The SLK is possibly the worst car in the world in snow. On Thursday there was 3” of snow in London. The council has decided to save money by not gritting the roads so conditions were very difficult. But they weren’t conditions that would trouble most cars. The SLK, however, was completely useless. I know the recommendation is that you have a set of winter tyres, but I hadn’t realised exactly how bad the SLK was in snow – and this was only a small amount of snow. I was trying to drive up Barnet hill, and everybody else seemed to be doing OK but the SLK couldn't get further than the slight incline before the main hill. I eventually had to spin it round, drive back down the hill and along the A1. I then had serious difficulty getting up the slip road. (And I do know all the tricks, like being gentle with the clutch, trying second gear etc. I wasn't using high revs).
I guess there are several reasons for its lack of traction. The wide wheels and high speed rated tyres are part of the problem. Narrow wheels and soft rubber works better. The front engine and rear wheel drive doesn’t help either. But the real killer is the effing ESP. If I’ve got a switch on the dash which is meant to turn ESP off, then that’s what I want it to do. OFF should be OFF. But with nanny Mercedes, not content with shining a 100 watt light in your face, OFF is not OFF. It’s off until it decides it knows better and turns it back on again and then starts beeping continuously. So you end up in a situation where you have the clutch out, the car in gear, the engine turning over and the bleeding wheels aren’t even turning. This is ludicrous.
I posted this on the American web-site and the general reaction is that you either have to buy a set of winter tyres or you have to change the OEM tyres for all weather tyres - or you leave it in the garage when the temperature goes below 4C. But I've never had to do this on any other car I've owned (FWD hatches, MR2, numerous MGBs). Anyone got any views?
I guess there are several reasons for its lack of traction. The wide wheels and high speed rated tyres are part of the problem. Narrow wheels and soft rubber works better. The front engine and rear wheel drive doesn’t help either. But the real killer is the effing ESP. If I’ve got a switch on the dash which is meant to turn ESP off, then that’s what I want it to do. OFF should be OFF. But with nanny Mercedes, not content with shining a 100 watt light in your face, OFF is not OFF. It’s off until it decides it knows better and turns it back on again and then starts beeping continuously. So you end up in a situation where you have the clutch out, the car in gear, the engine turning over and the bleeding wheels aren’t even turning. This is ludicrous.
I posted this on the American web-site and the general reaction is that you either have to buy a set of winter tyres or you have to change the OEM tyres for all weather tyres - or you leave it in the garage when the temperature goes below 4C. But I've never had to do this on any other car I've owned (FWD hatches, MR2, numerous MGBs). Anyone got any views?
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