Do you have a car GOOD IN SNOW/HIGH WINDS?

[Heated]

Current 2nd car is a reliable workhorse (dh 'gifted' me his Mondeo) but is rubbish in snow, even with grip tyres, and is easily buffeted in high winds. Last winter when it snowed it didn't make hills that other cars were doing comfortably & it's a nervy drive in icy conditions. On the positive side I do know how to correct a skid!

We're looking to replace it with a 2nd hand car that takes 3 children. We've looked at:

Volvo V70 estate
Volkswagon Touran estate
Peugeot 307 estate
Ford Galaxy
Honda FRV
Renault Grand Scenic Estate

Are any of these good or should we be considering something else? Budget-wise going to be about 10k.

Ok, you've all got snowploughs

landrover?

My car is rubbish in the snow but that is because of the tyres. My mate's ford focus put mine to shame in the snow last Feb

we have a vw passat estate that is 4wd, so good grip, v sturdy and quite nice too! It cost us about 10k 2 yrs old

My Zafira is rubbish in high winds, we got blown all over the place a couple of weeks ago.
Never driven it in snow, not had it long enough. I have no intention of driving it in the snow either!

I think you need to avoid cars with rear wheel drives (Mercs, BMWs ??) as they have difficulty moving in snow.
I've seen big cars like that struggle on small slopes in snow/ice whilst I have sailed along in my base model Clio.
4wd would be the best if you live in a hilly area with frequest snow/ice.

Volvo V70s are very good. I have a Jeep Cherokee (that runs on lpg before you anti-4x4-ers start having a go - less emissions than a tiny car!) which is fab and I'd highly recommend them; it goes anywhere, is the most comfortable vehicle ever, has every creature comfort, not expensive to run on lpg, loads of space, and the only disadvantage is that parts are quite expensive compared to a European vehicle.

Best car I ever had for this was a mini 1275
It was so low an the tyres quite wide and wide apart really hugged the road.

Thank you! Will add Jeep Cherokee (lpg model) to the list and like you Pixie, dh thought Volvo, but then got a bit stuck for ideas.

Landrover Freelander might be in our price range - will it take 3 children? Anything else by Landrover will be too ££ and, I suspect, a gas guzzler.

Also off the list are Citroen and Chrysler Grand Voyager which didn't make the hills/corner either.

A stretch Mini might do the job

I love my V70 estate. I really do. We're never selling it, I'm going to find it a rest home when eventually gives up the ghost. And if you get one with a special winter pack, it comes with a special setting for snow, which was perfect last feb.

Why do you love your Volvo so much?

Because, its roomy, we've never had a problem with it, it can get a poke on if we need it to, and when some moron slammed into the back of me in his large white van, you could hardly see the damage. In a smaller car, I think dcs and I would have been toast.

And in the snow, it was great. I just feel very safe in it. I would say though, DH is always complaining that it does eat through tyres, which are not cheap.

Aargh, just typed a really long post and pc crashed. Will try again. Mentioned to DH topic and have just been subjected to an lecture which car you should get whilst PC rebooted.

I would totally recommend getting a second set of wheels and putting snow tyres on them. Having lived on the continent where everyone uses them and in many places they are obligatory they turn ANY car into a car that you can drive in the snow.

My last car was a BMW 5 series, rear wheel drive, useless in snow without them. DH swears by this site for tyre info. We bought tyres online from Germany (best price avail), got a set of wheels off ebay and then paid the local tyre shop a tenner to fit and balance them. Soooooo worth it, esp. when there was snow here or we went to the Alps (pre-kids ).

If you're looking to replace your vehicle any way DH insists the best choice would be a Audi with Quattro or Volkswagen with 4-Motion plus winter tyres from Nov-March. With 3 kids I'd go for an A6 estate (what I now drive with 3 DCs under 5) or Passat estate. His comment was you want the smallest car possible that you can still fit the family in and avoid anything with high sides e.g. Touran or a 4x4 "Chelsea tractor". He went to great lengths to explain that the Audi/VW Quattro/4-Motion 4 wheel drive system is not actually 4x4WD all the time. Basically it drives in 2x4WD unless the driving wheels slip when it automatically engages the 4x4. Apparently that also helps with it not "eating" through tyres as most regular 4x4WD cars do. I've even got a sketch here that he drew to explain how it works!

Fwiw I'd avoid the Volvo V70. IL's have one and I hate the way it drives, sloppy IME and car seats are a nightmare as you can't move the back row head rests which makes high back boosters impossible to fit safely. MIL even went to the local Volvo stealership who couldn't even manage to fit the seats in a safe manner!

Oops, that was a bit long, can you tell DH is a car nut!

Oh, and I don't care about this, but DH always gets excited - sometimes i get 75MPG!!

75MPG!!!

Our high back booster seats are safe and fit fine in the back of our V70, and I think we've done the crash test dummy test for real

swissmiss our passat is the 4motion your dh mentioned, my dh is a car nut too

SBG - can I ask what seats you have? I hate the kids travelling with MIL as they just don't seem safe. Glad to hear you were all ok after being rear-ended. I still don't like the drive but that's just personal preference

My DH is the same about what MPG he can get! I just don't get it but then again I drive on chip fat so fuel cost isn't the biggest issue for me.

ducky - nice to hear i'm not alone!

They aren't the ones I wanted to buy, which were the maxi cosi ones, I think they are the britax ones. They are plugged into the back with whatever that system is called where they hitch on to the rail behind the seat (IYSWIM), which certainly helps their stability.

I do know what you mean re the Audi Quattro system. DH has a TT with this and it does feel like its on rails when it goes round a corner. Completely useless as a family car though

BTW we got the britax ones because of the fit (and obviously hours of research.. ) rather than any of the others.

SBG - Guess you mean the Isofix system??? My car's too old for that. The maxi cosi rodis are what i've got plus a britax evolva 123 which also doesn't fit well enough but none are Isofix.

Do I need to start a Widows of Car Nuts support thread!?!?

Sorry for the hijack Heated

We have a Volvo XC70 - and we love her.

She's robust and big enough for everything we've tried to put insider her.

She hoists up her skirt and runs when we need speed.

She's 4 wheel drive with increased ground clearance which is just brilliant for where we live (deep, dark isolated country with no normal road surface) and for snow and ice and she doesn't seem to notice wind buffeting.

She's also v comfy with leather heated seats (front and rear), tv, a picnic table and integrated booster seats. Lovely for long journeys - and we've not had a problem fitting child seats (so far!)

We call her Bertha.

I'm obviously the one who made a fuss about not being able to believe a volvo doesn't have isofix, sat in the volvo dealership waiting my turn for them to fit isofix in the car, only to be met (eventually) with quizzical expressions as they found the car already had it. Oh yes, I know all about isofix.