Hey guys,
I am seriously considering buying a Cooper S, The last determining factor that I need to find out is how does it do in the snow.

I do ALOT of winter driving and have to dirve an hour to work in NH and snow is a way of life up here in the winter. So I need something reliable.

What have you guys come across with the mini in the snow. Have any of you lost control of the vehicle (due to the vehicles fault not your own) in the snow.

Righ now I drive a 2wd Ranger with 400 lbs of sand in the back of it during the winter time.

 

As someone who has driven both a MCS on all-season 17"s and a 2wd Ford Ranger (several hundred pounds of kitty litter in my case) in Central NY winters, the MINI kicks ***. Leave your traction control on, make sure your tires have plenty of thread, and drive sanely. Last winter, they closed down the PA Turnpike TWICE while I was driving on it (they let you keep going if you are already on it) and it got me home safe and sound:



One problem with the MINI in winter - the wipers SUCK! I'm thinking of getting some of those fancy silicone blades to see if they help at all.

 

I had a similar experience to Andy when I was in Colorado. With good tires, the MINI was just fine, but I also had the same problem with the crappy windshield wipers.

 

where does one find these fancy silicone wipers...

i'm interested as well in them..

 

Aero, welcome to MCO! As you might expect, this topic has been discussed a lot here the past two winters. If you do a search of the forums for "snow" or "winter," there have been a few lengthy threads about MINIs in the winter. Hint: don't use the search window at upper right; use the search button to the right of the pull-down menu.

 

>>where does one find these fancy silicone wipers...
>>
>>i'm interested as well in them..

On Antsmini's recommendation, I bought the Silblade wipers (via a google search), and they kick ***! Only problem is that they don't bend quite enough to contact the windshield all the way down, so they leave a dribble right down the middle. I don't mind, though, since the windshield is SO much clearer in the rain!

 

Even though I plan on garaging mine this winter, the previous owner of mine lived in CT and said it kicked butt in the snow.Even with the 17 inch pirelli summer tires. I drive about 100 miles a day, in NH no less. So i'm storing mine to keep mileage down, and avoid the terrible winter roads,rock chips,etc.

 

Awesome! Thats just want I wanted to hear :smile: and from a former ranger owner too! :smile:

Guys try out the BOSH blades, you can get them from the zone or vip, they are a awesome deal at $14 for the pair.

 

Ahh ok, I had originally tried doign the search with that search on the top right and wound up with nothing. I will try the other one.

so it sounds like the mini does well in the snow. Thanks for the help guys!

 

I found that the MINI did fine in the snow until you got around 4 inches on the ground. At that point it can get dicey. That was when the DSC started really going and there was some sliding. It's possible you might do a little better with the Bridgestone Blizzaks instead of the run flats, however remember your Ranger has a higher ground clearance than your MINI, so it can handle deeper snow....