Silly question... but my wife and I own a Cooper S and are moving to Boulder, Colorado.... is it practical for the snow weather in Colorado? Will snow tires suffice? I'm thinking of driving trips to ski in the winter... and don't want to give up our MINI!

Thoughts?

 

With the right tires, you'd be fine. It's the depth that can be an issue. Once you start plowing, you're done. I run Blizzaks all winter in Ohio and loved them. The front wheel drive helps too.

 

I spent 15 years in Colorado, most of the time with a FWD european hatchback (Saabs and VW GTI) and always felt that my cars were better on the winter roads than my 4x4 ever was (unless it got real deep).

Colorado is pretty good about maintaining winter roads, and with a good set of snow tires, you should be in pretty good shape in the winter.

 

id say this car with blizzak's is about as good as my old awd subaru svx with the same tires in the snow. The plowing can be a prob i guess but I haven't had too many problems myself in northern wisconsin winters.

 

I know many parts of Colorado also live by the phrase "It only snows on the grass." So unless you're far off the beaten path you should be able to manage, I know the my MINI has hekd up well in 4" of snow and taken the far more scary icy roads in stride. I've got an 05 with LSD so I find it easiest just to shut off the ASC allow the diff to lock up and then the MINI goes just about anywhere I point it. That was with stick all-seasons, now I've got to decide if I want to match with all seasons or go to a full snow tire this year.

 

hey everyone,

I would think Minis are good in the snow since I have seen alot of rally Minis before, and they do quite well.

 

No problems. Just get 15" or 16" snow tires.

 

I have found winter driving in Colorado much easier than the midwest and the east. It's rare that you will be ever driving through a big snow drift!! I've never had snow tires on any of my cars in 15 years of living here. But I've been wondering how the minis do in the snow also because they are so small and light..will I need to add weight? Will I need to get my first set of snow tires??

 

Last two winters I've had no problem. Like CO, Minnesota is good at plowing all the main streets. The only time I've had any trouble is when they plowed my street, but not my driveway after a flash 8" drop this winter, leaving a HUGE drift at the end of my driveway. I ended up using my old Maxima on Blizzaks to blast through it, then rolled MINI on it's all-seasons (getting Winter Sports this winter) right through.

 

I went through 3 Winters (when I was in Montreal) and it was great!

Quebec's Winters are rough and my MCS never failed... With good snow tires, you'll be fine. My MCS was lowered and never got stuck because of snow.

Btw, driving a MINI in a snowstorm is really fun !

 

I live in New England, have Blizzaks on 15" rims for the winter, and agree you'll be fine except in deep snow. During a blizzard last winter I drove out or our unplowed street while the guy across the street was digging out his stuck 4x4.

 

Boulder driving you should be just fine.

And it depends on which ski resort you are going to, some of the passes are pretty scary (berthod going to winter park, etc...), but I have a friend in a mazda rear wheel drive who goes up twice a week in it snow storm or not..

 

My MCS is a daily driver that has seen winters in New England and Northeast Ohio. When I bought the car, I had to drive it 700 miles through a blizzard that streached from Buffalo to Boston. I was running on the stock 17' runflats, and it was a treacherous experience. Never Again! Good snow tires make all the difference- I now run on 17" Pirelli run flat snow tires (thanks to Tire Rack), and as long as the snow on the road isn't highter than the bottom of my front bumper, I can drive through any weather. The runflats are a nice winter feature: even with a flat, you won't be left stranded. Just be careful, and you'll get where you need to go.

 

we sold the escape to get our second mini S and Brad got snow tires for it.
That's all we take on our skiing/snowboarding trips...His mini.

 

I live less than 10 minutes from Lake Michigan (can you say "lake-effect snow?" ) and Giles handled winter fine. In fact, he handled better than any other car I've ever had! And I was on stock rims and run-flats because I was too busy to switch to snow tires. He's strong enough to plow through our heavy, wet snow, and compact enough not to skid randomly on ice. I do have LSD and DSC, though.

 

Car has Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 tires in the photo. This storm blessed us with 24" or so. In the really deep heavy stuff, it didn't do so well on steep hills, but otherwise I was impressed.

 

my MCS with LSD and studded snows and 15" steel rims from tirerack for $450 have made my MCS the best darn snow car i have ever driven, amazingly fun. You just have to watch out for the deep stuff cause there isn't much clearence. I had a 95' audi S6 before the mcs the all wheel drive was awsome in the snow, but i couldn't huck the audi and make turns in the snow like i can with the mini, but the audi didn't have snows, studed snow tires rule!!! ebraking and drifting into turns then being able to pull out of the drift, makes you feel like you are ice racing.
there should be a mini ice racing legue!

 

Ours has been through 3 winters in ALASKA.

 

Once the roads are plowed, NO PROBLEMO!
I was passing SUVs here in NY with my 15" rims and BLIZZAK REVO 1's in 4" inches of unplowed road (Palisades Parkway).
Those four snow babies are piled up and ready to go for another snowy winter. Can't WAIT! (I love summer too though)...