Winter Driving

[Muddyell]

How good/bad are Mercedes in the winter? Particularly icy/snowy conditions? The reason I ask is BWM don't exactly have a great reputation when it comes to driving in the winter. Neither does any RWD car for that matter but how do Mercedes compare? I just don't want to get caught out in mine this winter as up until this year I have been lucky enough not to need to drive the car throughout winter or if the weather was really bad

 

[boxbrownie]

Now you've started it..........

 

[brucemillar]

My C55 was used in the Bambi on Ice scenes. Hilarious just trying to get out the car park. Now on SORN for winter.

Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK

 

[Chrishazle]

yep - we get back into the "winter wheels/tyres" debate!

Personal experience - S203 C270 was my first MB, totally useless when the white stuff arrived even though I had virtually new Falken 452's. Following winter I bought a set of wheels with winter tyres, had no problems when the white stuff arrived, but also car felt much better when it was very wet.

Now have the S204 C220 - with a set of winter wheels that I'm about to fit. Same as with the S203, car was fine through last winter, we did not get any snow but it felt better in the wet - and we had plenty of that!!

 

[MancMike]

I don't know, but put it in C mode, as it'll set off in second gear.

 

[Muddyell]

I'll have to look into winter tyres. I find that in the wet the MB ContiSport tyres aquaplane very easily and that's why I am dreading ice. Saying that though it could just be the car. Anyone else have this trouble with a W211 E320 CDI?

Oh yea, I am always set to 'C' as I am too tight to set to 'S'

 

[whitenemesis]

In my experience they get a fair amount of snow in Baden-Württemberg. Mercedes are very good for driving in snow. Just make sure you give the car's systems a fitting chance by fitting tyres designed for the conditions.

 

[grober]

WINTER TYRES--- no ifs, no buts---- no my Ferrari TestaRossa is fine if you are gentle on throttle and feed in the power gradually----- or I become Howard Hughes for the winter and never go out --- or last year was so warm I was sun bathing on the patio in December while the money I could have spent on winter tyres is earning me a tidy sum in the bank at 0.000005% interest --- sh*t. Go out and buy some while there's choice to had.

 

[MancMike]

Oh yea, I am always set to 'C' as I am too tight to set to 'S'

It's no better on fuel to set off in second. You're spinning the engine slower in second obviously, but you're asking more from it, too, so you'll use roughly the same.

 

[DSM10000]

How good/bad are Mercedes in the winter? Particularly icy/snowy conditions? The reason I ask is BWM don't exactly have a great reputation when it comes to driving in the winter. Neither does any RWD car for that matter but how do Mercedes compare? I just don't want to get caught out in mine this winter as up until this year I have been lucky enough not to need to drive the car throughout winter or if the weather was really bad

How good / bad / confiodent are you at driving to the conditions?

Not having a go at you at all but no car is bad or good, it is simply a matter of adapting your driving style accordingly. I have driven my C320 in heavy snow across the New Forest, local roads, motorways etc when we last had significant snow (admittedly with new tyres) and did not have a problem but I drove to the conditions i.e. slowly and with extra care.

Winter tyres have been debated over and over on here, just use the search function to read the threads if you have a spare day!

Look at you average local winter weather conditions, your need to be mobile and make a judgment as to what you feel you need to do.

 

[Peter T]

Zero snow here last winter so no problems.

Previous winter I used my 4x4 Hilux a lot. Not even worth thinking about moving the MB or the BMW.

Rather than spending money on winter wheels/tyres, why not buy a cheap AWD vehicle which could be sold in the spring?

 

[Ian_Mac]

Rather than spending money on winter wheels/tyres, why not buy a cheap AWD vehicle which could be sold in the spring?

With winter tyres fitted

 

[gIzzE]

C Class estate, 600km in just under 6 hours, both inside lanes covered, luckily in France anyone who couldn't get through pulled over so they didn't block the road for everyone else.....

 

[DSM10000]

Zero snow here last winter so no problems.

Previous winter I used my 4x4 Hilux a lot. Not even worth thinking about moving the MB or the BMW.

Rather than spending money on winter wheels/tyres, why not buy a cheap AWD vehicle which could be sold in the spring?

The problem with this is that a lot of people assume that having AWD makes them immune from the weather and physics and I think it is fair to say that a lot of people that own such vehicles do not completely understand how to fully utilise them and why should they?

Very few will have taken expert instruction in the best use of a AWD vehicle, especially those that may have manual settings for the differentials etc.

The sense of security they can falsely give often means that the person driving just gets to the scene of the accident a little faster.

Some years ago I helped a very tearful lady out of her Freelander that was buried nose deep in a hedge at the bottom of a steep, snow covered hill.

She kept repeating "Why did I crash? I have a 4x4."

 

[gIzzE]

I offered to put someone up the hill in the snow year before last, he was in a Q7 and I was in my 123d.

He must of thought I was taking the urine as he growled at me "Oh just **** Off!!!".

So I did, right passed him up the top of the hill, where I got out and took some pics of the snow covered land down to the coast, he jumped our raging, obviously thinking I was taking the piss even more.

 

[Mr Kripling]

After getting caught in my Passat in London two years ago with summer tyres on while the winter ones were in Sussex I found that in the snow AWD will usually get you going quite happily. Braking, however, registered a full 9.5 on the sphincter factor. I eventually got to the winter tyres but only after driving like an undertaker...

Harry

 

[Rustrust]

driving in snow is not that difficult, front drive, rear drive, all drive, if you are gentle with the car you will be fine.

 

[Peter T]

The problem with this is that a lot of people assume that having AWD makes them immune from the weather and physics and I think it is fair to say that a lot of people that own such vehicles do not completely understand how to fully utilise them and why should they?

Very few will have taken expert instruction in the best use of a AWD vehicle, especially those that may have manual settings for the differentials etc.

The sense of security they can falsely give often means that the person driving just gets to the scene of the accident a little faster.

Some years ago I helped a very tearful lady out of her Freelander that was buried nose deep in a hedge at the bottom of a steep, snow covered hill.

She kept repeating "Why did I crash? I have a 4x4."

You're probably right. There's no substitute for common sense!

However, provided the driving is approached with a modicum of common sense, AWD can mean the difference between completing a journey and getting stuck.

My Hilux is completely undrivable in the snow in 2WD. It will pirouette around like prima ballerina. Stick it in 4WD and it behaves impeccably. It easily accelerates up any of the hills round here.

Yes I know it's very slippery and I don't push my luck, but it means I can still get around in conditions where my other cars wouldn't be able to get off the drive!

 

[prprandall51]

I put about 200Kg of weight in the boot (usually bags of sand or cement) and that helps enormously. Drove everywhere a couple of years ago when the whole of the South East was snowed in without any problems.

 

[Meldrew2]

You would think that this vehicle would have had the right wheels / tyres…