Hi All,

 

I am new to this forum and have been reading it for some time, nice to meet you all.

 

I was hoping to get some advice as I am considering purchasing a Octavia Estate 1.6TDI. I will be moving to a part of the country that is likely to get plenty of snow come winter time. Whatever version Octavia I go for (4wd or 2wd) I will be fitting winter tyres however I was curious if I would see a massive difference over the 4wd with winter tyres than the 2wd?

Myself and my wife will be driving the car on a lot of untreated B Roads so needless to say we would be looking for something that would be suited to these conditions. I am just unsure if the extra £1400 for the 4wd is worth it.

 

Also, whilst im on the subject of this would I notice a big difference with the MPG figures if I went for a 4wd (as above most of my driving will be on quiet B Roads with limited time spent in town).

 

Thanks very much in advance.

 

 

4wd is more fun in the snow...

I had a 2wd mkI octy and now have a mkII 4x4. I would say with winter tyres you won't see a massive difference normally.

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4x4 on a normal road car is good all year round. You'll lose about 10% mpg against a 2wd equivalent. Winters will still be a benefit for stopping and steering.

For inclement weather the 4x4's better traction helps mostly on ascents and in providing more predictable handling.

Lastly you'll get more even tyre wear over fwd.

Whether it's worth the extra is really a personal choice if you don't need it for something like towing etc.

cheers, Steve

Having owned both fwd and awd Octavias there is absolutely no comparison. The superior off the line traction, lateral grip and high speed stability easy wins over the minor additional running costs. My current awd Yeti runs winter tyres and its noticeably better than fwd with winter rubber and has never really been too challenged during winter time when in Germany, Austria and Switzerland so far.

I previously owned a V6 Passat AWD and live in a hilly area that gets significantly more than the usual amount of snow. Admittedly I never fitted winter tyres to it but frankly with the AWD was a waste of time in the snow and for the 2 weeks or so a year that the roads were bad I just left the car in the drive and walked. If you *really* must go out I think you'd be better off with a set of chains. Certainly the Freelander that was on our street a couple of years ago needed a push to get up the hill whereas my 2WD Mondeo got up with no assistance - go figure.

 

And for the idiots in AWDs who drive up your a*se when the roads are covered in snow, as soon as you put the brakes on in your AWD you are just the same as me in a 2WD - a toboggan.

Edited 6 October, 201411 yr by vrsalan

Thanks you very much for all the replies so far they have helped a lot, much appreciated.

Welcome to Briskoda.

 

With winter tyres the 4x4 is the difference between needing a push on 2wd or the 4wd doing the push. One you hit the brakes there is no difference anyway.

 

£1,800 is a lot and 10% extra fuel costs so maybe £ 2k extra?

 

Depends where you are. If you are getting that much snow then ground clearance becomes an issue in an octy.

 

A pair of £ 30 snow socks will get you going as much as the 4x4 if you don't mind a minor inconvenience.

Welcome to Briskoda.

 

 

A pair of £ 30 snow socks will get you going as much as the 4x4 if you don't mind a minor inconvenience.

But don't chains and snow socks have to be take on and off every time you hit cleared roads and again once onto snow covered back roads?

Didn't have the chance to try in snow, but even on clean and more or less grippy tamrac, and on highway, too, there is a huge difference as Yeti_Man described.

 

Great grip, traction and overall security, IMHO.

I think the fact that the 4x4 has different rear suspension (certainly on the mkII) to the FWD cars makes a noticeable difference.

But don't chains and snow socks have to be take on and off every time you hit cleared roads and again once onto snow covered back roads?

 

Yes hence my inconvenience comment.

 

Depends on your roads and what £ 2K is worth to you.

 

My wife with the kids drives a 4x4 with winters

My 2wd Octy has winters + socks

 

Never had to fit the socks yet but no nagging and piece of mind worth the extra outlay on the 4x4

Once you add power halfway through a corner in a 4wd car compared to a 2wd, there is no going back.........

 

I got my Scout originally for off road reasons, but found that I really enjoyed the extra road holding for chewing up B-roads in a way not expected of an unassuming Estate car. (A formula improved with the lighter, tighter, slightly more powerful O3 I have now).

 

Made it a no-brainer when it came to replacement. 13k miles in and the mpg is already better than the Scout (averaging 45-50mpg without trying, easily 55mpg+ if dawdling at 50mph behind traffic), so the mpg question probably depends on where you're coming from. (I would expect the 1.6 to be even better than the 2.0).

 

Chuck on a set of winters and you will be unstoppable in all but the worst/deepest of snow, and if you are moving somewhere remote then you can't necessarily sit back, have a cup of tea, and wait till it's all blown over!

 

Also bear in mind that 4x4 versions historically have held their value better, so depending how you pay for it and what you expect out the end of your ownership, it isn't necessarily 'just' an extra cost in the grand scheme of things. If it's itching you to go 4x4, I say do it, the Octy 4x4 is about as compromise-free a way of scratching that automotive itch; but I'm bias!

 

Niall

 

Oh, I'd probably spec the Rough Road Pack too for good measure....

 

Edit: Just noticed this is my 500th post - Gulp!

Edited 6 October, 201411 yr by Niall

The mkII 2L 4x4 is also slightly faster to 60 than the Scout. Obviously all the fisher price bits slow it down.

I used to live in northern Minnesota where we can have snow from Oct-Apr. The vast majority of the time I had 2wd (and all-season tyres) and never had to give up on a trip because of the weather. A few times a year I would have to do some shovelling, but I figured a few hours inconvenience every year was worth not paying twice as much for fuel (in the truck-based 4x4s most people insist are a necessity) the rest of the time. I used to take the heavy FWD Chevy Impala work car into snowstorms instead of the Jeep Grand Cherokee because it was far more stable on ice.

That said, a car-based AWD system would have made things easier without seriously hurting fuel economy, and I probably would have bought a Subaru if they weren't so expensive secondhand.

Anyhow, unless you're dealing with snow that is frequently deeper than the bottom of your car, 2wd + winter tyres are enough. Deeper snow or icy hills may make AWD worth it, especially if you're not accustomed to driving in snow and ice.

I previously owned a V6 Passat AWD and live in a hilly area that gets significantly more than the usual amount of snow. Admittedly I never fitted winter tyres to it but frankly with the AWD was a waste of time in the snow and for the 2 weeks or so a year that the roads were bad I just left the car in the drive and walked. If you *really* must go out I think you'd be better off with a set of chains.

 

And for the idiots in AWDs who drive up your a*se when the roads are covered in snow, as soon as you put the brakes on in your AWD you are just the same as me in a 2WD - a toboggan.

Living in Germany I have spent many a time in a Snow White Bavaria / Austria driving up to various ski resorts, & have experienced both sides of the winter tyre coin. I had a 2WD mk5 Golf on summer tyres & seriously struggled to get to the bottom of the ski lifts each and every morning. While I struggled, the locals would whizz past at normal speed with annoyed looks on their faces.

I returned years later as a passenger in a 4WD VW T4 (on summers) and experienced more of the same except on the better cleared roads. Last year I drove a hired 2WD OPEL van with 9 passengers (on winters this time) and barely noticed the slippery conditions.

If the OP reckons he will regularly experience snowy/slippery conditions on untreated roads, then spec 4WD & fit midrange up winter tyres. The only hing stopping you then will be the stationary t**ts in SUV's running 22" summer tyres!

One thing my quoted ousted was indeed right about is when it comes to stopping in slippery conditions. Winter tyres will significantly reduce your stopping distances and that IMHO is all that matters! If you can't drive anywhere because it is too slippery even for winters, no-one gets hurt, however when a couple of metres is all that stands between you wiping out a bus shelter or not, 4WD & winters are well worth the extra outlay.

One thing my quoted ousted was indeed right about is when it comes to stopping in slippery conditions. Winter tyres will significantly reduce your stopping distances and that IMHO is all that matters! If you can't drive anywhere because it is too slippery even for winters, no-one gets hurt, however when a couple of metres is all that stands between you wiping out a bus shelter or not, 4WD & winters are well worth the extra outlay.

I still think winter tyres probably aren't worth the expense for most people here in the UK - if there's snow on the road for more than 3-4 days it's unusual and main roads are ploughed and gritted pretty quickly. I hadn't heard of snow boots before, they seem ideal for using on the road up to my house until it gets ploughed. The real problem is often the same AWD a*rsholes on summer tyres that tailgate in the snow - the A628 Woodhead Pass near me had "Road Closed" signs on it as soon as it was impassible but they'd still try to drive up it, get stuck and then abandon their cars. That in turn meant that the ploughs couldn't get through until the cars were cleared, which required digging them out by hand.  Result: instead of being closed for 6-12 hours it was 2-4 days. In the end the Highways Agency got fed up of people driving round the "Road Closed" signs and put bloody great steel gates in so they could physically block the road.

 

Snow gates to be installed on exposed A628 Woodhead Pass

I live in the sticks, if it snows, I stay home. It's safer by far, especially with the other idiots around, that and my neighbour has a l&k yeti 4wd which I can drive!

I agree with the above two statements, you can either stay at home or venture ou when it's snowy, just don't expect your summer hoofed Chelsea tractor to get you up a gentle incline safely or at all!

The OP should watch the following clip;

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/66692/winter-tyres-4x4-grip-test-video

In it Autoexpress proves without doubt that Winter tyres are worth their salt. If the link doesn't work then Google "Autoexpress Winter tyre test Kuga" and watch the video. The only thing he has to do is decide if he can afford the extra cost of speccing 4x4 and if he reckons the weather will every be as bad as that snow dome.

I for one will always have a set of winter boots fitted from late Oct through to April, be it here in Germany where it is law or in the UK where it isn't. To me it makes sense.

It doesn't have to be snowing, winter tyres are designed to work best in temperatures 7deg and below, so even on very cold, wet winter days, they can be of great benefit.

Having driven both 2wd and 4wd Octavia 150 estates in Elegance trim both with17" wheels, I was very agreeably surprised by the improvement in ride comfort and lack of suspension noise of the 4x4 compared to the 2wd. That alone would encourage me to get the 4x4 if I were doing lots of journeys on non-motorway routes

Having driven both 2wd and 4wd Octavia 150 estates in Elegance trim both with17" wheels, I was very agreeably surprised by the improvement in ride comfort and lack of suspension noise of the 4x4 compared to the 2wd. That alone would encourage me to get the 4x4 if I were doing lots of journeys on non-motorway routes

 

Also, no wheel spinning or torque steer issues with the 4wd version Love that I can plant my foot from a standstill and it will always shoot off like a rocket even in the wet!

100% agreed Shermo. I really love this advantage of the 4WD :thumbup:

Edited 9 October, 201411 yr by Genoa1893

It doesn't have to be snowing, winter tyres are designed to work best in temperatures 7deg and below, so even on very cold, wet winter days, they can be of great benefit.

 

and it's already below those temps most mornings. 3 degrees this morning. TIme to change my tyres over

I live in northern Norway, driving in winter conditions between October and April.  After driving 2WDs for almost 30 years I got an Octy 4WD last year.

I can't really say I've had problems driving a 2WD, but a 4WD gives you another kind of confidence on slippery roads.

You can of course use the extra traction to speed up and drive faster as some do,  but for me the great thing is quite the opposite:

 

You don't have to keep up speed to keep momentum up hills and through curves.  Instead you can relax and drive more careful.

Quite useful if you have dark roads with high snow banks and a lot of black-clad pedestrians!

 

Another thing is as Shermo mentioned that when you enter a road you will be able to zoom into an opening in traffic that you would not have dared in a 2WD.

I also live in Norway and did go for 4x4 octavia 9 years ago. Now I am awaiting my new 4x4 Octavia next week. Never looked back

UltimaThule: as in Ultima Thule BBS?

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