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I'm a week behind on this... vacation and driving thru storms have kept me busy.
I'm sure someone has mentioned already about what occured on the last Car Talk program. Basically Click and Clack stated that the MINI doesn't handle winter well. And while they suggested that the caller would be happy with a MINI, they should also invest in a winter car too.
Those of us who drive in winter conditions can attest to the MINI's great handling in all seasons. I myself just went through a nasty nor'easter in the mountains of Vermont with bald tires without an accident (I saw many cars off the road as well, and a few I will never forgot...) I've also related a story or two about how amazing the MINI is to drive with good tires on in the winter.
So here's the deal. Lets unleash an email jihad on Tom and Ray (you know they'd get a kick out of it) and see if we can get an on air apology to MINIs everywhere (especially in the snowy locations).
The snow is not too deep
And if you have dedicated snow tires.
Or if you live in Hawaii
Hey, I drove a chevette with cheap all season tires for 5 years in the Chicago winters without knowing any better. :impatient
My current MINI with about 2" of ground clearance would serve as a MINI snow plow if I lived in a snow bound area. Maybe I would not need to shovel my driveway- just drive it back and forth once each hour.
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#43 Street Modified (SM) Class SCCA Hawaii Region
2005-2009 Solo Run Off and Points Champion (Hawaii)(2nd 2006 Points)
2005-2008 Overall PAX: 8th 2006, 7th 2007, Tied 10th 2008.
2010-2011 Modified FWD RallyCross (Points Champion) http://www.sccahawaii.org/pics2008/s.../img_38944.jpg
Yeah, I should mention (and I did to Tom and Ray) that I live at the base of the Tug Hill Plateau, and regularly drive into the Adirondacks all year long.
I start winter on my all seasons and switch to Blizzaks... however I do have more than 2 inches of clearance!
I emailed. Told them to come here and learn something before they start rinning around telling people the wrong info. Told 'em to look for posts about winter driving and especially listen to Lot15!
MCS with all season... no problem thru winter in Wisconsin.
I think nothing cannot handle the winter, it is all up to the driver. Probably they can't handle the snow, not the car itself.
Maybe a little off the topic - No snow here in Guatemala.
However, I had a '87 Accord in Costa Rica when that was a new car. Anyway the thing hydroplanned like mad even with good tires.
I kind of assumed that I would have a similar problem with the MINI since it is a much lighter car. However, I have yet get it to hydroplane and believe me with Hurricane Stan we've had some serious water on the road.
Has anyone hydroplanned their MINI? If so, what were the conditions?
Saludos
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Avispón Verde - Green Hornet
2005 MCS BRG/W Premium & Sport but 16" wheels, ChronoPak, MINI alarm, HK audio & iPod adapter
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"If you sleep in the bunkhouse, you ride for the brand."
Maybe a little off the topic - No snow here in Guatemala.
However, I had a '87 Accord in Costa Rica when that was a new car. Anyway the thing hydroplanned like mad even with good tires.
I kind of assumed that I would have a similar problem with the MINI since it is a much lighter car. However, I have yet get it to hydroplane and believe me with Hurricane Stan we've had some serious water on the road.
Has anyone hydroplanned their MINI? If so, what were the conditions?
Saludos
Believe it or not, the MINI actually weighs almost exactly the same as an '87 Accord (I used to own one), or even a bit heavier for an S or a cabrio! And yes, it handles much better on wet roads.
__________________ "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy." - Tom Waits
I had a '87 Accord in Costa Rica when that was a new car. Anyway the thing hydroplanned like mad even with good tires.
I had a Miata in Panama, and it too hydroplaned when the rains came down hard. I think it was more a product of poor road construction than the vehicle, as the roads oftentimes pooled water rather than dispersed it. Best vehicle I ever had in Central America was my 1985 Toyota 4Runner. Had it in Guatemala and Panama (sold it to a dentist in Bocas del Toro back in 1995). Great vehicle for the area. I put more than 100k miles on it in about a decade there.
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BLUBELLE - 9/02 production 2003 MCS IB /W 1,2,3 pkgs, Lapis blue interior, Chrome Trim, Magnecors, NGK Iridium IX, Alta 15% Pulley and CAI, Unichip, Scorpion cat-back,Skid Plate, Rear Fogs, H&R RSS Coilovers, Mini-Madness rear suspension poly bushings, RDR Control Arms and Swaybar, PowerGrids end links. Motoring since 10/18/02. I V-1, do you?
I just emailed those idiots, and read them the riot act. I, like my Tug Hill friend Wingnut, live in snowy Syracuse, and regularly drive down the NYS Thruway to Buffalo—two of the most infamous cities in the world for snowfall levels, and I have no problem in the winter.
I use Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires, mind you, but still. The MINI is still the best handling FWD car I've ever driven in snow!
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2004 MCS: RMW 201.5 dyno-tuned WHP, Webb 15% pulley, Alta CAI, Milltek exhaust, Palo Uber bonnet scoop, Alta intercooler air diverter, Alta rally-style light bar, JCW steering wheel/shift knob, and more... Check It
Those guys, while sometimes VERY funny, are still your old-school american iron, bucket of steel and bolts, kind of mechanic/drivers. Though from Boston, a winter wonderful, they probably only consider 'tanks' as appropriate winter vehicles. All the sliding around and salt tends to make all the vehicles in winter climates into 'buckets of rust ' before too long. That's probably the scenario they were referring to rather than the MINI inabilty to negotiate snowy passages.
Look at any of the vehicles on the streets of NYC, Chicago or Boston, even the new ones have plenty of 'war' scars.
Heck, any auto with the engine over the wheels will drive OK enough in the white stuff. I know, I spent my college years in a slew of them from Gillette, Wyo. to Ely, Minn to Lake Placid, NY, all lightweight VW's (TYPE II'S AND III'S), a Datsun (pre-Nissan) pickup and one Opel Station Wagon.
I'll stay in Orlando and the Sun Belt from here on out, except for a vacation or two. I never could get behind all the work it takes up north just to GET TO WORK. Scraping, shoveling, ad nauseam, every DAY. And no 365 days a year on a motorcycle, either.
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CDMINI; Generation 1's; PW/B S, R.I.P.; BRG/Silver S traded; Chili Red/White MC traded; 2008 DS/B Clubman S, now the "ex", I met a FORD and one thing led to another....
As everyone else rushes to replace their stock antennnas with shorties, our independent-minded neighbor to the North goes in the opposite direction...
Are you planning to decorate that thing for Christmas, Lot?
Sorry. Highjack over. Back to giving Tom & Ray what-for.
Good eye never noticed
Now on to why a MINI does very well in the winter.
I will go back to the first winter.
New all seasons worked fine, but I did have to watch were I went with new snow on the ground before a plow or 4x4 went through first. But the car handled well on the hard pack snow.
Second winter. Got Pirelli snow controls. Now the car handles like nothing I have ever drivin in the winter. The car can go through any amount of snow short of closing down the highways. 3 inches is nothing, 6 inches means working at it, and having snow fly up over the bonnet.
I have punched through 2 foot drifts, and come out the other end fine.
I motored through some mayor snowstorms last winter, intense driving, but no more so than being in anything else. Less intense really.
I won't go into how the car handles on hard snow pact, I would hope that is a given, even if all you do is dry asphalt.
My MC went through the first winter without a block heater. THAT IS UNHEARD OF HERE. Started all the time, even at -52F.
I got a block heater installed last winter, and it works great
It is not an oil pan heater, but a coolant heater, so the whole block is warmed. Snow melts off the bonnet, and I have slightly warm air blowing at start up
I look forward to these conditions
Anyone that does not believe me is welcome to come on up, I'll give you a fun run in the snow
I'm sure someone has mentioned already about what occured on the last Car Talk program. Basically Click and Clack stated that the MINI doesn't handle winter well.
Those of us who drive in winter conditions can attest to the MINI's great handling in all seasons.
I hear MINIs can walk on water too
Its just a show ... why be bothered by it. You know what you can do, you know what you like ... so no worries.
No man shall speak ill of thy MINI's driving ability, in any weather condition!
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2004 MCS: RMW 201.5 dyno-tuned WHP, Webb 15% pulley, Alta CAI, Milltek exhaust, Palo Uber bonnet scoop, Alta intercooler air diverter, Alta rally-style light bar, JCW steering wheel/shift knob, and more... Check It
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Before we open a big can of jihad on the guys...I heard the comment in question and I believe it related to two things: ground clearance and the preferability of 4-wheel drive for snow. They did not directly dis MINI handling prowess...and they may have, in fact, been wrong by not giving MINIs proper credit. I do think for most motorers, though, they may have been right....in a way. What they indicated by the comment, if memory serves, was that certain vehicles with higher ground clearance and/or 4-wheel drive were "best suited" for snow conditions. What they did not mention is how much it would suck to drive said vehicle throughout the rest of the year.
This is a great thread. One I'm especially interested in, since I live in central New Hampshire. I went through the first storm of the season last Wed night and my MINI S was amazing.
Still on normal runflats and I had no problem. I drive a road. Route 118 from Hanover to Rumney and it's a road course. I even passed a Subaru Forester because he was too slow. Saw a moose cross the road ahead as well. I will be putting some Dunlop's on with more agressive winter treads though. My route is very bad at times and frequently semi-plowed in the early morning.
:impatient 
And yes, it handles much better on wet roads.
