France and Switzerland in a BMW 130i MSport. She's a very "tolerant" lady.

just wondering what sort/make of tyres did you put on your yeti

Falken HS-439 225/50 R17

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=60990992.110.31189&typ=D-110832&ranzahl=4&Breite=225&Quer=50&Felge=17&weiter=0&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=20&Transport=P&dsco=110&sowigan=Wi

When I purchased my Yeti in late January, I bought a set of new steel rims with Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 8 Tyres.

Great - bring on the snow. What has the weather been like since then? Thursday it was 17° here - I'll be changing back soon if it continues like this!

Peter