Typically for the first time in a decade I have no 4x4. Here in South Cheshire / North Shropshire we have an unusually large amount of snow for us (c. 4 inches and getting deeper). I live in a rural area with a couple of miles of lane to use until I reach a main road.

 

I need to go out tomorrow in the Superb - standard 2WD 150 diesel estate with just me in it, sitting on the standard Contisport tyres. Do I have any hope of getting beyond the end of my drive? Any tips? Anyone much experience of rowing the boat through snow with a very light back end and two wheel drive?

 

I fear I'll be calling my local farmer to tow me out..... 

 

 

Depends on your driving ability really.

 

We have a steep hill by us where 4x4s regularly get stuck if we have any snow, I have yet to have trouble on the hill with 2WD and std all season tyres, read the road well in advance, keep moving and keep a safe distance from the car in front is my recommendation..... oh and buy some winter tyres!

I've just been out in my 2.0 220 dsg and it is driveable but you need a light righr foot. The dsg wasn't very good though, no snow mode and it wouldn't let me pull away in second or third gear in manual mode which seems odd.

Edited 10 December, 20178 yr by Gus755

If everyone else is driving on the roads in cars etc, delivery vans from Tesco / Asda / Sainsbury/ Royal Mail / Busses etc you will be fine because the roads will be ploughed of snow and have been gritted.

Only your own driveway to clear then and stay off roads with un-ploughed or deep snowy roads.

 

Same as on any deep snowy day or night.

Edited 10 December, 20178 yr by AwaoffSki

2 hours ago, Gus755 said:

I've just been out in my 2.0 220 dsg and it is driveable but you need a light righr foot. The dsg wasn't very good though, no snow mode and it wouldn't let me pull away in second or third gear in manual mode which seems odd.

 

That’s annoying!  I would have expected it to be possible to at least part disable the DSC!  I haven’t been out in mine yet and I have winter tyres fitted.  Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your viewpoint) we have a gritting station nearby so our roads have been gritted out to the main route (A1).

3 minutes ago, FelisBengalensis said:

 

we have a gritting station nearby so our roads have been gritted out to the main route (A1).

 

I was travelling North on the A1 the other day, there was a gritter in the Middle lane South bound. It was going that fast it was gritting the North bound side as well.

It was like driving in a sand storm.................

They were late for tea break then.......

2 hours ago, Gus755 said:

I've just been out in my 2.0 220 dsg and it is driveable but you need a light righr foot. The dsg wasn't very good though, no snow mode and it wouldn't let me pull away in second or third gear in manual mode which seems odd.

 

No snow mode? Just put it in S, am I right?  In all seriousness just drive as normal but with a light right foot. If you really can’t get moving then disable TC or put it into sport (single press or long press respectively). Just make sure to enable it again as soon as you’re underway! 

 

My mk2 1.9 handled one of our worst winters in decades with aplomb on standard tyres. I only got stuck once, ironically six feet from my driveway after a 200 mile run through deep snow. A kindly neighbour pushed me back to the drive and it was fine thereafter. I’ve just paid for Michelin CrossClimate + for our mk3 as it has more power and less weight. 

That was handy. A retired police advanced driving instructor and examiner I know has just uploaded a UK winter weather driving video, as part of his YouTube advanced driving series. Some of you may like to check it out:

 

Link. 

^^^ So he will never of had a Skoda.

Warm water on windows if temp says below freezing for all day or several, frozen block of ice in the Air Intake under the windscreen, door locks and in the doors not draining out the seals.

& remember and take a flask of warm water to clear screen a little down the road, and to get the doors open later when frozen closed.

 

?

Is he an advanced driver?  Suggest he gets that soft snow brushed off the bonnet, and out of the air intake at the scuttle panel.

Edited 10 December, 20178 yr by AwaoffSki

Ermm most cars pretty useless in the snow.

 

Turn off TC (as someone mentioned) and overinflate your tyres as to reduced the snow squashing footprint of the tyre. This will help your tyre to cut through the snow.

 

Most importantly...slow down and leave bigger gaps between cars.

1 minute ago, AwaoffSki said:

^^^ So he will never of had a Skoda.

Warm water on windows if temp says below freezing for all day or several, frozen block of ice in the Air Intake under the windscreen, door locks and in the doors not draining out the seals.

& remember and take a flask of warm water to clear screen a little down the road, and to get the doors open later when frozen closed.

 

I’ve used the temperate water trick on Skoda every year since 2010 (including our worst winter since forever) and never had an issue. It rolls off and dries fully once you’re moving unless you use a bucket full and let it stand. Isopropyl alcohol in water 2:1 works well too. 

Most cars pretty good in the snow, especially small light ones with narrow tyres any time after cars stopped having cross ply tyres.

Even some that did have cross ply.

55 bhp etc were in the Monte Carlo rally.    Skoda even use 'Monte Carlo' as a name for Sporty stickers and some not powerful car.

Warm water does fine not in temps staying below 0*oC,  maybe for 7 days and nights.  Like some of the UK gets.  

 

Advanced drivers are sometimes aware of all the gear and are lacking a real idea.

 

Go pour warm water in some of these locations, now, and see how things are later on.

http://trafficscotland.com/weatherstations

Edited 10 December, 20178 yr by AwaoffSki

4 minutes ago, AwaoffSki said:

Warm water does fine not in temps staying below 0*oC,  maybe for 7 days and nights.  Like some of the UK gets.  

 

Advanced drivers are sometimes aware of all the gear and are lacking a real idea.

 

Go pour warm water in some of these locations, now, and see how things are later on.

http://trafficscotland.com/weatherstations

 

Not an accusation you could level at Reg, tbf. As well as teaching and examining for the UK police and RoSPA, he also does a lot of driving and teaching in mother Russia. Suffice to say he knows a thing or two about properly cold weather driving.  

He never cleared the bonnet, really because the road was wet because thawing, not because of the salt down.

 

He will not have some new safety braking system likely where when he puts his brakes on and the snow slides forward it will put the brakes on quite likely.

 

Mother Russia and many places are very cold, sadly driving in wet and ice in the UK is often not as nice or fun,

people do not clear loose snow off their cars with a soft broom or such.

Snowsocks have been wonderful today! 

I got stuck on a mild hill this morning in rural Suffolk (Superb 1.4 petrol150 bhp) because I forgot to turn the esc control off. Once deactivated it was fine.

Took my wife to work this  morning and we had approx. 4 - 5 inches of snow around Wellingborough/Rushden area. Car coped fine as long as TC was switch off (2.0 150hp TDI).

 

 

 

Put some of these in your boot, they work fine.

 

Thanks folks, we'll see how we get on. Wish I had time to order some snow socks or similar. Thankfully I'm a light right-foot driver anyway, and it's a manual so I can choose my gearing wisely. I know my local farmer well, so can call for towing help if necessary!

 

10 hours ago, AwaoffSki said:

Only your own driveway to clear then and stay off roads with un-ploughed or deep snowy roads.

 

Same as on any deep snowy day or night.

 

Not really in my case - as per my original post I have a couple of miles of scarcely passed, ungritted country lane to get through before I reach the main road. 

 

8 hours ago, Rainmaker said:

That was handy. A retired police advanced driving instructor and examiner I know has just uploaded a UK winter weather driving video, as part of his YouTube advanced driving series. Some of you may like to check it out:

 

Link. 

 

I'll take a look - cheers....

Shame that Farmers and others do not clear roads for others in your area, do the Local Authority not Contract and pay them to do so?

I picked up my 66 plate Superb (2.0 150 TDI SE-L Exec) on Thursday, and it went straight to my tyre fitter for a full set of Pirelli Sottozero winter tyres on. I've done a few hundred miles already in some pretty hefty snowy conditions - cannot fault them at all. They grip REALLY well. Can't comment on how they affect the fuel economy as I've done about 5 miles on the summers that the car came with, but I'm averaging 52mpg over 300 or so miles with a mix of motorway, town and country roads. 

 

Fully aware though that my neighbour's 58 plate Superb was absolutely useless on summers in the snow, which made me dubious about having a newer one with 18s on it, but I reckon it's performing better than the 2012 Avensis I had which also had winters on it.

I got to use my fuel flap ice scraper for the first time this afternoon to take an inch of snow off my windows in south London. The panorama sky view window was a bit pointless, however. Standard Pirelli P7s coped fine with a bit of slush and ice. I hope that's it for the winter, though. Bah, humbug!

19 hours ago, AwaoffSki said:

He never cleared the bonnet, really because the road was wet because thawing, not because of the salt down.

 

He will not have some new safety braking system likely where when he puts his brakes on and the snow slides forward it will put the brakes on quite likely.

 

Mother Russia and many places are very cold, sadly driving in wet and ice in the UK is often not as nice or fun,

people do not clear loose snow off their cars with a soft broom or such.

 

That clip is really good. Great amount of good advice for us all. (including comments on fog lamps etc)

 

The main point is Think when you drive as conditions change!

 

However :-

He did not clear the bonnet which will flow into the windscreen, at speed, when released from bonnet, temporarily blocking view

He did not clear the scuttle vent, required for air con to work properly,

He did not pass the cyclist by a full lane as stated but was sufficient,

He did not look in his mirrors every 6 seconds, as I was taught,

He passed parked cars on left while other cars were parked to his right and a car was going the opposite way therefore all 4 cars were in line across the road.  He should have slowed to allow the other car through before proceeding

 

However he was in control at all times, aware of all around and in front, drove with consideration, was aware of changing conditions 

 

All in an an excellent and realistic drive showing you cannot adhere to theory ALL the time.  Probably reflective of most drivers

 

PS one thing fundamentally wrong! he was driving a BMW