That I understand. Whenever there is a big storm, there is always a call for volunteers in 4 x 4s to help drive these people to work. Happens every BIG storm (Not so much the little 8" ones).

Sounds like your got three cars? I dunno. Buying a MINI was a choice. If its your only vehicle to get around, its probably not the best when we get 33" of snow and that is exactly how much we got in 2003. I totally understand her situation and frankly, I would not and will not consider my wife "safe" driving through any blizzard in a MINI. Not even in our little SUV. Let the National Guard come out and get her in their H1s!

If you lived on our street, you, along with everyone else here, were snowbound for five days. Were there people who absolutely had to get to work? Of course. One guy was desparate to get out of the neighborhood and from 100 yards from a main street tried to shovel the street. That lasted like about 2 hours with ALL the neighbors trying and we got maybe 10 yards done. Not going to happen. You are at the mercy of the County. Try to hire someone with a plow? Not going to happen, they are all busy with the County!

Same thing happened in 1996. After 5 days the neighbors just walked to a small local grocery store ... It took eight (8) days before anyone got out when it started to melt.

These are true stories but then again, how often do we get a blizzard?

 

She wanted a MINI and so I traded in my 4Door Tahoe for it. I would have like to keep the Tahoe, but you how women are

 

Oh yeah Always better to keep them happy and have a good life

But in making those choices, the few days a year when their is heavy snow, you pay the price.

I know if there is snow predicted, I will take the MCS to work and she can have the 4 x 4 simply for her safety.

 

I agree 100%... I wasn't suggesting that anyone throw away perfectly good all-seasons... just that if you already HAVE summer performance tires, buying a fresh set of all-seasons as your "winter set" makes no sense, even in DC. I bought my MINI with performance tires, so buying a set of winter tires on S-Lites (couldn't get 15" steelies since I have the JCW brakes) made perfect sense for me!
Now hold up, chows... you're reading into it too much. I wasn't trashing SUVs, nor was I trashing 4WD... I was merely pointing out that it seems a significant percentage of uninformed SUV owners seem to think that 4WD means you can drive in snow as though it's dry pavement... which is why I think there seems to be a high percentage of SUVs off in ditches after a heavy snow (here in DC). The drivers get overconfident. It can happen to ANY driver, but I think that 4WD (most commonly found in SUVs) gives many people a false sense of security.

The point I try to make when discussing this is a basic question:

1) How many brakes does a 4WD SUV have? (they answer... 4)

then I ask...

2) How many brakes does a regular car have? (they think about it, then answer... 4).

Then I simply say "so how is 4WD going to help you stop in snow any sooner than a regular car?"

I would venture to say that except in really deep snow (4 in+), my MINI, with the winter tires on, will handle the snow better (in general - accelerating, braking and turning) than practically any SUV with standard factory all-seasons.

The point I'm trying to make is that tires are equally, if not MORE important, than any other aspect of the vehicle (note I said vehicle, not driver)... especially in snow. The lighter weight of the MINI is just an added bonus for accelerating, braking & handling in snow too. Inertia is your worst enemy when it gets slick.

Now, if you take a moderately weighted vehicle with AWD or 4WD, and put snow tires on it... that's a different story. Subarus and Audis with Quattro come to mind.

 

Agreed!

I agree with that too although I also know that many ppl here just cant drive in the snow no matter what they drive.

I agree about the brakes. Not necessarily about the whole package. Some of the newer SUVs are rockets, just as fast as a MINI. New V6 in RAV4 is same 0-60 times as a stock MCS. New Acuras coming out, I believe faster. Handling, I give to the MCS.

Yes, tires are important, snows better in the snow. No argument there. Just waiting till that next big one so I can go get some peanut butter and toilet paper

 

Just received the tires today. Wow that was fast

 

You won't regret your decision, trust me.

 

Of course... but I still think you'll find a higher percentage of "clueless" folk in SUVs, because of the false confidence. At least that's what I've observed when it comes to stranded vehicles in the snow, here in DC. Very high percentage of them are SUVs... a noticeably higher percentage, it seems, than the actual SUV-to-car ratio in dry weather traffic.You seemed to forget I was including tires in the equation. I don't care if the RAV4 or the Acura SUVs (or Porsche Cayennes, for that matter) can accelerate faster than my MCS on dry pavement... if they keep their stock all-seasons on, as the vast majority of vehicle owners do, they won't even hold a candle to the MCS with snows on, in snowy weather. That is the comparison I was making, if you read it properly.

 

Oh yeah, I'll buy that. They need to switch to snows as well (but most will not unless they go offroad, I guess)

 

Hi again all! Much of this discussion seems to be about the big snow storms. That is one reason to have snow tires. What I like about the Dunlap M3s is how they allow me to drive in a sporty fashion when it is cold and there may be just a little snow or even just patches of snow, such as in the shaded pass. I'm not talking about driving like it is summer, but it is sure nice to have solid traction when you enter a snowy stretch and are still in the process of reducing speed. It is also nice to be driving on snowpacked roads with the other traffic and be stable and solid and not at the ragged edge like some of the other vehicles.

As for the SUV discussion . . . I find that all wheel drive on any vehicle fails to give feedback about deteriorating road conditions. It does its job and the car feels like everything is fine. When I had a subaru with manual 4wd I'd be sure not to use the 4wd until I needed it to keep going because it disguised the road conditions.

A note about using up the OEM Runflat all seasons: It is great to feel like I'm doing something useful when I run hard and foolishly and burn rubber.