Is it time BMW cars were banned from the roads during snow?

Its not just BMWs. RWD Automatic cars are awful in snow. I have a Merc and its crap in snow, I used to have a Volvo that was crap. I had a Ford Scorpio and that was crap.

Thats it

Its not about people, its not brand specific

Fortunately we only have a few days a year of snow. For the remainder the RWD cars perform better than FWDs

The real argument is why to some buy 4x4s for these few days when they are useless for the other days.

I had a 4 x 4 til recently. I used it all year round, tearing up the countryside, shooting stuff and chucking it in the back, muddy dogs and runs to the tip.

130,000 on the clock and it even got cleaned out to take the caravan on holiday unfortunately I forgot to top the coolant up prior to towing back from cornwall and killed it.

Its not just BMWs. RWD Automatic cars are awful in snow. I have a Merc and its crap in snow, I used to have a Volvo that was crap. I had a Ford Scorpio and that was crap.

 

Thats it

 

Its not about people, its not brand specific

 

Fortunately we only have a few days a year of snow. For the remainder the RWD cars perform better than FWDs

They perform better in snow as well - you are not overloading the front wheels by asking them to steer as well as drive. I've always found RWD easier to drive than FWD for this reason. I think the problem (and I'm sure someone made this point already) is that people don;t know how to drive a RWD car, they try to drive it like a FWD and thats where the problem arises.

The massively wide tyres and large amount of torque and power just make mine significantly more difficult to drive in the snow. It can be impossible to set off, no matter how gentle you are, whereas the FWD manages to find traction.

There are many differences between the cars other than just RWD/FWD though.

They perform better in snow as well - you are not overloading the front wheels by asking them to steer as well as drive. I've always found RWD easier to drive than FWD for this reason. I think the problem (and I'm sure someone made this point already) is that people don;t know how to drive a RWD car, they try to drive it like a FWD and thats where the problem arises.

I must be a bad driver then. Ive had brand new Mercs and BMWs since 2005 and all have skidded very easily.

That brings back memories...

 

... it wasn't that long ago (70's probably?) that most cars had rear wheel drive, and had problems in snow.

 

... all except the good old Hillman Imp and the Mini (fwd) which both had the advantage of having the engine weight over the driving wheels.

 

I remember people of rwd cars regularly filling the boot with sand bags to help in snowy conditions...

I once put snow chains on my Renault 16 rear wheels .

That brings back memories...

 

... it wasn't that long ago (70's probably?) that most cars had rear wheel drive, and had problems in snow.

 

... all except the good old Hillman Imp and the Mini (fwd) which both had the advantage of having the engine weight over the driving wheels.

 

I remember people of rwd cars regularly filling the boot with sand bags to help in snowy conditions...

I had the Imp van, best vehicle in the snow, used to wrap toilet flush chains round the tyres, worked demolition at the time, can remember going past a landrover stuck in the snow at the end of South Road on the way up to Crookes, mind I did have five blokes in the back as ballast.

Oh look, someone with a bit of reverse snobbery on car brands is it...of course..it's snowing...

 

I got stuck a few times today because someone stopped and couldnt get going. There was an Audi, (quattro no less) a Vauxhall and a Ford. My BMW didn;t get stuck, generally doesn't have any problems. They don't have problems with them in Germany either, but then again RWD is always easier to drive in snow than FWD.

 

Oddly though, I don't want to ban the other cars. I just get a towrope out and give them a hand.

How does the range rover fayre?

I don't have a Range Rover.

I don't have a Range Rover.

Land rover?

I once put snow chains on my Renault 16 rear wheels .

Oh well done, you are to be congratulated:hihi::hihi:

---------- Post added 01-02-2015 at 08:02 ----------

Land rover?

Ditto, was asked yesterday to pull a van off an Ice covered road where other vehicles had tried and failed miserably, managed it no problem. Hail, the power of the green oval!

And for what it's worth my BMW goes away in September and then emerges from hibernation in March:)

---------- Post added 01-02-2015 at 08:04 ----------

I had a 4 x 4 til recently. I used it all year round, tearing up the countryside, shooting stuff and chucking it in the back, muddy dogs and runs to the tip.

130,000 on the clock and it even got cleaned out to take the caravan on holiday unfortunately I forgot to top the coolant up prior to towing back from cornwall and killed it.

I think it was the cleaning out that did it, you should know better:hihi:

Land rover?

I prefer the BMW unless there is so much snow the airdam catches.