I am just kinda curious as to how well everyone's mini's handle in the winter months and if any of you have some winter driving or maintenance recomendations. thanks

 

If you get a lot of snow/ice/cold weather you will need winter tires and the Mini drives fine with those on. I am in Manitoba and got my winters from Alex at tire track. Check out the forum for Tires on the main forum page.

 

The most important thing is simply be smooth pay attention and give oyurself time.

If you search MINI Talk there is a thread with tons of info.

 

Well I can not really give too much advise winter here in teh Phoenix area is not that bad at all.
Happy motoring and stay safe.

- KP

 

I'm coming to Phoenix soon (again)... GO BUCKS!

 

well I use winter tires and the MINI is very nice in the snow. I love driving in the snow as long as it's not too deep, as the ground clearance is about 4-5 inches..

 

I do a lot of hand brake turns. Great fun.

 

MINI with snow tires is awesome in the snow. As long as the road is maintained (plowed) or the snow isn't deep you will have some fun. The only problem is that other people (A) in SUVs think that they can defy the laws of physics and hence they cannot control their vehicle, or (B) are driving on summer or "all season" tires that are worn out and hence they cannot control their vehicle. Be careful out there! With decent snow tires and driven sensibly the MINI won't be the one causing the accident...

 

Sadly, it doesn't matter who's at fault. The car is still in an accident which means:
1) Its in the body shop
2) You end up waiting 1-2 hours for the cops to show up
3) The person who caused the accident WILL almost invariably be a jack@$$ and blame the other party or something else (ie - traffic lights, 3rd party)
4) If you're young (<21) the likelyhood is you'll get blamed if there is a question as to responsibility, because: you are the "inexperienced" driver - yes, this has happened to me.
5) Cars that have been in accidents are never the same afterwords - rattles, squeaks or other 'niggles' develop, and not in all instances does this equate to character -_-

so my winter driving advice consists of:
1) Leave in plenty of time
2) Unless you HAVE to go out - don't
3) Try to lump tasks together - if you know you are running low on bread and cheese, pick them up when buying that gallon of milk. The fewer trips you make, the less opportunity there is for an accident.
4) Pulling over if someone is tailgating - let them get in the accident rather than them forcing you into an awkward situation.
5) If you are unsure of whether you can make it around safely, stay inside where practical - frustration causes accidents :(